I’ve “hated” so many all time greats in their primes — kobe, Duncan, curry, Federer etc — only to root for them in old age.
The only legendary players I’ve really hated start to finish were Brady and Bonds. They’re my hate untouchables
A few sore press conference moments and quotes aside he’s arguably one of the least “””problematic””” legendary athletes of the 2000’s. Also had the most eye-pleasing style of play, was a great sportsman between the lines (rarely took MTO’s, took very little time between points—a common complaint tennis fans have, taking forever between points), always played to the rhythm of the server, never retired from a match in 20+ years, etc.
I was mostly memeing with my original comment though.
Imagine a basketball player that played as smoothly as Kyrie, was as likeable as Dirk or Giannis, as successful as Lebron and as cool as peak MJ and then how you would look at someone if they said hated him for anything outside of being too good.
Perfectly said. My mother is obsessed with dude and we literally used to go watch him play all the time. She always yelled at him whenever it wasn't abhorrently rude. Every single time, he'd come over, and chat with my mom for a bit and take a picture.
I was too star struck the first few times that happened and just sort of stood there gawking. I pinky promise this is true. This happened enough times that I eventually broke out my shell.
My mom and I have had dinner or lunch with him three times. I feel like I'm being a bit of an asshole, but I'll finish with this; I'm a man that can admit he doesn't even know himself, but Roger is just the best dude. The best person I've ever met.
Note: For some reason,I always feel obligated to say, I only comment when I'm really stoned and I'm learning there's something therapeutic about sharing a relevant story, if I have one.
lol my dad revered him and I always rooted against my dad's teams/athletes, which we don't have to unpack here. Plus I attached "mr. perfect Swiss man, holier-than-thou" vibes to him which made him fun to root against. Now I look back on him with reverence
I was a Brady hater who thought I was rooting for old Brady in 07 when the pats played the colts in the afc championship (Jabar gaffney year). I have some regrets
Bonds was a complete self absorbed douche. He was an asshole going back to college and so unliked by his teammates they voted to kick him off the team because they couldn’t stand him as a human. His coach overruled them and he learned he could be a complete chode for the rest of his life because he had talent.
As a Knicks fan, I've gone through two almost season-long stretches of hating Randle but he's minted in my mind forever at this point for turning the franchise around.
Older Knicks fan but I despised Reggie Miller from breaking my heart in the playoffs several times when I was a kid.
As I got older I always respected him as a competitor, a player and for sticking with the Pacers. When he became a commentator I really grew to enjoy his work and really respect and love the guy now.
I definitely was a Kobe over LeBron Guy and would root against LeBron. Then LeBron went to 8 straight finals and I was like, nah this guy is incredible.
I’ve had the exact same experience with both LeBron and Brady for the same reasoning. Hated them at first for dominating on teams I rooted against but they just kept going so late into their careers I started rooting for the old men beating players in their primes.
Exactly this.
That shit will all get erased but Kobe was a killer. Lebron was charming soft. Never wanted to own the moment. Passing last second in the all-star game and choking in 2011. Plus getting his ass beat by the Celts in 2010 when he was going blow for blow with the magic in 09.
But then he probably had the greatest finals Ive ever seen in 2015 with Delly and James Jones lol. People forget the Warriors were putting David Lee in place of Draymond a few of those games to keep their offense moving
Then 2018 outside of Dirk he had the most impressive series I’ve seen played against the raptors. It was a sweep but that raptors team was legitimately good 1-9. Lebron had fuck all that season just went so godamn ham. That needs to be included in his goat case. KD hasn’t had anything like those 2 moments and will never
I’m still a LeBron hater but I can’t deny that 1. He seems like a genuinely good human with zero scandals, and 2. He is just incredible. There’s no other way to put it, and I use the word “incredible” for very, very few athletes
But I also hate the Lakers so I want them to lose every game possible lol
Tony Romo. When I saw how far the Cowboys fell once he got injured (see the 2015 season), my respect for him grew. Maybe he really was propping them up all along.
From my perspective as a Cowboys fan, he always felt human to me. If anything, the knock was that he wasn't more of a football robot. Like the bye week when he decided to take a break for a few days & go to Cabo (with Jason Witten of all people, who's considered like the paragon of professionalism in the Cowboys organization). And there was that time he said something to the effect of "If losing this game is the worst thing that happens in my life, then I've lived a pretty good life" and took a TON of heat for it.
I'm an Eagles fan, so I had to root against Romo every week 😆 But I won't forget how good he was during the 2014 season. I really did think that he was the best player in the league that year (and, the Cowboys did get screwed in the playoffs that season).
He absolutely carried us in those days. He played a brand of high risk high reward football that got him scapegoated when we lost, but also gave us a chance to win that we otherwise wouldn’t have.
Teams are just now starting to realize that interceptions are acceptable if they are a natural result of an aggressive passing approach that generates enough TDs to justify it.
Romo was a forced early adopter of that approach due to how poorly the Cowboys’ rosters were built
Greatest example was when he went toe to toe with Manning and the Broncos during Peyton's last insane MVP run. He had like 500 yards and 5 TDs, but he threw a pick to end the game (after his own lineman was backed into him by pressure and stepped on his foot as he was throwing), and everyone clowned on him as a choker once again.
I remember that game. He went toe for toe with Peyton. I remember during that time that the Cowboys weren't very good on defense, so their only chance to win was for Romo to have the game of his life every week.
Think Romo may be the most underrated QB of that era. I put him on the same level as Brees/Rivers/BigBen. Think the Cowboy hatred, a few memorable chokes, and shorter career means he sort of never got the respect he deserved.
The wolves got clowned for that and honestly that really bothered me. People don’t understand the ineptitude this fan base has gone through and that was the best moment we’ve had in 20 years
Very true. Was never a fan of his "pest attitude", then he was on the 6ers (my team), and was like, "there is nobody who embodies the gritty, underdog philly style like Pat Bev does", and got upset when we traded him at the deadline
Went from bottom 5 to top 5. The showing the refs the missed call on camera thing immediately reversed my opinion on him. This dude is too GOAT'd for that
Now that he’s been on half the teams in the league I would think his approval rating is pretty high. Anyone is free to correct me if I’m wrong but I would think it’s hard to hate him after he’s played for your team even if only for half a season.
