i've seen this mostly in boston, but i had the unfortunate chance of seeing some of it at the yankee game i was at recently. and islander and ranger fans are very guilty of it.

what the fuck is up with fans cheering against other teams more than their own? why is there a need to sell as much anti-yankee memorabilia outside of fenway park as red sox memorabilia? why must fans chant 'red sox suck' at a yankee game or 'rangers suck' at an islander game?

it brews into an intense hatred. i'll never forget when the yankees blew the 3-0 lead against the sox, what it was like for a yankee fan like me to walk around. just completely rude and obnoxious fans in my face, screaming how much i suck.

it's like, hey pal, you're a red sox fan...not an anti-yankee fan.

hate to single out the sox here, but i've had most experience with this. i don't see a problem with not liking the team you're team is a rival with, but i see going out of the way just way too much.

I think most people feel that being a Sox fan means being anti-Yankee, and being a Yankee fan means being ant-Red Sox.

Especially since they are competing in the same division, what do you expect?

I know what youre saying dude, but if there were no bitter rivalries then sport and being a fan wouldnt be as fun.
Its like the T-Shirts that sell down here in NZ, that say "I support NZ and anyone playing Australia". Its lighthearted, but we mean it!
I dont think anyone over here supported Aussie in the football world cup, its just something we do. If you think the Sox/Yankees thing is bad, go see the football riots in Europe between rival teams.

I'm all for hating teams, just so long as you love your team more than you hate the other.

Myself, I hate the Redskins more than any team ever. I will always hate them. Ain't nothin' wrong with that.

As far as I'm concerned, I can be an anti-Redskins fan and a Cowboys fan at the same time. I draw the line at cheering on injuries though, which some don't.

the problem i have is with fans that root against teams just as much, or more, than they root for their team. there's something wrong with that.

Although not the case with Boys Skins... a lot of times an inferiority complex is involved

do i want the yankees to beat the sox? yes. i don't want the red sox to win because it threatens the yanks playoff chances.

but i'm rooting for the yankees, not really against the red sox. it's up to your team to win, not up to the other teams to lose. why root in a negative way?

do i root against a guy like david ortiz, who seems genuinely nice? no. i'd rather root against sheffield, who is an asshole.

maybe i'm just one of a few different fans.

I'm a Yankees fan transplanted out to CA and I see it all the time with Angels fans. I actually root for the Angels when they're not playing the Yanks but, when they are playing the Yanks (or the Bosox for that matter), the Angels "fans" are paying way more attention to trying to ridicule the opponent's fans than they are to the actual game on the field...not all the fans, or course, but a good portion of them. It seems like they couldn't care less about what's happening on the field....half of them are looking to pick a fight while they're at the ball park. I hate those people.

One thing you mentioned there, is rooting for an individual... Ill be honest, I have trouble rooting for certain individuals who are members of one of the teams I support... I know a lot of die hards dont care if they have to root for bad guys, I do however...

i just don't see a feasible reason i should root against a guy like david ortiz. manny ramirez, curt schilling i can see.

Man, the team's colors just turn them into bad guys for me. I don't really have anything against Brunell, but when he puts on that Redskins jersey, the guy is the world's biggest douche.

I understand what you're saying but someone has to lose. I don't have anything against Ortiz or most of the other sox but I don't want them to win either.

If you were watching ortiz up at bat against a team besides the yankees, what would your attitude be towards that situation?

Manny left to pee once... how could anyone root against him

i'd probably be neutral, i guess.

i was talking to a friend who is a longtime cubs fan and he was going on and on about how much he hates the cardinals and braves. just absolutely hates the teams and anyone associated with them.

i was like, hey pal, get that hatred out of your heart. it's baseball.

I've actually been to an Angel-Yankee game, lots of shit talking going on. In all fairness, I don't like either team though.

Stop down in Philly for a football game. We're anti-everyone. You might get hit for wearing a Seattle Mariners hat.

You should see the Barmy Army in action. When their team is just utter shite, they'll spend hour after hour paying out their own team. They'll even pay and travel halfway around the world to do it.

I'm guessing this has something to do with copious amounts of beer.

I think its funny when one set of fans absolutely hates a rival, and that rivla doesnt give two shits about them in return.

i.e. the way Padres fans HATE the Dodgers, and the Dodgers fans barely know Padres fans or their team exists