A Healthy Sports Hate

Bill Simmons, the Sport's Guy, recently wrote an article saying that he no longer has the Sport's Hate for a few of Boston's greatest rivals, namely Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez, and Kobe Bryant. His reasons being that over the past year all of these have broken their own stigmas. Kobe won without Shaq, A-rod actually hit the ball in the playoffs, and Peyton has managed not to choke recently. Fair enough argument, it's completely rational to no longer hate these players. However I think Bill Simmons has completely missed the biggest part of sport's hate; IT'S IRRATIONAL! We don't hate these guys because they're really bad people. We hate them because they play against our beloved Boston teams. It's not their fault really, but it's not my fault either. Boston has a history of being rivaled against the best teams around. New York, LA, Montreal; Boston loves to pick our biggest competitors to rival because we as fans thrive on big games. I look forward to Pats- Colts, Sox- Yanks, B's- Habs, Celts- Lakers, more than all the other regular season games combined. Winning these games is what makes a Boston Legend. And for every Legend, their has to be a Villain. Which is why, like a true Boston fan, I will always hate the following players, irrationally;

Peyton Manning

Reasons: He's a bad sport. Crying over official calls and bitching out teammates when they drop his passes. He doesn't perform under pressure and blames teammates when he blows the game. He also manages to take advantage of every media outlet, soaking up as much un-deserved fame as he can. I also have it on good authority that he eats his own young, which is how he stays so fit year after year.

Alex Rodriguez

Reasons: He's a cheater. Doing anything and everything to get an unfair advantage. Unfaithful to teams and wives, his character off the field directly matches his on field persona. Also a know practitioner of Scientology.

Kobe Bryant

Reasons: Always quick to blame anyone but himself for his failures, he berates refs and teammates when things don't go his way, throwing tantrums until he gets what he wants. Much like Wayne Brady, he has also been known to, "Smack a Bitch". It's also a little known fact that he desires to be a devil worshipper, however, his dyslexia hampers this, and he often wastes his animal sacrifices by killing them in the name of Santa.