For some reason, I've gone through phases with the teams I hate. For the longest time, the team I hated more than anything else was the Boston Red Sox. Why? Because I'm a Yankee fan, and they've been kind of explosive in the postseason lately. They had so many infuriating teams back in the day, including people like Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis, guys who just pissed me off to my core.
However, in 2013...I was rooting for them in the World Series. Because my hatred had latched onto another team...the very same one they were playing against, the St. Louis Cardinals.
I'll explain why: There was this kid I knew in high school, around 2011, back when the Phillies were hot. He was...oh, how do I put this...he was an asshole. Of the highest degree. Whenever I talked about the Phillies, he'd insult them to my face, insult my devotion to them, and talk about how amazing the St. Louis Cardinals were. It got even worse when they wound up beating the Phils in the 2011 playoffs, and he egged me on about it.
From then on, I couldn't treat the Cardinals with any thread of respect...except for maybe Pujols. They won the World Series, and people like Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso and ESPECIALLY David Freese burrowed under my skin. It was painful. Even worse when they kept coming back every year in the NLCS. I wanted them to just go away.
Now...I don't hate they half as much. All the guys I hated are gone. Plus, they're in 2nd and 3rd. No real use hating a team that's that harmless...though there's still a bit there.
Last year, at the trade deadline, the Blue Jays were not in any way legitimate as a playoff threat, and then they decided to load up on all of these loaner players. I insisted. THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK. IT'S AUGUST. THE PLAYOFF TEAM YOU'RE LOOKING FOR WON'T HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU GOT A FEW BIG PLAYERS. But they were too busy winning 11 in a row to listen to me. So they crept up, waltzed past my Yankees, who actually had a pretty nice effort going, and took the AL East.
And, in doing so, took the throne of my most hated team.
So many players to hate. Russ Martin, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar, Michael Saunders, Troy Tulowitzki, and now Aaron Sanchez and his sudden rise to the top. I can't explain how he went from a joke of a middle reliever to one of the best starters on the team. This is bad, because right now they're in third, and if they keep getting better they might rival the two teams I actually want to win the AL East (notice how the Yankees aren't one of those teams). I'd rather not want that.
The Orioles this season have a great story. The Red Sox have a great story. Once again, the only story the Blue Jays have is sitting near the middle until they feel the need to spoil everything. Yes, there's some talent there, but give the O's and Sox a chance!
Again, Blue Jays fans. It's really nothing personal. It's just silly sports hatred.
Coming Tonight: The one guy Philadelphia can count on to start some phenomenal games in a dire season.
No comments:
Post a Comment