Embrace the Hate!

Fans of New England area sports teams are touted as being some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans out there but there’s one thing we aren't very good at and that’s embracing the hate from other fans/fan bases.

There have been a few controversial calls against Boston sports teams as of late, most recently the non-call on the final play of this past Monday Night Football game against the Panthers.  There was also the call against the Patriots field goal defense team in Week 7 against the Jets costing them the game in OT.  And who could forget the obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks on what came to be the winning run in Game 3 of this year's World Series?

As the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have amassed their various championships, starting with the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory in 2001, these big four teams have attracted far more bandwagon haters than bandwagon fans.
   
As a result, when controversial calls like these occur, bars, living rooms and social media sites erupt with various arguments from both sides.  The two main sides of these types of arguments become the Boston Fan vs. the Anti-Boston Fan.

Here is where us Boston fans need to learn to take a step back and embrace the hate.  Don’t waste your time trying to reason against such antiquated arguments as “its payback for the tuck rule and Spygate!”  Don’t even bother responding to accusations that the Bruins are so dirty and only get away with it because Greg Campbell’s dad used to be Director of Player Safety.  Oh, and most certainly do not even entertain the most bitter anti-Boston fan’s disturbing conclusions that the Red Sox World Series win was given to them as a result of the tragic events of April 15^th (disgusting, I know).

Trust me when I tell you, it is so much more satisfying to sit back and listen to these baseless arguments and unsupported character assassinations and smile.  Smile because you know that no one is as dedicated to trashing the Jaguars and Astros as they are to trashing successful teams like ours. Smile because you know players like Tom Brady and Milan Lucic would be just as popular if they played in any of these “hate Boston” markets.

If you really want other fan bases to stop hating your teams and players, it’s simple, lose.  If you want other fans to acknowledge that maybe your team did in fact get screwed on that call, stop beating their teams so much.

But if you want to see the wins and the championships continue to pile up, learn to let everyone else hate on your team knowing that the hate they live to express is just a product of the intense jealousy they try so hard to suppress.