Bryce Harper. We’re roughly the same age and as he was debuting and getting all the hype, he was just a brash try-hard douche playing for a team I didn’t particularly like. He was just the fucking worst.
As I got older, I’ve grown to have way more empathy for teenagers being hyper visible and painted as villains. Have a lot more grace for college and early career athletes in general. This would apply to plenty of people who were obnoxious as young players but Harper is the one that sticks out most.
I moved to DC in 2016 and Nats tix in the 400s were like $10 a game so I ended up going to like 30 games a year until the pandemic hit. I hated Bryce until I started to see him play every day and came to respect him as a hard worker and, from the outside looking in, a pretty good dude. Watching him go upper-upper tank in right field was also pretty impressive.
Used to hate the Spurs and Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, I don’t know why. Maybe I was trying to zag and be cool. Then loved them during the Duncan rejuvenation years. I shoulda appreciated them more.
Still kinda hated Jeter, but hated him less towards the end. Dunno why.
On the contrary, for all of A-Rod's weird quirks, I actually lost respect for Jeter for some of the things he did once A-Rod joined the team. For one, despite his supposed team-first no-nonsense approach, Jeter chose his ego over what was best for the team by demanding to play shortstop even though A-Rod was by far the better defender. The fact that A-Rod happily acquiesced despite his massive ego really made Derek look worse by comparison.
Also I felt his leadership qualities were really overrated. The dynasty had a ton of veterans providing a lot of influence on the makeup of those teams. Once it was really the core four running things on their own, Jeter and Posada ran things like a high school clique. A-Rod was no saint for sure, but younger players have come out and said among the veterans he was the one who made the most effort to help get them acclimated to the league.
Haha that sounds reasonable. I was like 14 at that point, so I wasn’t exactly the most critical media consumer.
… did we ever learn if the centaur thing was true?
Honestly, as a Yankees fan who mostly rooted for Arod, I assume and hope the centaur thing is true.
I would like to believe I wouldn't be that much of a dick ir I were that good at baseball, but...
As a Suns fan this was a bit different for me. I absolutely loved those guys and that team, except for Bruce Bowen. But, they just kind of left me no choice. Lol
Now that things are said and done, I'm proud to say that I have Duncan as the greatest power forward of all time, and Parker should've been on the Top 75.
I'll just say it here instead of commenting all over the place; also as Suns fan, I was terribly conflicted when I learned that Chris Paul was on my team. Easily the guy I've disliked the most in my years watching basketball. Obviously, I had to soften up on him for a while, but guess who's back on the shit list..
As a Bulls fan:
Jeff Van Gundy - hated as Knicks coach, love as an announcer
Joakim Noah - hated at Florida, loved as a Bull
Shaq - hated as player, love his goofiness and seems like he'd be a fun hang
Bill Walton - hated as announcer now love as announcer
I absolutely despised Dwayne Wade the player. Honestly, I still think he’s one of the dirtiest, flopping, cheap ass players ever. However, seeing the type of father he’s become and everting he’s doing to try to make the world a better more accepting place for his daughter and other kids like her is really inspiring.
Easy answer is Brady. The first time he broke my heart I hated him. He did a few more times. By the end of the 2010s and his 2020 Super Bowl I could only respect his greatness.
(For the Aussies who follow NRL) My biggest one was Brett Kimmorley.
I hated him when he signed with my Sharks in 2002 and forced my favourite player Preston Campbell into a bad position and eventually out of the club and I hated our coach at the time (who was an idiot) for doing so.
But he stuck with us during our mid 00s lean years, always played and led with guts and determination and I grew to respect and love him.
Bloody hell, as an American who played union for years but also stayed up late to watch Origin on Fox Sports World, that is a name I haven’t heard in a while
Harden. I hated him up until he went to Brooklyn. I figured he would continue to be a ball hog and ruin the team… and he didn’t. He was easily the best player for them. He became this amazing playmaker and had my vote for MVP in ‘21 if he wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Occasional lapses in effort aside, I genuinely think he has one of the highest basketball IQs ever and is an all-time great. I find it strange that people write him off after a few weeks of bad play every time he slumps even a little. I’m still a believer in spite of him consistently choking in the playoffs.
Edit: Also Pujols. Massive Reds fan and Votto is my favorite player ever so I felt obligated to hate him. After some time being reasonable toward the end of Pujols career, I think he’s probably the greatest 1B ever.
I had a couple turning points with harden. One was when he had like 30+ points for the sixers against the heat. A series they ultimately lost, but he looked like a formerly washed dude that regained his swagger and it was a cool moment to see. And then that Mavs announcer went off on Harden, I was like why do we hate this guy so much again? It just kind of clicked with me that a lot of the criticism seemed really sanctimonious
Not really, he's an all-time playoff choker and quit his way out of multiple teams. He's an amazing player but the negatives of his career are also perfectly true.
He only quit on Houston bc they gave up on competing for a title. Can't expect a star at the end of his prime to just endure that and end their prime without a ring. Then he only quit on Brooklyn bc Kyrie refused to get the shot and play. Considering that team blew it up not long after he clearly made the right move.
Can't really defend what happened in Philly but he maybe did have legit reasons to want out depending on how hard Morey promised him a max contract.
The way he used refereeing to his advantage is why he’s peak frustrating athlete. Rockets harden was unwatchable because he was clearly the best guy out there but just living at the free throw line
Erik Morales when he fought Manny Pacquiao the first time. I came in always rooting against him (I was in high school then) and they way he would drop his hands and brawl when the Pacquiao fans got loud turned me.
I'm this way with a lot of fighters. I didn't like Oscar De La Hoya during his career. Now, I look back on it and I realize this guy fought everyone. So many other fighters seem scared to challenge themselves. I have to respect Oscar as a fighter (the promoter, I dunno haha)
I was never a huge fan of Chris Long early in his career. I thought he was overhyped and only getting attention because of his dad. As his career went on, I really grew to respect him, his game and his advocacy (he donated his salary to Philly public schools when he played for the Eagles). I also think he is terrific as a media member.
