Least liked champions in sports history

[mccoyrj]

I think all the Cowboys Champions of the 90s were despised, but I think that's more to do with the fact that so many people just hated the Cowboys.

AND Jimmy Johnson.....

...and Jerry Jones.

 

[brainfry]

IMO, that honor has to go the Super Bowl XXXV winner, the Baltimore Ravens.

I agree. And if you haven't noticed, they have never gained a national following to any degree. I think everybody outside of Baltimore hates them. I know I do.

 

[Peter Parker]

i don't think that most people care about the Ravens. FaFans of other AFC north teams (especially Clevelanders) may hate them but otherwise they don't seem to get noticed.

 

[HD MM]

I agree. And if you haven't noticed, they have never gained a national following to any degree. I think everybody outside of Baltimore hates them. I know I do.

I think I hate them as much if not more than the Steelers. It is very close, but the RatBirds are high on the Cleveland Hate list....

 

[salsadancer7]

...and Jerry Jones.

Yeah....HOW could I forget? LOL!

 

[SabresRule]

Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys were not quite as disliked as Switzer's Cowboys- not quite as big-time and cocky, exposed, or as stacked.

(Deion didn't play on Jimmy's two championshiop teams)

 

[anders5189]

Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys were not quite as disliked as Switzer's Cowboys- not quite as big-time and cocky, exposed, or as stacked.

(Deion didn't play on Jimmy's two championshiop teams)

It took a POS like Barry Switzer to make that statement true. JJ's teams had plenty of detractors.

 

[lancemccaffrey]

Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys were not quite as disliked as Switzer's Cowboys- not quite as big-time and cocky, exposed, or as stacked.

(Deion didn't play on Jimmy's two championshiop teams)

Switzer's Cowboys were certainly more brash and arrogant than Jimmy's Cowboys. When Jimmy left, I think that's when the Cowboys started seeing a lot of the off the field problems (sex, drugs, etc.) re-emerge.

In that vein, the Dallas Cowboys are truly America's Team.

 

[John W]

First off the Marlins DID buy that WS. They were barely a 70 win team before '97 and then they go on a Yankee-esque spending spree and win it all, only to turn and have a firesale before the start of the next season. Second the fans down there do suck. Your argument about all the northern transplants and how Miami is a football town just proves that MLB should never had put a team down there in the first place. Either support the local team or don't, but don't be a fair weather fan and just show up for the WS. If MLB ever considers contracting teams again the Marlins should be at the top of the list.

Do the Yankees buy their World Series championships? If not then how do you explain that A-Rod makes more than the entire Marlins franchise.

My arguement is that basically any WS is won by buying it.

 

[anders5189]

Of course the Yankees, and the Red Sox too, buy WS. But they don't turn around and release everybody 5 minutes after the commissioner hands them the trophy. Say what you will about A-Rod, but the Yankees do get their money's worth out of him. It's not like what the Marlins did with their signing of guys like Kevin Brown and Bobby Bonilla among others.

 

[salsadancer7]

Do the Yankees buy their World Series championships? If not then how do you explain that A-Rod makes more than the entire Marlins franchise.

My arguement is that basically any WS is won by buying it.

I understand what you are saying John....but the Marlins did NOT go out and start spending left and right because the payroll that year was UNDER $55 million AND like I said, MOST of that roster was not free agents but trades and home grown talent.

 

[salsadancer7]

Of course the Yankees, and the Red Sox too, buy WS. But they don't turn around and release everybody 5 minutes after the commissioner hands them the trophy. Say what you will about A-Rod, but the Yankees do get their money's worth out of him. It's not like what the Marlins did with their signing of guys like Kevin Brown and Bobby Bonilla among others.

And so you blame the fans because Wayne Huizenga got the team and had a garage sale? Let me ask you something, since you are talking about getting your money's worth....ever since A-Rod came to the Yankees.....how many World Series have the Yankees won? HHmmmmm.....? Yeah, I thought so.....

 

[Peter Parker]

to be fair i don't think that any Cowboys team qualifies for "least like". most hated quite possibly but not least liked. They have tons of fans. They just also have a lot of detractors.

 

[anders5189]

And so you blame the fans because Wayne Huizenga got the team and had a garage sale? Let me ask you something, since you are talking about getting your money's worth....ever since A-Rod came to the Yankees.....how many World Series have the Yankees won? HHmmmmm.....? Yeah, I thought so.....

Actually you can blame the fans. Huizenga unloaded the players because he was losing money. Why? Because Marlins crowds are usually just a couple of guys in their 80's playing pinochle. The Yankees might spend a fortune on their team but they can afford it. So can the Red Sox. You don't see other small market clubs trying to outspend the Yankees. Huizenga gambled that if he spent big on the team the fans would come around. They didn't.


As for A-Rod it's not his fault that the Yankees haven't won a WS since he joined them. Piss poor pitching has been a bigger culprit. A-Rod has put up sick #'s for the Yankees which leads to lots of wins so he is holding up his end of the bargain.

 

[vurbano]

Lots of Jealous losers out there really hated the cowboys. Don't you know that every players dream in the NFL is to be a Cowboy?

Cowboys rule....

