The most hated teams in sports

The winning alone would cause people to despise the Patriots. If you root for another team in the AFC East, you know you have basically no hope. However, in addition to all the Super Bowl wins, there's the coach. Bill Belichick is a gruff, monotone guy who is hard to like. Then there is Tom Brady, who is divisive at best. Throw in the “nobody believes in us” nonsense from their last Super Bowl run, and you’ve got a real loathsome bunch.

They call the Yankees the “Evil Empire” for a reason. Sure, it’s been a while since they’ve won a World Series, but hate lingers. In the '90s and early '00s, they outspent everybody  to win title after title. The late George Steinbrenner certainly played into the hate as well.

When the Warriors began their run, they were fun! We loved watching Steph Curry rain threes. Then they started dominating, and that was even before they added Kevin Durant as a mercenary. Durant is also not the most lovable guy, and neither is Draymond Green. Love turns to hate awfully quickly sometimes.

Clemson is going to get there eventually, but it hasn't made our list just yet. The Crimson Tide have been dominating for longer, and they’ve also got Nick Saban at "quarterback." The players change in college so much that it’s hard to really hate a team based on its players. Saban is a blustery sort, though, and if you root for an SEC team, or are anti-SEC in general, Bama is the enemy.

The Red Sox used to be lovable losers. They hadn’t won a World Series in forever. Of course, now they’ve won a few World Series, and they are looking like favorites for the next title as well. Winning breeds contempt, especially considering how much success Boston sports have had as a whole.

The Lakers hate is one part a history of success and being one of the league’s best teams. Another aspect is the fact that they are from a major city, making it hard to view them as underdogs...ever. Lakers fans loved Kobe Bryant, but he was a more polarizing figure everywhere outside of L.A. Plus, now they have LeBron, another somewhat divisive player.

If you call yourself “America’s Team,” people are going to want to root against you. Then, there’s the Jerry Jones factor. Jones is one of the louder, more opinionated owners out there, and he generates a lot of ill will. There aren’t a lot of unlikable players on the team at the moment, but the star on the side of the helmet generates contempt.

You either root for Duke, or you hate Duke. Those seem to be the only two options. There’s something about Coach K that people seem to despise, and then there is the litany of players who have gotten under everybody’s skin, including Christian Laettner, JJ Redick, Greg Paulus and, of course, Grayson Allen. Your blood is probably boiling already.

Hockey isn’t a huge sport in this country, but there are still teams that generate hate among puckheads. Back in the day, teams like the Broadstreet Bully Flyers or the trapping Devils were reviled. Now, the best we can do is Pittsburgh. The Penguins have won a ton of games, and they have an all-timer in Sidney Crosby, a player some people seem to really hate.

The Dodgers are a Los Angeles team, which is one knock against them. Then, there’s the money. They’ve been dishing out cash like it’s been going out of style, although recently they’ve curtailed it to avoid paying tax. Oh, and they traded Yasiel Puig, perhaps the most likable player on the team.

Don’t forget about European soccer. Real Madrid may not have the much-loathed Cristiano Ronaldo any longer, but they are still one of the most hated teams in Europe. The winning is part of it, but they also spend a ton of cash, throwing money at any problem that springs up. Also, Ronaldo may be gone, but Sergio Ramos, one of the most contemptible players in all of sports, is still around.

Notre Dame has had a holier-than-thou attitude for decades, which some may say is fitting for a Catholic school. And yet, the Irish tend to have a lot of players, and coaches, whom people don’t like. Brian Kelly isn’t exactly fun, and there are still some lingering "Charlie Weird" reverberations. Sorry, Touchdown Jesus. The Fighting Irish are lame.

If you are Canadian, you either root for the Maple Leafs or you hate them. They take up all the oxygen the country has to offer. Their fans are loud and obnoxious — sort of the Philly fans of Canada. The ownership group also isn’t great, and they have routinely provided the least bang for buck of any sports franchise. Whenever people ask the question, “Would Canadian hockey fans root for the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup so that their country could win their first Cup since 1993?” the answer from Canadians is emphatically, “no.”

The Virginia Cavaliers are really good, but they are also really boring. They win a ton of games by taking the air out of the ball and playing defense. Nobody likes that style of basketball...at least no sane person. And yet Virginia’s success means the team isn't going anywhere. At least UMBC took it down last year, which was truly a sweet moment.

For years, Man City were underdogs. Manchester United were the kings of English football, and their crosstown rivals were forgotten. Then a bunch of super rich sheikhs from the United Arab Emirates bought the team. They were flooded with cash, and they’ve basically bought their way to the top of the Premier League. The hate isn’t that heavy yet, but it’s getting there.

With Urban Meyer no longer the head coach, the hate for the Buckeyes will possibly start to die soon. However, there will be lingering negative feelings, and the Buckeyes do have a lot of recent success going against them. Plus, there's the fact they insist on saying “THE Ohio State University.”

Unlike some of these teams, the Rockets haven’t won much recently other than regular-season games. What people have a problem with is the way they play. There are those who say the Rockets play boring basketball. In particularly, people seem to dislike James Harden’s style. Apparently free throws aren’t fun, but you can’t argue with the Beard’s success.

Their fans literally call themselves “the best fans in baseball.” Isn’t that enough? There’s a self-aggrandizing, cocky element to Cardinals fans. Everybody seems to feel Yadier Molina is the best catcher ever and a future Hall of Famer. It gets old fast.

You want to talk about buying titles? Once the country of Qatar bought PSG, France’s Ligue 1 basically became an afterthought. The league is theirs. All that matters is whether or not they win the Champions League. Obviously, if you root for any other French team you hate PSG, but we can all give them some side-eye for employing diving master Neymar.

Once again, domination breeds contempt. The UConn Huskies have dominated women’s basketball for years. It’s not hard to get bored with it. You dream of seeing the Huskies get upset. The fact that Geno Auriemma is not exactly a likable guy also certainly is a point against them.