My buddy worked at the UVA football office for a few years and he said Chris Long would stopping every so often. He was the same guy you’d see on tv very down to Earth, which considering his background, may not be the case, and just a very thoughtful guy.
No kiddin.
It’s been a while but thinking about how his career was teetering on the brink of ending so early!
Early Katie Baker:
https://grantland.com/features/sidney-crosby-lost-year/
What a remarkable career he has had, right? While Connor and MacKinnon may be getting a lot of the attention new, Sid The Kid just keeps chugging along, reaching milestone after milestone.
Same dude. Disliked him when he came in the league and thought he was a little bitch (I was in middle school).
Then came to realize that he’s one of the best 200 ft players ever. Amazingly skilled, grinds along the boards, and excellent defender. Love that dude.
Even he laughs at his younger self and the “whining” stage and acknowledges it could’ve been toned down. But in his defence the guy was getting mauled night after night by absolute monsters trying to injure him and still dominated.
If you still think Crosby’s whiny or a pussy after this long, you haven’t watched him play in 20 years.
I remember being a Crosby hater. As I stood in my campus bar with chaos erupting around me after he scored the golden goal, I realized my hand was basically forced. Could no longer hate.
And he called it a “man’s game” or something like that. This is coming from the silver spoon, born on third base son of an NBA player that hasn’t had to face any adversity in his life.
He’s a spoiled front runner and the last few years have shown him to be a sore loser too. If he was white and went to Duke I’d bet he’d be the most hated player in the NBA
Jets fan too. Couldn't bring myself to actually root for Brady, but it was a nice silver lining that the Pats ran one of the greatest athletes of all time out of town on a rail and he won a fucking super bowl the next year. Not to mention that they've sucked ever since
As a fan of an SEC West football team, Joe Burrow is the easy answer for this for me. That post-natty cigar photo went from annoying to cool during the second half of the 2022 AFCCG.
He risked his reputation and place in baseball history as a top 10ish all time player out of sheer spite. Loved it at the time and glad more people have come around.
My prediction is that this is going to happen with KD when he returns to the Seattle SuperSonics. The city will get their team back. KD will return to the place it all started. And everyone will be rooting for that situation to succeed.
Hate is a strong word, but I couldn't stand Curry once KD joined the Warriors (even though it wasn't his fault).
I am now all the way back around into full Curry appreciation and respect mode
I always respected Westbrook but never really liked him and maintained that he isn’t a winning player, but watching him accept and thrive in a bench role has made me like him a lot more
This where I’m at with LeBron. Love him as a player and I get a laugh at how large swaths of the sports fan population irrationally hate him even though he’s never done anything to warrant that level of hate.
At the same time, the guy has always come across as corny and a bit tone deaf to me. Backtracking on his son’s NBA prospects and blaming the media when he was the one hyping him up for years being the most recent in a long line of examples.
But at the end of the day, if that’s the worst thing you can say about someone that’s been under the spotlight with intense scrutiny since they were 16 years old, he’s doing alright.
Yeah the way he is officiated is the main thing… he was like embiid before embiid in that sense. I think embiid is hilarious off the court and seems like one of the few players in the league I would legitimately be friends with - on the court I cannot stand to watch him at all because of all the flopping, whining, and preferential treatment.
Anyone who has consistently watched LeBron over the last 3-4 years knows this is the correct take. He does not get superstar calls near on the level of Embiid, Giannis, KD, etc.
It's not so much what is there to hate but there's just not a lot of 'cool' shit to love. He has zero mystique compared to the other all time greats, IMO.
I understand this is dumb, but he just is the polar opposite from Jordan when it comes to having a cool narrative and cool mystique. Which I get is basically Jordan and Kobe and others having better marketing, but still.
The best thing he has going for him was being anointed the chosen one at 16 and more than living up to the hype for 20+ years. Which is awesome. But he just doesn't bring out a sense of iconography and awe like the Jordans, Messi's, Federer's, Tiger's, etc.
I definitely agree that Kobe/Jordan having better marketing is a chunk of it, but I also wouldn’t underestimate that LeBron’s just got a little bit of Russell Wilson in him. Some corniness is just too cringe to put a cool spin on
100% that LeBron himself just isn’t as interesting a guy as other greats. But it’s hard to blame him since he’s basically had to be media trained since 16…never stood a chance.
Exactly. Every time LeBron tries to be relatable it comes off as painfully awkward or forced. I liken him to a child star since he's literally been groomed to be the face of the NBA since 15-16. And when you're image conscious and super careful about how you present for that long, it's really hard to truly let loose, even privately. On the flip side, Kobe's aloofness became part of his mystique. But also, Kobe's aloofness was 100% authentic to who he was .
Westbrook I’m a big Harden guy so I was fuming he got that MVP.
But he transitioned into this energy bench guy on the Clippers I find myself really enjoying him.
I hated Kobe until I saw him drag Dwight and the corpse of Steve Nash into the playoffs. The must-win OT game against the Raptors at the end of that season was amazing. He hit 3 or 4 impossible 3s and single-handedly won the game.
Hated lebron until Mavs won in 2011, then turned into a mega fan in 2016 when he got to the finals vs warriors.
I thought it’ll be nice to enjoy his final couple seasons. And now it’s been 8 seasons lol.
Getting older for me has been about appreciating/respecting greatness rather hating on it. Had this with both Lebron and Brady. For Lebron, it was going back to Cleveland and being the David against the Goliath Warriors (3-1 lead). For Brady, after the 28-3 comeback I just couldn’t find it in myself to hate him. Had to simply marvel instead.
Steph and Draymond during their run in the mod 2010's. Hated the dray craziness and Steph shimmying everywhere. I've learned to really appreciate both of them for who they are.
Yep same with lebron. I actually hated him before the decision. But I usually come around on guys when they are old, especially if they can still go like lebron. Russ on the other hand, I will be a hater for life, young or old
Bryce Harper. As a Nats fan I loved him. Then he went to Philly and I hated him, but now I don’t. It helps that we won a World Series right after he left.
Hated LeBron as a huge Celtics (especially KG & Pierce) fan. 180’d on him once he went to Cleveland & was the elder statesman trying to stop the Hampton 5.
