Why do we hate?

Duke. Yankees. Red Sox. Manchester United. New England Patriots. Knicks. Notre Dame. Unless you’re a resident, an alumnus, or a bandwagon fan, those names probably conjure up a feeling that can best be described as a cross between hatred, bitterness and jealousy. Your low-budget team has been struggling to get by for most of its existence, with maybe one national championship to its name to go against umpteen sub-.500 seasons and first-round playoff/tournament exits.

Why do we hate? What is it about those pinstripes that makes everyone in the room cheer for the Mariners, A’s or whatever small-market team the Yankees happen to be playing? Why do we get so much glee from watching the Knicks toil in endless mediocrity? After your team has long been eliminated from the NIT, you keep watching each of Duke’s games, waiting and praying for an embarrassing end to Duke’s season. What is the rational explanation for wanting to see a 20 year old college student humiliated on national television?

Hatred has been on this Earth since the day Man was born. Hardly unique to sports, hatred has fueled economic growth, the spread of religion, and the formation and/or subsequent dissolution of countless nations. Hatred is borne out of fear. Fear of what is different, fear of what we don’t understand. Hatred is borne out of jealousy – we hate those who are luckier, more successful, better than us. Hatred is borne out of revenge. Someone has bested us and we hate them for it. We want to see them suffer, be humiliated, feel the pain we have felt.

Hatred is as natural as love, and the two are often intertwined, as a betrayal can easily turn feelings of love into hatred. Without hatred, there could be no love. Perhaps a bit trite, but a semblance of balance must exist in this world. Without evil, how would we know what is good? Without cold, hard winters, how could we appreciate the warmth of summer?

For many people, hatred is a way of life. This is not meant to be judgmental, just an observation. A child born in Serbia will grow up being taught the greatness of Serbia, and that neighboring Croatia is the root of all the country’s problems. The intense patriotic feeling the child experiences well into adulthood is in part borne out of a hatred for his neighbor. And certainly this example applies to the Middle East, Europe and even within our own country.

Authoritative bodies have learned to harness this hatred for ulterior motives, whether for political gains, expansion of religious ideals or even the achievement of a personal agenda. Of course, harnessing the mob mentality clearly has been used for horrific actions that I certainly don’t need to expound upon. In some cases, however, the motives are benign. A fear and hatred of communism lead the United States to engage Russia in a battle for display of technological prowess, ultimately leading to sending men to the moon. The technological developments borne from this competition continue to benefit our lives even today. The advent of satellites has immeasurably improved the world’s communication abilities, science was placed at the forefront of the nation's interests, and the country was galvanized into an effort to achieve the most that it could.

A population motivated by a common enemy can be a powerful force. Is ESPN any different? Are we being manipulated into hating? The hatred of a nearby rival can be viewed as natural, ie Springfield High football has a natural inclination to despise Shelbyville. But why hate the town, school or team that is a thousand miles away?

ESPN has to know that its over-the-top coverage of all things New York and Boston will alienate fans from other areas. But rather that stop watching, fans tune in even more, waiting for something bad to happen to these over-exposed teams. Every time Dick Vitale or Billy Packer announces a March Madness game, fans groan because of the constant lip-service paid to Duke and the ACC. But instead of watching another game, fans keep watching, just waiting for Billy Packer to rip their mid-major school so that they have even more of a reason to hate Duke and the big-time programs.

The more that ESPN builds up someone, the more we want them to fall. For Duke and the like, the only things that could conceivably be worse than missing the NCAA tournament would be if no one cared. What would happen to Notre Dame’s massive television deals if people simply stopped caring? Even when they go 3-9, people will watch every second of a crappy ND-Navy game just to see if ND will lose. The networks make money off our selfish desire to see others suffer the same agony of defeat that we have. Watching the favored elite fall can be very cathartic for fans of ordinary teams. Our own feelings of anger, shame and jealousy are released as we cheer against the elite and ultimately watch them suffer. The New England-New York Giants regular season finale had the highest ratings ever for a regular season game. Why? I guarantee you that at least half of the people watching that game (myself included) were openly rooting against the Patriots, so that they would fall short of the hallowed 16-0 mark.

I am not saying that being manipulated into hating by ESPN is a bad thing. I just think we should understand it. Having an enemy helps brings purpose to sports. As we all know, for there to be good, there must be evil. That presence of “evil” gives us a sense of purpose, a sense of being. Having a “favorite” enemy can enhance the sport-watching experience as much as having a true favorite team.

So whether you choose one of ESPN’s “pre-selected” heels or you go out and find your own, be thankful that you have that team to kick around when your own team is down in the dumps. If you really and truly hated a team, the most effective way to ultimately ruin them would be to stop watching…but what fun would that be?