2008 Woodie Awards
Hate the player, not the game
Brendan Clark
Issue date: 1/24/07 Section: Sports
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If I had traveled around last night and taken a poll during the Colts-Patriots game, I am willing to bet that the majority of you were pulling for Peyton Manning and the Colts. Do I think that there are more Colts fans at this school than Patriots fans? No, but I know one thing: sports fans are natural born haters. We know the old "don't hate the player, hate the game" saying not only doesn't make any sense, but is never actually followed. First of all, why would I be paying attention to a game if I hated it, and second it's natural to resent a successful team if your team is not the one picking up the win.
I don't know about you but I truly enjoyed seeing Peyton finally get the best of Tom Brady and the Pats in the playoffs. I personally don't have any particular problem with the New England Patriots, but the fact that they have won three Super Bowls in the past five years has made me hate them. Is it cruel that I celebrated when Tom Brady threw that final interception? Am I just jealous of the fact that he could get any girl in Boston with the snap of a finger? No, Boston accents are not my idea of sexy. I celebrated because it wouldn't be fair if Pats fans got to experience three Super Bowl wins in five years while the Redskins(read: any miserable team that you might root for) haven't been past the second round of the playoffs in 16 years. Call me bitter. I am.
Take arguably the best example of all: the New York Yankees. 26 World Championships, 39 pennants, and a whole lot of bandwagon fans. It is true I may have a personal grudge against the Yankees due to a certain 12 year old with a baseball glove in the right field bleachers, but that is beside the point. Why do I hate them more than say, the Blue Jays? Six World Series appearances in 10 years, that's why. Or how about Duke basketball? Aside from the fact that I'm sure Coach K is the spawn of the devil, I hate them because they have managed to be really successful for the past 20 years. No team should be that successful, especially when my favorite team has failed to be so fortunate.
For all you non-sports fans out there, let me offer some real world applications of hating the player, not the game. Can you honestly say you don't hold a little grudge for that person with the 4.0 GPA? You might justify your shortcomings with statements such as "well they must not be getting the full college experience," or "clearly they haven't been to enough Sunday night Nut-up parties." Certainly I have uttered one or more of these lines, and no doubt I hold some resentment for those people. Ideally I would like to attempt to change my ways. Sadly, I am positive that once again I will spend this week cursing whatever team that the Maryland Terrapins have the misfortune of chalking up a loss against while I put off doing my work so that I can get the full college experience. Don't hate this player, I keep it real.
I don't know about you but I truly enjoyed seeing Peyton finally get the best of Tom Brady and the Pats in the playoffs. I personally don't have any particular problem with the New England Patriots, but the fact that they have won three Super Bowls in the past five years has made me hate them. Is it cruel that I celebrated when Tom Brady threw that final interception? Am I just jealous of the fact that he could get any girl in Boston with the snap of a finger? No, Boston accents are not my idea of sexy. I celebrated because it wouldn't be fair if Pats fans got to experience three Super Bowl wins in five years while the Redskins(read: any miserable team that you might root for) haven't been past the second round of the playoffs in 16 years. Call me bitter. I am.
Take arguably the best example of all: the New York Yankees. 26 World Championships, 39 pennants, and a whole lot of bandwagon fans. It is true I may have a personal grudge against the Yankees due to a certain 12 year old with a baseball glove in the right field bleachers, but that is beside the point. Why do I hate them more than say, the Blue Jays? Six World Series appearances in 10 years, that's why. Or how about Duke basketball? Aside from the fact that I'm sure Coach K is the spawn of the devil, I hate them because they have managed to be really successful for the past 20 years. No team should be that successful, especially when my favorite team has failed to be so fortunate.
For all you non-sports fans out there, let me offer some real world applications of hating the player, not the game. Can you honestly say you don't hold a little grudge for that person with the 4.0 GPA? You might justify your shortcomings with statements such as "well they must not be getting the full college experience," or "clearly they haven't been to enough Sunday night Nut-up parties." Certainly I have uttered one or more of these lines, and no doubt I hold some resentment for those people. Ideally I would like to attempt to change my ways. Sadly, I am positive that once again I will spend this week cursing whatever team that the Maryland Terrapins have the misfortune of chalking up a loss against while I put off doing my work so that I can get the full college experience. Don't hate this player, I keep it real.
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