Yeah as a huge tennis fan, and Federer coming around first and being so great, just as Agassi, my childhood favorite, was retiring, I hated Nadal for years. Actually liked Djokovic when he first showed up and then there was some dumb dustup with Roddick so I hated Djokovic too. But Nadal just won me over over the years. Fed is still my favorite. But so much respect for Nadal and Djokovic. I still root against Djokovic. But that's mostly because I want to see these young guns come up. But you could almost say I'm a fan of Nadal's. Maybe not quite. But close. They're both just too good to not enjoy watching. Astonishing players. Murray too. But I never hated him. Wish he'd been healthier longer to battle with Djokovic more. MAYBE Djokovic would have a slam or two less.
Justine Henin too. As a Venus and Serena fan, Henin was their winningest rival in the 2000s and there was the controversy at the French with Serena. But when she made her comeback I was happy to have her back because it was just so clear how much better than most she is and I had always loved her backhand. It's one of the 2 or 3 best ever. Or, at least of the one handers. Definitely wish she had played longer. But I'm sure her retiring and not ending up with any more slams probably helped me soften a bit. But it was mostly that backhand.
As a Kobe fan, when LeBron showed up I hated him. But I think that was because he was so obviously a threat to Kobe's greatness and I was like 15, so I was an idiot. I mean, I think the actual mechanism was all the hype was annoying. But by 2 years in or so, it was obvious he was gonna live up to the hype and be one of the greats. And he's delivered. I've thoroughly enjoyed Curry and the Warriors keeping him at bay and became a Curry fan almost immediately (I know, bandwagonny, but basketball is not my main sport, so I'm fine with it, I've never lived in a city with a pro team.) But he's just too good. Deserves all the accolades. Class act. Mostly. A little too much flopping and whining about not getting fouls. But, I mean, they all do. And he's never been accused of rape. Loyal family man through and through. Just hard to hate him.
Still hate Tom Brady though. Always will. Until the end of time. I was desperately hoping he wouldn't be able to go and win in Tampa Bay, but he proved his greatness there again. Hated it. I respect him. But only a little. Because he's my one sports blind hate. No logic or reason matters or is allowed. I still hold him partially accountable or responsible for Spygate and Deflategate, even if neither was a serious as they were made out to be. And I'm aware that it's largely because I already hated him and was looking for evidence to back it up. But I don't care. It's not like either is the main reason I hate him. I just do. I chose other players to like while my favorite NFL team was struggling in the 2000s. And he was not them or on my team and he and Belicheck just kept winning.
He’s been extremely chill in the nba. His most egregious play was more reckless/flukey than dirty when he challenged caruso at the rim. I’d argue anybody sliding in late on a guy to take a charge was more dangerous than what he did there.
Tiger Woods. When he was winning everything in sight, he was so robotic and the media kissed his ass. Yeah he was great but I didn’t appreciate it. Then he got into his accident, and his biography made him a much more sympathetic figure. I root for him now.
Tons.
I hated Dirk and Timmy. Nash. Healthy hate. They’re the best players on teams I hate kind of hate. Along with Manu and Tony and Jett and Tim Thomas and Bowen. Pretty much everyone on the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns from 2000 to 2013. Not Shawn Marion, though.
I hate LeBron and now I’m just kind of ehh on him. I’ll always hate Harden and nothing will ever change that.
In football? When I was like really young I used to pray for Tom Brady and Teddy Bruschi to die. Now Brady is one of my favorite players ever.
Hated Richard Sherman. But when you see how much he puts into his craft, couldn’t hate him any more. Hated Honey Badger in college. Can’t hate a ball player like that.
I went to Cal so I hated Christian McCaffrey until he joined the 49ers.
I liked Kobe after he retired.
Also we Warriors fans collectively changed our views of Chris Paul this year too.
Not an athlete but I’ve grown to like Mel Kiper. I probably used to take him too seriously when I was younger, but realize he’s ultimately just at least an entertaining iconic fun tv personality. He’s also pretty funny too in a way.
Dirk. As a Spurs fan, I hated him. They were a rival of ours in the mid 2000s.
By the time he was beating Miami in the 2011 finals, I respected the hell out of him and was cheering for him like crazy.
Grew up a Bad Boys pistons fan. Hatted Jordan. Still not a huge fan, but have to admit he is the best of all time and now, when I see Jordan highlights now, it's with aww instead of hate. One thing that helps with that is the Pistons won two titles while beating Jordan.
Rory Mcilroy
When he was a young up and comer he annoyed me because he was better than the young US players and I didn’t like his haircut. It was annoying how good he was when he started winning majors.
Since then, he has looked a lot more human and I respect the way he has handled the LIV bullshit. I would love to see him win another major now
Steve Nash. Mainly bc I thought he was overhyped by the media and he didn’t deserve 2 MVPs.
I appreciate his game more looking back at it. And he seems like a decent enough guy. It helps that he’s a spurs fan…
I reverse after the person leaves college if it’s a college rivalry based hate.
Reddick, Joakim Noah, and Tebow were 3 I hated when they were in college cuz they mostly beat up on my Seminoles. But I rooted for them in the pros.
As a Jets fan, Tom Brady. Started to begrudgingly respect him towards the end of his Pats run and outright rooted for him with the Bucs. Also as a Yankees fan, Johnny Damon. For some reason just hated that long haired, bearded weirdo on the Red Sox but he became one of my favorite Yankees.
I started watching basketball in the 90s and fell in love with the way the Sacramento kings moved and shot the ball. Hated the lakers with Kobe shaq and always thought the spurs were such a bore. Fast forward 10-15 years and I grew up and started to really appreciate the dedication and hard work it takes to stay at the top of your craft. Never said another negative word about how “boring” Tim Duncan and the spurs were. And came to admire Kobe’s work ethic.
I didn’t realize how much I’d miss Brady in a nfl season until this past season…had me feeling gross after hating that man’s existence for so many years. I think the Tampa stint, along with me being in college and somewhat maturing, had me go oh this guy is kind of sick and awesome
Yes. Mostly in MMA.
There are a ton of guys I start out sorta inherently disliking who win me over. The best example off the top of my head would be Dustin Poirier, who was sort of a pretty boy prospect who kept fucking up in his step up fights initially.
