For centuries the unanswered question, “what came first, the chicken or the egg,” has been debated. Although it has nothing to do with sports, a similar thought crossed my mind while attending a high school football game with no visiting fans in the stands. Fan rooting interest has long provided the spark that makes athletics special. No fans, no rooting. It just isn’t the same.

On a broader note, did you ever consider how the American sporting public roots? I have no hard facts to back my opinion, but it seems to me that in most given sporting events, more fans are rooting against a particular team or individual than are rooting for them.

Americans are a public that loves winning, but many of the country’s winningest teams are the teams many people root against. Yes, I am aware of “David vs. Goliath,” but if you are going to lay down a few bucks on the outcome, most folks would pick Goliath.

Next week the nation will weigh in on a most important contest: the 2020 presidential election. Both candidates have been flooding our airwaves, telling us how great they are and why we should vote for them. But I’d be willing to wager that many of those casting a ballot will do so by registering their vote against a particular person as opposed to voting for someone. In presidential elections, it is rare when the winner receives a large mandate to govern. In the last fifty years, Richard Nixon’s 23.15% win over George McGovern has been the largest we’ve experienced.

I recently came across a poll taken a few months ago regarding fans’ rooting interests. It concluded that while fans watch sports to root for the teams and players they like, there are plenty of fans who leave room for a little hate. It’s not true hate, but sports hate. Fans root for certain teams to lose, and when they do, it’s as good as when your favorite team wins. Thought you might be interested in who those “most hated” sports teams are.

#1 Houston Astros – The team’s sign-stealing scandal of 2017 and discovered in 2019 vaulted the Astros to the top of the list. Now, basically, everybody outside Houston hates the Astros.

#2 New York Yankees – It took the Astros cheating to save the Yankees from the top spot on the list. They are called the “Evil Empire” for a reason, and Yankee animosity remains strong. The prevailing wisdom of a bygone era is that the Yankees bought championships. They outspent everybody, which was considered a sin by many baseball fans. When your favorite player from your team suddenly is wearing pinstripes with a big new contract? Time to boo the Yankees!

#3 Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox are despised for both having a ton of money and not wanting to spend it. They traded their best player, Mookie Betts, to the Dodgers basically to save money. That’s annoying to many sports fans. Oh, and they have been linked to a cheating scandal of their own.

#4 New England Patriots – Some people blame it on the Patriots cheating. However, the primary reason is they keep on winning. They have more rings than they can fit on one hand. When they were winning, it meant your team wasn’t. Dynasties always drive hate.

#5 Dallas Cowboys- The Cowboys used to be a dynasty, which started the discontent. What really keeps them hated is the continued playing up of that dynasty, even though it has been two decades ago. Jerry Jones keeps pumping the franchise as “America’s Team.” Most Americans didn’t sign off on that.

#6 Washington NFL Team – Washington has an aggravating owner in Daniel Snyder, and there is much controversy over the team name.

#7 Los Angeles Lakers – Either you are born a Lakers fan, or you hate them. Even when the Lakers weren’t that good, it felt wrong to start rooting for L.A. The Lakers have a history of success, but unlike the Celtics, they seem brash about it. A lot of people are also down on LeBron James.

#8 Houston Rockets – No team is more polarizing than the Rockets. Some basketball fans loathe their style of play. James Harden scores 35 points a game, but many fans hate him, claiming all he does is get fouled and go to the line. The Rockets don’t care. They just do their thing. That just makes them more loathed.

#9 New York Knicks – Unlike other teams on this list, the Knicks probably get most of their hate from their own fans. They are a storied franchise, but they’ve been bad for years, so much so that even Knicks haters are starting to get tired of it. Basically, every NBA fan despises their owner, James Dolan. The Knicks will be on this list as long as Dolan is the owner.

#10 Pittsburgh Penguins – There is not a lot of hate in hockey, but there is some for the Penguins. This is bred from their success. That’s part of the hate. Sidney Crosby, probably the best player of his era, gets dropped in Pittsburgh’s lap is a draft lottery, and that rubs some people the wrong way.

That’s your top ten hated teams, but a few others are not that far behind. Included on that list are three college football teams, Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame; two men’s basketball teams, Duke and Kentucky; followed by the University of Connecticut women’s hoop squad.

Save a couple (Washington and the Knicks), all the teams most hated have been successful. That’s the irony of American fans, we all want to be winners, but when we aren’t; we root like crazy for those that are to lose.

As for me, I’m still working on that “chicken or the egg” thing.