17 year old me watched a petulant Steph Curry throw his mouth guard into the stands playing against my Cavs and a sports hatred was born. If it hard hating one of the most aesthetically pleasing players in history? Yes. But someone's got to do it.
i have always hated Michael Jordan(!!!), a detestable bully, A-grade shithead and possible psychopath who belittled (or punched) teammates, didn't want to upset right-wing racists (they buy shoes too!), got handed Stern-era "star calls" by refs, befriended other superstars just to psych them out, was exiled from the NBA for gambling, then returned to the league and just won the title every year to the point it was tedious.
his HOF acceptance speech landed somewhere between cringeworthy and actually pretty sad. now his fragile, whole-documentary-series-needed-to-prop-it-up mythos is zealously guarded by nostalgic old people who can't admit LeBron has had a way better career.
pretty sure i'm the only one with this take, but, hey, at least Jordan turned into one of the worst executives/owners of the modern era.
It is always interesting to think about what the perception of Jordan would've been like if he'd grown up in today's age, where nobody is allowed to be the cultural monolith he was in the 90s.
Fwiw, I think that there's been a cultural whiplash to the Jordan lionizing; feels like Gen Z fans hate him too, ha.
My love hate for him is my favourite think about the NBA. Hate the antics, but love how he's one of the best basketball minds in the game. Grew up watching his playmaking highlights and it made me a better player. However people might feel about him, no vet player deserves to go out the way he is.
I will miss hating this man, but I will miss the PnRs, lob city, and the last of the old school PGs the league has seen.
I love this post!! No analysis or analytics, just pure sports hatred that belongs only to serious sports fans and needs no justification or rationalization. Just pure emotional reaction. I'm a Chris Paul hater too; and even more so, a Clippers hater. So I've enjoyed watching their season tank and seeing the Lakers beat them again. I wanted Ballmer to move them to Seattle when he bought the team and get out of LA. No surprise at the weird way it all went down. Only professional sports can hold such contradictory opinions of the same person at the same time.
I 100% recognize the emotion of sports hate. And i recognize the delight in seeing the target of your hate failing. However, i have a different experience in losing your sports hate.
I am old enough to have had a sports hate towards Drazen Petrovic! I hated his success with every fiber in my body. But when he died, I was actually overtaken by grief at no longer having a target to hate. It left me feeling aimless in that sense. To this day I am still sad that that cherished hate is no longer and still searching for someone I can hate as much.
Petrovic was a little before my time, but yeah, he's certainly an exception for the obvious reason. I always knew that Paul would eventually fade into irrelevancy, but THAT kind of ending is so unexpected, so abrupt.
I've wondered how we'd feel about Petrovic if he'd been around in the social media age. That kind of cocky, emotional persona does tend to bring about strong feelings in people. I suspect I would've been on your side, but sadly, we'll never know.
Love this. Sports-hate is a powerful force. My condolences for the impending loss of your reverse-soulmate.
Mine is long gone but will likely never be matched again: the Shaq/Kobe Lakers of the early-aughts. I wrote this post a few months ago coming to terms with the hater in me:
Fun read, thanks for sharing! It's entirely plausible that my own thoughts about Paul will shift 20 years from now, as yours seemingly did at least a little with the Lakers, although right now I'm still clinging to my hopes they won't ha. I don't want Paul turning into a semi-sympathetic character in my own head!
17 year old me watched a petulant Steph Curry throw his mouth guard into the stands playing against my Cavs and a sports hatred was born. If it hard hating one of the most aesthetically pleasing players in history? Yes. But someone's got to do it.
Someone has to carry that cross for the rest of us ha
Ever since the Sonics were stolen, my most passionate basketball emotion is hate for the OKC Thunder.
Totally understandable! But also, I fear for you. They'll give you ample opportunities to hate going forward, that's for sure!
i have always hated Michael Jordan(!!!), a detestable bully, A-grade shithead and possible psychopath who belittled (or punched) teammates, didn't want to upset right-wing racists (they buy shoes too!), got handed Stern-era "star calls" by refs, befriended other superstars just to psych them out, was exiled from the NBA for gambling, then returned to the league and just won the title every year to the point it was tedious.
his HOF acceptance speech landed somewhere between cringeworthy and actually pretty sad. now his fragile, whole-documentary-series-needed-to-prop-it-up mythos is zealously guarded by nostalgic old people who can't admit LeBron has had a way better career.
pretty sure i'm the only one with this take, but, hey, at least Jordan turned into one of the worst executives/owners of the modern era.
It is always interesting to think about what the perception of Jordan would've been like if he'd grown up in today's age, where nobody is allowed to be the cultural monolith he was in the 90s.
Fwiw, I think that there's been a cultural whiplash to the Jordan lionizing; feels like Gen Z fans hate him too, ha.
My love hate for him is my favourite think about the NBA. Hate the antics, but love how he's one of the best basketball minds in the game. Grew up watching his playmaking highlights and it made me a better player. However people might feel about him, no vet player deserves to go out the way he is.
I will miss hating this man, but I will miss the PnRs, lob city, and the last of the old school PGs the league has seen.
Totally. Well said.
could not disagree more - fantastic read!
ha, thanks!
I love this post!! No analysis or analytics, just pure sports hatred that belongs only to serious sports fans and needs no justification or rationalization. Just pure emotional reaction. I'm a Chris Paul hater too; and even more so, a Clippers hater. So I've enjoyed watching their season tank and seeing the Lakers beat them again. I wanted Ballmer to move them to Seattle when he bought the team and get out of LA. No surprise at the weird way it all went down. Only professional sports can hold such contradictory opinions of the same person at the same time.
Agreed! Sometimes, just gotta let the feelings flow. Rhyme and reason are for my other posts ha
I 100% recognize the emotion of sports hate. And i recognize the delight in seeing the target of your hate failing. However, i have a different experience in losing your sports hate.
I am old enough to have had a sports hate towards Drazen Petrovic! I hated his success with every fiber in my body. But when he died, I was actually overtaken by grief at no longer having a target to hate. It left me feeling aimless in that sense. To this day I am still sad that that cherished hate is no longer and still searching for someone I can hate as much.
Petrovic was a little before my time, but yeah, he's certainly an exception for the obvious reason. I always knew that Paul would eventually fade into irrelevancy, but THAT kind of ending is so unexpected, so abrupt.
I've wondered how we'd feel about Petrovic if he'd been around in the social media age. That kind of cocky, emotional persona does tend to bring about strong feelings in people. I suspect I would've been on your side, but sadly, we'll never know.
Thanks for sharing!
Love this. Sports-hate is a powerful force. My condolences for the impending loss of your reverse-soulmate.
Mine is long gone but will likely never be matched again: the Shaq/Kobe Lakers of the early-aughts. I wrote this post a few months ago coming to terms with the hater in me:
https://open.substack.com/pub/greatexp/p/2000-sympathy-for-the-devil
Fun read, thanks for sharing! It's entirely plausible that my own thoughts about Paul will shift 20 years from now, as yours seemingly did at least a little with the Lakers, although right now I'm still clinging to my hopes they won't ha. I don't want Paul turning into a semi-sympathetic character in my own head!
Haha stay strong