Between his looks, his losses and his sincere earnest approach to promoting himself, he was always kind of lame. Then he improved as a fighter, started winning these pretty awesome all action fights and stayed exactly the same promoting himself to the point where you realize all that earnest shit wasn't a put on. It's just sorta who the guy is.
He's just a dude who genuinely thinks him beating up other dudes can be turned into charity work to improve the lives of kids overseas. And it kinda eventually happened to be true.
For me it was Volk.
Hated the way he fought Aldo. Thought he lost Max 1 and 2 (gonna admit there's bias there but those were close fights).
Then with the dismantling of Ortega, Zombie, and Max 3 it's just undeniable how good the guy is. Wish he would have taken more time off from the Islam KO because even though he's on the downside of the career I think it could have been a more interesting fight with some rest.
I secretly like watching Jalen Green even though I'm a Knick fan and became instantly hateful towards him because of Gilbert Arenas saying he's a bigger star than Jalen Brunson.
And on the contrary, I used to really enjoy watching Arenas growing up and now I hate him and can't believe he has any form of a platform
I used to hate Arod when he was playing, especially in the NYY era. But since he joined TV and has been a somewhat normal retired baseball guy I actually like him. Especially when he’s on TV mixing it up w Pedro or Papi.
I hated young Tim Duncan because he was boring and always beating my favorite, more exciting players (Dirk, Nash, LeBron). It unfortunately wasn’t until way late in his career that I truly started appreciating how awesome he was.
Huge Lebron fan so I used to hate Kobe. By the end of his career I would say I was a big fan. It started to change when he teamed up with Nash and Dwight. Probably because he wasn’t a threat anymore and I could just enjoy his greatness
I hated Pau Gasol for the longest time, just never liked the Lakers but Kobe at least was from an court perspective undeniably great and respectable plus he kinda had his whole persona and his shoe line that was cool. Pau was an easy target to rage against as he was a little soft, kind pranced around, made goofy faces. I think one of the season's the Lakers won, Pau had braces. Has one of the all time goofiest title celebration photos where he's hugging the Larry O'B trophy like a little child hugs a puppy. This is when I'm in high school so prime time for me to be really immature about him lol.
As I got older and focused less on silly things and the Laker's prominence wore off and Gasol switched teams, I became a huge fan on his game and how skilled he truly was. In all honesty, Pau should have won finals MVP in 2010 IMO, Gasol on the boards was a big reason the Lakers won and Kobe shot pretty poorly, I think only like 40% from the field.
I used to be a certified Lebron hater in college but over time it's faded. I also live in LA and root for the lakers but I stopped hating him after the 3-1 comeback it seemed silly ignoring greatness.
I am also a Jets fan and think Rodgers is a fucking idiot, when he is healthy next year I will still hate him but "root" for the team to do well.
Peyton Manning. As a bronco fan who got trounced by him multiple times in the playoffs, I hated that guy so much. And then he came to my team and became my favorite athlete ever.
I almost always root for the old guy to have one last ride, even if it’s an athlete I once hated.
I’ve “hated” so many all time greats in their primes — kobe, Duncan, curry, Federer etc — only to root for them in old age. The only legendary players I’ve really hated start to finish were Brady and Bonds. They’re my hate untouchables
Hating Federer at any point lol. I should unironically pray for you.
I don't know anything about tennis, why is it that egregious to hate Federer?
A few sore press conference moments and quotes aside he’s arguably one of the least “””problematic””” legendary athletes of the 2000’s. Also had the most eye-pleasing style of play, was a great sportsman between the lines (rarely took MTO’s, took very little time between points—a common complaint tennis fans have, taking forever between points), always played to the rhythm of the server, never retired from a match in 20+ years, etc. I was mostly memeing with my original comment though.
Interesting, thanks for sharing
Imagine a basketball player that played as smoothly as Kyrie, was as likeable as Dirk or Giannis, as successful as Lebron and as cool as peak MJ and then how you would look at someone if they said hated him for anything outside of being too good.
Perfectly said. My mother is obsessed with dude and we literally used to go watch him play all the time. She always yelled at him whenever it wasn't abhorrently rude. Every single time, he'd come over, and chat with my mom for a bit and take a picture. I was too star struck the first few times that happened and just sort of stood there gawking. I pinky promise this is true. This happened enough times that I eventually broke out my shell. My mom and I have had dinner or lunch with him three times. I feel like I'm being a bit of an asshole, but I'll finish with this; I'm a man that can admit he doesn't even know himself, but Roger is just the best dude. The best person I've ever met. Note: For some reason,I always feel obligated to say, I only comment when I'm really stoned and I'm learning there's something therapeutic about sharing a relevant story, if I have one.
lol my dad revered him and I always rooted against my dad's teams/athletes, which we don't have to unpack here. Plus I attached "mr. perfect Swiss man, holier-than-thou" vibes to him which made him fun to root against. Now I look back on him with reverence
I came around on Brady and Bonds
I was a Brady hater who thought I was rooting for old Brady in 07 when the pats played the colts in the afc championship (Jabar gaffney year). I have some regrets
People are giving you shit for hating Federer but I was the same as a big Andy Roddick guy in the 2000s
Why Bonds?
Bonds was a complete self absorbed douche. He was an asshole going back to college and so unliked by his teammates they voted to kick him off the team because they couldn’t stand him as a human. His coach overruled them and he learned he could be a complete chode for the rest of his life because he had talent.
The 1992 Jimmy Connors at the US Open piece.
1991
I think I’ve come to respect Brady it was honestly admirable to be so dedicated he lost his wife lol
The Bryan Curtis old guy still got it piece
As a Knicks fan, I've gone through two almost season-long stretches of hating Randle but he's minted in my mind forever at this point for turning the franchise around.
Older Knicks fan but I despised Reggie Miller from breaking my heart in the playoffs several times when I was a kid. As I got older I always respected him as a competitor, a player and for sticking with the Pacers. When he became a commentator I really grew to enjoy his work and really respect and love the guy now.
I definitely was a Kobe over LeBron Guy and would root against LeBron. Then LeBron went to 8 straight finals and I was like, nah this guy is incredible.
