Who Are Your Most Hated Sports Figures?
Written by Brian Kintz, Wednesday August 19 2009
With the announcement yesterday that the third incarnation of Brett "Farv-ruh" is upon us, I found myself re-evaluating my feelings on the sports figures I loathe most. I quickly found that Minnesota's #4 has vaulted to #1 of my list. I mean, come on… go away already! I've never seen a guy who has reached new heights of national hatred faster than this backwoods hick from Mississippi. So then I said to myself, "you need to document your Top 10 Most Hated Sports Figures and throw it out there for debate!" So here now is my up-to-the-second Top 10 Most Hated Sports Figures… disagree? Did I miss someone? Who are your most hated people in the sports world? Leave a comment and let your hatred shine!
1 - Brett Favre
Here I am, thinking that ESPN stood for "Entertainment Sports Programming Network," not "Exhaustingly Supporting Past-their-prime NFL'ers." ESPN has turned into the 24/7 All Things Favre Network, and I for one, don't particularly like it. Nevermind the fact that Favre's awful Week 17 performance last year for the Jets cost New England a trip to the playoffs. Nevermind the fact that Favre's disgusting last game as a Packer sent the Giants to the Super Bowl in the '08 playoffs, where the G-men shocked the world over the then-undefeated Pats. Favre is the herpes of the NFL… just when you think he's gone away, he flares right back up!
2 - Kobe Bryant
Kobe has sat at the top of my Most Hated Sports Figures list for a real long time, since right around his Colorado rape incident. He is just the ultimate NBA d-bag… ask his own teammates and they'll agree! There is nothing I like about this guy, or could like about this guy. Maybe once NBA season starts up again, Kobe will regain his throne as the King of All That Is Wrong With the World, but for now, he'll have to enjoy the runner-up spot.
3 - Peyton Manning
Is he talented? Yes. I can't take that away from him. But I do all I can each week to avoid having to watch Colts games. What I can't stand about Manning is that even when I watch other NFL games… or other sports games… or reality shows… or sitcoms… or dramas… I can't escape seeing Peyton Manning's ugly mug during every commercial break. I mean really… he is not a handsome man. The shape of his head reminds me of Rocky Dennis from "Mask." Having an undeserving, high paid brother and a father who is reliving his underachieving past through his two pieces of crap sons doesn't help Peyton's cause in my eyes either.
4 - Tony Romo
What have you achieved Tony, seriously? Win a playoff game before you go dating any more celebrity blondes. What do girls see in this guy? Is it the fact that they know he'll be around in January, seeing that the Cowboys' season will surely be over by then? Maybe Romo's on this list because I'm jealous of the guy… Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood would make for a great weekend… but still, Romo makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit, every time I see him.
5 - Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod has been higher on this list in the past, but I think the dust is starting to settle on his shenanigans, so maybe I'm a bit more sympathetic towards him now. Doesn't mean I still don't find him a poor excuse of a man though. A-Rod's probably the easiest one on this list to hate for Boston sports fans, just based solely on the uniform he wears. So having Alex on this list was a no-brainer, even though I'm sure many of you will have him ranked higher than I do.
6 - Scott Boras
Like Peyton, even though I hate his guts, I have to respect Scott Boras' talent. Sure, he's bad for the game of baseball. Sure, he makes teams shy away from his clients because GM's don't want to deal with him. And sure, his face makes my stomach turn at the sight of it. But Boras nabs the highest profile baseball stars because he gets them the deals they are looking for. He may not do it ethically or morally, but he does bring the bling.
7 - Barry Bonds
I think Bonds is on my list mostly due to what he's done to the record books of Major League Baseball. In my mind, two well-respected home run hitters are still at the top of the home run records… Hank Aaron with his 755 career home runs, and Roger Maris with his 61 homers in '61. Some of the guys on my list are bad for one reason… Bonds is a bad person from head to toe. If I were his godfather Willie Mays, I would spit on Barry until I was dehydrated and ran out of saliva.
8 - Sean Avery
No "Most Hated Athletes" list would be complete without at least one dirty hockey player, and so my list features the dirtiest NHL'er this decade, Sean Avery. Forgetting the off-the-field, "sloppy seconds" stuff with actress Elisha Cuthbert, Avery has always been the ultimate agitator on the ice, making it easy for opposing teams to want to gauge his eyes out. Most hockey players who bring the physical style of play that Avery exhibits can do so with a certain level of class and respect, a la Shawn Thornton or Milan Lucic. But Avery will cheap shot you an elbow to the blind side, then yap in your ear about it for the next half dozen shifts until you reach your boiling point. Hating Sean Avery is probably one of the easiest things a hockey fan can do.
9 - Reggie Miller
I couldn't be happier about how ugly Reggie Miller is. I mean, having to go through life looking the way he looks… there's just no greater justice in the world. Miller was the ultimate flopper in his career. He had the three-point range of Larry Bird, but with the toughness of his sister, Cheryl. Miller was probably my most hated athlete of the 90's. Now that he's been downgraded from "annoying player" to "annoying broadcaster," his ranking has slipped a bit. But he's still as ugly as ever, which is what I love about the man.
10 - O.J. Simpson
My list finishes up with the running back, actor, murderer, thief, and jailbird everyone loves to hate and hates to love. He was a polarizing figure of the mid-90's after the brutal murder of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson. I think we'll all remember where we were that Friday evening back in 1994, watching every turn on the edge of our seats while Simpson's white Ford Bronco went speeding down that California freeway. But since then, you really have to hate everything about how O.J. has lived his life since. Now, ironically, he's doing time not for the murder he clearly committed, but for stealing some silly sports memorabilia that he felt was his. What a goofball.
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