On sports "hating" and the NBA Finals

In today's knee-jerk instant-judgment internet world, it's very easy to apply labels that ultimately stick because most people aren't going to take the time to really get to know someone and their interests.  So, if I root for the team playing against, say, the Lakers, I'm automatically a hater.  If I criticize someone's viewpoint or someone's performance, then I'm a hater.

In this ESPN article, the writer makes the point that because of the Lakers continued success over the last decade (making the finals 7 times since the year 2000!) they've become the most hated franchise in the NBA by anyone except for the Southern Cal region, LA expats, and bandwagon fans.  Even traditional hate-doms like Philly fans are pulling for the rival Celtics because they loathe LA.  Hate in sports, it seems, is primarily a function of "jealousy and the fatigue of losing."

As a diehard NBA fan, it makes watching this Finals series a bit tricky.  Frankly, I don't like either of these franchises, because on my human sports fan level, I am jealous of them and fatigued by all the losing on the Warriors' part (the Spurs are still decent but no longer contenders).  On top of that, the injustice of the Gasol trade, embarrassment of riches that each team's roster contains, and the general thuggish Celtics attitude rub me the wrong way constantly.

On the other hand, I can't say I'm rooting against either squad either.  I'm a big fan of Gasol's and Allen's games and professional, team-first demeanor.  As a basketball junkie, I love watching the triangle offense run to perfection, the double-high-pick and roll that the Celtics have been running, Allen's jumper, Gasol's spin moves and hooks with either hand, KG's help defense, Rondo's quickness to loose balls, Kobe's footwork.

So, I guess I'm just rooting for a series that goes 7 and leaves me with a load of snapshots of memorable basketball, like Allen's 7 3s in game 2, Fisher taking over the 4th quarter of game 3, etc.

In general, on hating, the last NBA team I truly hated were the Shaq-Kobe Lakers.  So much arrogance and thuggishness (Shaq and Fox) on one squad.  There have been plenty of other players I dislike for being general knuckleheads.