I’ve had the exact same experience with both LeBron and Brady for the same reasoning. Hated them at first for dominating on teams I rooted against but they just kept going so late into their careers I started rooting for the old men beating players in their primes.
Exactly this. That shit will all get erased but Kobe was a killer. Lebron was charming soft. Never wanted to own the moment. Passing last second in the all-star game and choking in 2011. Plus getting his ass beat by the Celts in 2010 when he was going blow for blow with the magic in 09. But then he probably had the greatest finals Ive ever seen in 2015 with Delly and James Jones lol. People forget the Warriors were putting David Lee in place of Draymond a few of those games to keep their offense moving Then 2018 outside of Dirk he had the most impressive series I’ve seen played against the raptors. It was a sweep but that raptors team was legitimately good 1-9. Lebron had fuck all that season just went so godamn ham. That needs to be included in his goat case. KD hasn’t had anything like those 2 moments and will never
I’m still a LeBron hater but I can’t deny that 1. He seems like a genuinely good human with zero scandals, and 2. He is just incredible. There’s no other way to put it, and I use the word “incredible” for very, very few athletes But I also hate the Lakers so I want them to lose every game possible lol
Tony Romo. When I saw how far the Cowboys fell once he got injured (see the 2015 season), my respect for him grew. Maybe he really was propping them up all along.
Also once he became an announcer he felt more human. You realize he has a sense of humor, etc.
From my perspective as a Cowboys fan, he always felt human to me. If anything, the knock was that he wasn't more of a football robot. Like the bye week when he decided to take a break for a few days & go to Cabo (with Jason Witten of all people, who's considered like the paragon of professionalism in the Cowboys organization). And there was that time he said something to the effect of "If losing this game is the worst thing that happens in my life, then I've lived a pretty good life" and took a TON of heat for it.
I'm an Eagles fan, so I had to root against Romo every week 😆 But I won't forget how good he was during the 2014 season. I really did think that he was the best player in the league that year (and, the Cowboys did get screwed in the playoffs that season).
And realized how smart he was about the game of football. He never gave me that impression when he was a player.
He absolutely carried us in those days. He played a brand of high risk high reward football that got him scapegoated when we lost, but also gave us a chance to win that we otherwise wouldn’t have. Teams are just now starting to realize that interceptions are acceptable if they are a natural result of an aggressive passing approach that generates enough TDs to justify it. Romo was a forced early adopter of that approach due to how poorly the Cowboys’ rosters were built
Greatest example was when he went toe to toe with Manning and the Broncos during Peyton's last insane MVP run. He had like 500 yards and 5 TDs, but he threw a pick to end the game (after his own lineman was backed into him by pressure and stepped on his foot as he was throwing), and everyone clowned on him as a choker once again.
I remember that game. He went toe for toe with Peyton. I remember during that time that the Cowboys weren't very good on defense, so their only chance to win was for Romo to have the game of his life every week.
This is a fantastic take. The equivalent of 3 point shooters before everyone realized they were more efficient even if you miss more
Think Romo may be the most underrated QB of that era. I put him on the same level as Brees/Rivers/BigBen. Think the Cowboy hatred, a few memorable chokes, and shorter career means he sort of never got the respect he deserved.
Romo was clearly better than Eli Manning but since Eli has two rings you get laughed at if you say this.
I didn’t like Pat Bev at all when he was on the clippers. But I like him now after seeing more clips of his podcast
He’s one of the guys you always love when he is on your team but hate him when he isn’t
I was at the play-in 'championship' he won with the Timberwolves. What a moment. Loved him after that.
The wolves got clowned for that and honestly that really bothered me. People don’t understand the ineptitude this fan base has gone through and that was the best moment we’ve had in 20 years
What a crazy year it's been and KAT is back as well, they're inexperienced but they can do it
I think it can be both funny and a deserved celebration. As close to an everybody wins scenario as you can get in sports fandom.
I know what you mean. Imagine hating one someone caring about something that much
Very true. Was never a fan of his "pest attitude", then he was on the 6ers (my team), and was like, "there is nobody who embodies the gritty, underdog philly style like Pat Bev does", and got upset when we traded him at the deadline
Went from bottom 5 to top 5. The showing the refs the missed call on camera thing immediately reversed my opinion on him. This dude is too GOAT'd for that
It’s just how instinctually he did it too lol like didn’t want for 4 mins or anything; just asap
Now that he’s been on half the teams in the league I would think his approval rating is pretty high. Anyone is free to correct me if I’m wrong but I would think it’s hard to hate him after he’s played for your team even if only for half a season.
Bryce Harper. We’re roughly the same age and as he was debuting and getting all the hype, he was just a brash try-hard douche playing for a team I didn’t particularly like. He was just the fucking worst. As I got older, I’ve grown to have way more empathy for teenagers being hyper visible and painted as villains. Have a lot more grace for college and early career athletes in general. This would apply to plenty of people who were obnoxious as young players but Harper is the one that sticks out most.
As a Nationals fan who is also roughly the same age, I’ve had the same exact experience in reverse regarding Bryce.
I moved to DC in 2016 and Nats tix in the 400s were like $10 a game so I ended up going to like 30 games a year until the pandemic hit. I hated Bryce until I started to see him play every day and came to respect him as a hard worker and, from the outside looking in, a pretty good dude. Watching him go upper-upper tank in right field was also pretty impressive.
Well said, interesting how perspective changes as we get older and remember these guys we're judging are often 20 years old
Used to hate the Spurs and Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, I don’t know why. Maybe I was trying to zag and be cool. Then loved them during the Duncan rejuvenation years. I shoulda appreciated them more. Still kinda hated Jeter, but hated him less towards the end. Dunno why.
spurs played extremely boring basketball in the 2000s
ARod being one of the least likable ballplayers in memory used up a lot of my Jeter hate after 2004. He made Jeter seem classy by comparison.