 

[satjay]

The Qubec Nordiques....Oops I meant the Avalanche when they won therir first title. (Not in history, but in my book)

 

[BillD1984]

I think I hate them as much if not more than the Steelers. It is very close, but the RatBirds are high on the Cleveland Hate list....

HD MM,
This quite frankly surprises me. Don't get me wrong, I realize your rivalry with the Steelers is on a par in these parts to Red Sox- Yankees, but I'm surprised there isn't a modicum of respect for the Steelers (sort of a love-hate thing)

As far as the Ravens go, no one could ever blame Cleveland fans for despising them. What Modell did to your city is unforgivable.

 

[brainfry]

HD MM,
This quite frankly surprises me. Don't get me wrong, I realize your rivalry with the Steelers is on a par in these parts to Red Sox- Yankees, but I'm surprised there isn't a modicum of respect for the Steelers (sort of a love-hate thing)

As far as the Ravens go, no one could ever blame Cleveland fans for despising them. What Modell did to your city is unforgivable.

I don't mean to speak for HD MM here, but the way I see it, respect doesn't mean a lot in our division. The way things are right now, all four teams have good reason to pretty much hate the other three.... and that's just the way we like it!

Steelers-Bengals
This one has taken a life of its own. Most Steelers fans didn't care about the Bengals until a couple years ago, but that's changed... something about us being trash talkers (?). The Palmer injury in the playoffs has heightened this one.

Browns-Bengals
Same state--that says enough. Bengals lead all-time series 35-34. For all intents and purposes, we knocked them out of the post-season last year. And we always seem to be good and bad at about the same time. Some fun shootouts recently, too.

Ravens-Bengals
All Bengals fans hate Ray-Ray, and they beat our sorry butts into the ground in the early 2000's. But we've beaten them the last 5 times--they're our bitch right now.

Steelers-Browns
The best and oldest rivalry of the bunch, and one of the best in the NFL. Geographically and culturally the closest, too. A game I can't wait to watch.

Steelers-Ravens
Brutal matchups that lean toward defense. This matchup typically has the closest results, or it least is seems that way.

Browns-Ravens
Needs no explanation.

(HD MM, how did I do?)

 

[salsadancer7]

Actually you can blame the fans. Huizenga unloaded the players because he was losing money. Why? Because Marlins crowds are usually just a couple of guys in their 80's playing pinochle. The Yankees might spend a fortune on their team but they can afford it. So can the Red Sox. You don't see other small market clubs trying to outspend the Yankees. Huizenga gambled that if he spent big on the team the fans would come around. They didn't.


As for A-Rod it's not his fault that the Yankees haven't won a WS since he joined them. Piss poor pitching has been a bigger culprit. A-Rod has put up sick #'s for the Yankees which leads to lots of wins so he is holding up his end of the bargain.

30,000 is a couple of guys.....??!! Really? The Marlin's didn't try to out spend....you gotta get off the crack dude....the payroll for the '97 team was barely $55 million...where in the world are you getting "trying to out spend the Yankees" bull****??!! You they were around the upper $90 million and over the $100 million, I might give you the benefit of the doubt.....but $54??!! Like I said, you MUST have something against either Miami or the Marlins because you have made very little sense with your argument. Huizenga spent "big" because he wanted to win and get a baseball ONLY stadium to make twice as much money since he owned BOTH teams that played in Dolphins stadium...h got greedy and he had to sell one.....either the one WITH a stadium or the one without.....guess who he chose.....???

As for A-Rod, it is ironically the same thing....You can't blame A-Rod....BUT you can blame the Marlins fans??!! Again, laughable argument on your part.

 

[HD MM]

HD MM,
This quite frankly surprises me. Don't get me wrong, I realize your rivalry with the Steelers is on a par in these parts to Red Sox- Yankees, but I'm surprised there isn't a modicum of respect for the Steelers (sort of a love-hate thing)

As far as the Ravens go, no one could ever blame Cleveland fans for despising them. What Modell did to your city is unforgivable.

You're right Bill. I take back the "hate" comment. Hate is a very strong word and I don't use it too often. Musta slipped when I got all worked up when talking about the Ravens.

Anyways, I do respect the Steelers as a franchise. After all, they were 1 of the 2 franchises who actually voted against "The Move". (The other being Buffalo).

In recent years however, it has been especially tough to stomach these rivalry games. The Steelers have pretty much dominated for quite a while. (Browns last beat Pitt in 2000). It's almost like getting picked on by the neighborhood bully without having the muscles to fight back. After a while, one grows tired/angry of the outcome.

Here in NE Ohio, I saw life-long Browns fans become Steelers fans, still upset about the move and turned off by the years of mediocrity. Those black & gold jerseys infiltrated Browns home games and the worst part was that the majority of them were locals. It was very painful to see, especially when the Browns were so lousy. It was almost as if the Browns fans who decided to stay loyal to their team were being punished. Losing was not fun, and the cordialness between the two fan bases/teams grew even more heated.

Since last year though, I think the Browns have bulked up those muscles and are making a fair fight out of it once again. When the two teams are more evenly matched, I think respectability is more likely. When you're getting picked on and beat up when you're down and out, it's tough to hold up the "love" part of this "love/hate" relationship, if you understand what I mean.....