There is no question that sports is a topic that inspires much emotion. There are teams you love, teams you hate, and teams you just laugh at (See: Los Angeles Clippers). In sports there are many different roles that teams can step into, the lovable losers, the underdogs, the long-shot, the favorites, and the hated. Today we are going to focus on the hated, because the Lakers are arguably the most hated franchise in United States professional sports.
The level of hatred towards a certain individual generally stems from fans of opposing teams who simply wish that that player was a member of their own team. Why do you think Lakers fans hate LeBron James so much? Just saying. Anyways, when a fans hatred is directed towards a certain team it is usually for the same general reason, that team is better than the team they love. This is why teams like the Lakers, New York Yankees, and even Duke basketball are despised by the rest of the country. These teams win, other teams don’t, other fans hate.
Next: Why do fans hate winners?
For this particular equation we’re going to focus on the NBA, mainly because this is a Lakers oriented site. Obviously. The best way to look at this is to put it this way, for the entire NBA, especially the Western Conference, the Lakers are Jerusalem and the rest of the teams are mere crusaders. They will do whatever it takes to overthrow the big dog, the problem is they just don’t have enough bite to do it. While that was two cheesy metaphors rolled into one sentence, the facts ring true. We have experienced that especially this season, as every team is giving the Lakers their best performance. While part of this has to do with the Lakers being the reigning NBA champions, a lot of it also has to do with the hatred lesser teams feel towards Los Angeles. Just to be clear, not the Clippers.
I have been able to personally witness this history for much of my life, as I grew up in a town where the Lakers are seen as absolute vermin. Portland, Oregon is known more for its Farmer’s Market than it’s basketball, but the fans up there definitely love their Trail Blazers. The problem is that the Trail Blazers have won one, yes one, NBA championship in their entire existence (1977). The Lakers have been a long time rival for the Blazers in the eyes of Oregonians (even if Lakers fans really could care less about the Trail Blazers), and they love to beat the Lakers. Blazers fans enjoy watching the Lakers lose almost more than watching Portland win, even though both don’t happen very frequently. But the level of hate that Portland fans exert towards the Lakers is truly remarkable.
Next: Why the hatred is a good thing…
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The bottom line in terms of all this hatred nonsense is nothing but pure jealousy. Some teams have storied histories and some teams don’t. The teams that don’t wish they did and the teams that do ignore the ones who don’t. While many Lakers fans will be furious to hear it, the Boston Celtics are the only team in the NBA that should inspire some jealousy from the Lakers. Boston has more NBA Championships (17 to 15), and have beaten the Lakers in the Finals 9 times out of the 11 series. While Lakers fans argue that the Celtics aren’t able to maintain a consistent team, which is evident by their 20 NBA Finals appearances to the Lakers 30, the fact is they have more titles, which is all that matters in the end.
Why do you think Lakers fans hate the Celtics so much? The same reason Portland fans hate the Lakers. One team has something the other does not. When fans are characterized as haters, they should really just be referred to as jealous. They claim they hate a team with all their heart, and they probably do, but they would take that team’s accolades quicker than the Utah Jazz will put up a banner for a division title. In other sports it is the same thing, baseball fans hate the Yankees because they have more titles right now (27) than any other team will get as long as anybody reading this will be alive.
So as a fan of the Lakers it should actually be an honor that so many teams hate yours so much. You should find it amusing that the Utah Jazz have a version of Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” that they contorted to say “We Beat LA” whenever they beat the Lakers at home. (That is true by the way, experienced it first hand. I was flabbergasted). When fans get completely giddy over beating your team in the regular season and act as if they just won the title even though the calendar says January 4th, you should do your best not to be completely annoyed. While it is obnoxious no doubt, it is also sort of flattering if you choose to look at it that way.
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