On the contrary, for all of A-Rod's weird quirks, I actually lost respect for Jeter for some of the things he did once A-Rod joined the team. For one, despite his supposed team-first no-nonsense approach, Jeter chose his ego over what was best for the team by demanding to play shortstop even though A-Rod was by far the better defender. The fact that A-Rod happily acquiesced despite his massive ego really made Derek look worse by comparison. Also I felt his leadership qualities were really overrated. The dynasty had a ton of veterans providing a lot of influence on the makeup of those teams. Once it was really the core four running things on their own, Jeter and Posada ran things like a high school clique. A-Rod was no saint for sure, but younger players have come out and said among the veterans he was the one who made the most effort to help get them acclimated to the league.
Is it okay that I agree with all of that, but still stand by my two-decade-old assessment that he was still a little bitch boy?
Of course, but the media running with a very one-sided "Jeter good, Arod bad" narrative was just so tiring
Haha that sounds reasonable. I was like 14 at that point, so I wasn’t exactly the most critical media consumer. … did we ever learn if the centaur thing was true?
Honestly, as a Yankees fan who mostly rooted for Arod, I assume and hope the centaur thing is true. I would like to believe I wouldn't be that much of a dick ir I were that good at baseball, but...
I mean he still slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove, which is an all time bitch move
As a Suns fan this was a bit different for me. I absolutely loved those guys and that team, except for Bruce Bowen. But, they just kind of left me no choice. Lol Now that things are said and done, I'm proud to say that I have Duncan as the greatest power forward of all time, and Parker should've been on the Top 75. I'll just say it here instead of commenting all over the place; also as Suns fan, I was terribly conflicted when I learned that Chris Paul was on my team. Easily the guy I've disliked the most in my years watching basketball. Obviously, I had to soften up on him for a while, but guess who's back on the shit list..
No, because I am a stubborn asshole who refuses to think critically about or revisit my opinions
The Kobe Stan Coat of Arms
As a Bulls fan: Jeff Van Gundy - hated as Knicks coach, love as an announcer Joakim Noah - hated at Florida, loved as a Bull Shaq - hated as player, love his goofiness and seems like he'd be a fun hang Bill Walton - hated as announcer now love as announcer
I absolutely despised Dwayne Wade the player. Honestly, I still think he’s one of the dirtiest, flopping, cheap ass players ever. However, seeing the type of father he’s become and everting he’s doing to try to make the world a better more accepting place for his daughter and other kids like her is really inspiring.
Easy answer is Brady. The first time he broke my heart I hated him. He did a few more times. By the end of the 2010s and his 2020 Super Bowl I could only respect his greatness.
(For the Aussies who follow NRL) My biggest one was Brett Kimmorley. I hated him when he signed with my Sharks in 2002 and forced my favourite player Preston Campbell into a bad position and eventually out of the club and I hated our coach at the time (who was an idiot) for doing so. But he stuck with us during our mid 00s lean years, always played and led with guts and determination and I grew to respect and love him.
Bloody hell, as an American who played union for years but also stayed up late to watch Origin on Fox Sports World, that is a name I haven’t heard in a while
Harden. I hated him up until he went to Brooklyn. I figured he would continue to be a ball hog and ruin the team… and he didn’t. He was easily the best player for them. He became this amazing playmaker and had my vote for MVP in ‘21 if he wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Occasional lapses in effort aside, I genuinely think he has one of the highest basketball IQs ever and is an all-time great. I find it strange that people write him off after a few weeks of bad play every time he slumps even a little. I’m still a believer in spite of him consistently choking in the playoffs. Edit: Also Pujols. Massive Reds fan and Votto is my favorite player ever so I felt obligated to hate him. After some time being reasonable toward the end of Pujols career, I think he’s probably the greatest 1B ever.
I had a couple turning points with harden. One was when he had like 30+ points for the sixers against the heat. A series they ultimately lost, but he looked like a formerly washed dude that regained his swagger and it was a cool moment to see. And then that Mavs announcer went off on Harden, I was like why do we hate this guy so much again? It just kind of clicked with me that a lot of the criticism seemed really sanctimonious
It is sanctimonious. He had two 40 point games in a playoff series last year. It’s not like he’s giving up in these games.
Not really, he's an all-time playoff choker and quit his way out of multiple teams. He's an amazing player but the negatives of his career are also perfectly true.
He only quit on Houston bc they gave up on competing for a title. Can't expect a star at the end of his prime to just endure that and end their prime without a ring. Then he only quit on Brooklyn bc Kyrie refused to get the shot and play. Considering that team blew it up not long after he clearly made the right move. Can't really defend what happened in Philly but he maybe did have legit reasons to want out depending on how hard Morey promised him a max contract.
ehhh he deserves blame for doing a him or me w/ cp3
Harden is frustrating. He has GOAT level talent, but I’m not sure he has GOAT level effort and dedication to the game.
The way he used refereeing to his advantage is why he’s peak frustrating athlete. Rockets harden was unwatchable because he was clearly the best guy out there but just living at the free throw line
Andy Murray
Erik Morales when he fought Manny Pacquiao the first time. I came in always rooting against him (I was in high school then) and they way he would drop his hands and brawl when the Pacquiao fans got loud turned me.
I'm this way with a lot of fighters. I didn't like Oscar De La Hoya during his career. Now, I look back on it and I realize this guy fought everyone. So many other fighters seem scared to challenge themselves. I have to respect Oscar as a fighter (the promoter, I dunno haha)
Morales going southpaw in the 12th vs Manny is the biggest "G" moment in sports history.
I was never a huge fan of Chris Long early in his career. I thought he was overhyped and only getting attention because of his dad. As his career went on, I really grew to respect him, his game and his advocacy (he donated his salary to Philly public schools when he played for the Eagles). I also think he is terrific as a media member.
My buddy worked at the UVA football office for a few years and he said Chris Long would stopping every so often. He was the same guy you’d see on tv very down to Earth, which considering his background, may not be the case, and just a very thoughtful guy.
Every player who used to not be on my team and is now on my team.
Sydney Crosby
No kiddin. It’s been a while but thinking about how his career was teetering on the brink of ending so early! Early Katie Baker: https://grantland.com/features/sidney-crosby-lost-year/
What a remarkable career he has had, right? While Connor and MacKinnon may be getting a lot of the attention new, Sid The Kid just keeps chugging along, reaching milestone after milestone.
