The Importance of Hatred in Sports

By: Garret Kryzanowski

I have been sitting on the thought that "hatred" is a key part of fandom in sports for the past few days. And honestly, I truly believe that "hatred" is important.

Before anyone says anything about hate is never good, I don't mean full on hating people. I mean hating sports teams. The organizations as a whole not the players. Also, if it is the players, it is okay as long is it just because of the sport. Now that I have clarified that, let's move on.

What brought this thought on was the Michigan vs Ohio State football game from this past weekend. For those of you who don't know, I am a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan and my hatred for Ohio State knows no boundaries. Leading up to "The Game" this past weekend, all that was on my mind was how much I needed Michigan to win. I mean, I dreamt about the matchup, got lost in thought just thinking about how we could win and hyped up Michigan to anyone who would listen. It consumed me, and why? Hatred.

My hate for Ohio State is so strong that a loss would derail my mood for a month. Everyone in my life knew this and treaded lightly. My family even left the house for the day, so I could watch the game alone because I get so animated and into the game. But that's not why I wanted to write this blog. I wanted to write this blog because of what happened.

As I was watching the game go back and forth I thought to myself, "the passion hatred brings out is unmatched". I mean, I was all in. I stood for the entire game, pacing back and forth, screaming in elation when Michigan scored and whispering (yelling) in frustration whenever Ohio State scored. My friends and family blew up my phone trying to give me positive reassurance or talk about the game and I ignored them. I couldn't lose my focus and let my team down. I was all in until the final whistle. Then finally let out a cheer and sigh of relief when Michigan won the game with a Rod Moore interception. The pure joy I felt was unmatched by almost every sport's moment in my life, tears literally filled my eyes. The insane part is this was the third straight year Michigan had beaten Ohio State, and my feelings were still as euphoric as in 2021, if not more intense. Yes, I know that is kind of crazy on my part and I own that my fandom borders on the crazy, however, that is who I am.

The hatred I feel for Ohio State fuels me though and I can't help it. Also, if we're being honest Ohio State had dominated Michigan for so long I honestly didn't think a win would ever come. So that got me wondering if my hatred and disgust for Ohio State was how other fans felt. So I spoke to two of my buddies who are also die-hard college fans.

The first one is a diehard Oklahoma fan, and he absolutely hates his team's rivals in Oklahoma State and even more so in Texas. So when he and I would talk, he would exclaim how much he hated them, again more so Texas than Oklahoma State. I mean hated them, but the thing was Oklahoma has dominated that rivalry since 2010. So his whole life he has watched his team win a lot and still is hatred was fierce. He would get mad when they lost but he almost seemed more mad when they would win because it wasn't by enough points. He wanted and still wants his Oklahoma Sooners to embarrass the Texas Longhorns. Even though he's seen way more wins than losses he still hates his rivals more and more every day. However, I thought maybe it is just us and social media that act this way.

So I spoke to my other friend who lives and breathes Oregon football. Now, the thing with his rivalry is they have outright dominated there rivals in Oregon State. Oregon had only lost three times since 2008. But as he and I shared our nerves for our team's rivalry games. I told him that Oregon would kill Oregon State and not to worry. His response was that you can't ever not worry when playing a rival because you can't let your guard down. Give an inch, they take a mile. Needless to say Oregon killed Oregon State and as I texted him the all famous "I told you so" text he just responded with pure joy and happiness. He celebrated and that was that.

The point I am trying to make by telling these stories is that no matter if you beat them all the time, have dominated them for your entire life or have just found success like Michigan has against Ohio State, one thing remains. Hatred. It is so powerful and is a great tool to have when you're a fan but it does get crazy. I mean, I didn't wear or use anything red leading up to the game because I couldn't jinx it. Why? Hatred. Ohio State fans put an "X" on every letter M on the campus of Ohio State. Why? Hatred. They hate us, and we hate them, that is the beauty of sports.

Could you imagine watching sports without hatred for other teams? It would be boring. The wins and losses wouldn't mean nearly as much, and rivalries would lose all meaning. I know the casual fans will think I'm overreacting and being outlandish. But I also know that there are people out there who understand that hatred is essential. Whether you're playing, coaching or watching. Hatred matters. True fans understand this and embrace it.

For better or worse, I am one of those fans that embraces the hatred and I love it. Good or bad, I wouldn't change anything about my fandom.

The hatred makes the wins sweeter and the losses harder, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. That is the beauty of sports.