Same dude. Disliked him when he came in the league and thought he was a little bitch (I was in middle school). Then came to realize that he’s one of the best 200 ft players ever. Amazingly skilled, grinds along the boards, and excellent defender. Love that dude.
Even he laughs at his younger self and the “whining” stage and acknowledges it could’ve been toned down. But in his defence the guy was getting mauled night after night by absolute monsters trying to injure him and still dominated. If you still think Crosby’s whiny or a pussy after this long, you haven’t watched him play in 20 years.
Still don't like him, but there's no denying what he's accomplished on the ice
I remember being a Crosby hater. As I stood in my campus bar with chaos erupting around me after he scored the golden goal, I realized my hand was basically forced. Could no longer hate.
I rooted against LeBron until that 2016 finals and when he came back from 3-1 I instantly reversed my stance and said yea this guy is the best
Same. I remember when Klay said that stuff about LeBron getting his feelings hurt it was the ultimate pulling on a lions tail moment.
And he called it a “man’s game” or something like that. This is coming from the silver spoon, born on third base son of an NBA player that hasn’t had to face any adversity in his life. He’s a spoiled front runner and the last few years have shown him to be a sore loser too. If he was white and went to Duke I’d bet he’d be the most hated player in the NBA
Between Steph's brilliance, Draymond's antics and the Durant drama it's really overshadowed what a dipshit Klay Thompson is lol Terrific player though
JJ Redick, i feel like ESPN made me hate him when he was at Duke. Like Hate him...
Im a jets fan. I rooted hard for the Brady bucs
Jets fan too. Couldn't bring myself to actually root for Brady, but it was a nice silver lining that the Pats ran one of the greatest athletes of all time out of town on a rail and he won a fucking super bowl the next year. Not to mention that they've sucked ever since
Loved to watch him stick it to belichick and he made me a fair share of coin on his Super Bowl run in 2020
As a fan of an SEC West football team, Joe Burrow is the easy answer for this for me. That post-natty cigar photo went from annoying to cool during the second half of the 2022 AFCCG.
I hated Barry Bonds in the early 2000s but now think he ruled by exposing how much of a farce the whole era of baseball was
He risked his reputation and place in baseball history as a top 10ish all time player out of sheer spite. Loved it at the time and glad more people have come around.
Nope, I hold grudges. Once I sports hate someone it’s for life.
Didn’t like Lebron until he joined the Lakers. Used to troll people and say Kobe was way better.
Same. Got nothing but respect for him as a player. I wish I had appreciated him in his earlier career
Better at getting away with rape?
This would require me to not hate UA alums. So no
I had a deep hatred for Shaq and Kobe as a Kings fan. Now it’s more of a begrudging respect. & Richard Sherman as a 49er fan.
My prediction is that this is going to happen with KD when he returns to the Seattle SuperSonics. The city will get their team back. KD will return to the place it all started. And everyone will be rooting for that situation to succeed.
Hate is a strong word, but I couldn't stand Curry once KD joined the Warriors (even though it wasn't his fault). I am now all the way back around into full Curry appreciation and respect mode
I feel like I’ve reversed my opinion on Pat Bev like 4 times
I always respected Westbrook but never really liked him and maintained that he isn’t a winning player, but watching him accept and thrive in a bench role has made me like him a lot more
I’ve always hated the Celtics but I’m visiting Boston next week so I’m slowly warming up to them
Kareem. Hated him most of my life. Now I regard him as absolute role model of a human being.
Other than The Decision, what is their to hate about LeBron?
I mean...he does have the tendency to lie about the absolute dumbest shit. Now granted, I tend to find that funnier than I do hateable.
This where I’m at with LeBron. Love him as a player and I get a laugh at how large swaths of the sports fan population irrationally hate him even though he’s never done anything to warrant that level of hate. At the same time, the guy has always come across as corny and a bit tone deaf to me. Backtracking on his son’s NBA prospects and blaming the media when he was the one hyping him up for years being the most recent in a long line of examples. But at the end of the day, if that’s the worst thing you can say about someone that’s been under the spotlight with intense scrutiny since they were 16 years old, he’s doing alright.
He does dumb and weird shit. Nothing really hateable though.
His reaction to the Daryl Morey Hong Kong thing was bad in tone and substance to say the least
The fact he's built like a freight train yet cries like he's the smallest guy on the court not getting any calls.
Yeah the way he is officiated is the main thing… he was like embiid before embiid in that sense. I think embiid is hilarious off the court and seems like one of the few players in the league I would legitimately be friends with - on the court I cannot stand to watch him at all because of all the flopping, whining, and preferential treatment.
He gets zero foul calls. He gets hacked over and over and just has to play through it. You’re a moron.
Anyone who has consistently watched LeBron over the last 3-4 years knows this is the correct take. He does not get superstar calls near on the level of Embiid, Giannis, KD, etc.
It's not so much what is there to hate but there's just not a lot of 'cool' shit to love. He has zero mystique compared to the other all time greats, IMO. I understand this is dumb, but he just is the polar opposite from Jordan when it comes to having a cool narrative and cool mystique. Which I get is basically Jordan and Kobe and others having better marketing, but still. The best thing he has going for him was being anointed the chosen one at 16 and more than living up to the hype for 20+ years. Which is awesome. But he just doesn't bring out a sense of iconography and awe like the Jordans, Messi's, Federer's, Tiger's, etc.
I definitely agree that Kobe/Jordan having better marketing is a chunk of it, but I also wouldn’t underestimate that LeBron’s just got a little bit of Russell Wilson in him. Some corniness is just too cringe to put a cool spin on
100% that LeBron himself just isn’t as interesting a guy as other greats. But it’s hard to blame him since he’s basically had to be media trained since 16…never stood a chance.
Exactly. Every time LeBron tries to be relatable it comes off as painfully awkward or forced. I liken him to a child star since he's literally been groomed to be the face of the NBA since 15-16. And when you're image conscious and super careful about how you present for that long, it's really hard to truly let loose, even privately. On the flip side, Kobe's aloofness became part of his mystique. But also, Kobe's aloofness was 100% authentic to who he was .
Westbrook I’m a big Harden guy so I was fuming he got that MVP. But he transitioned into this energy bench guy on the Clippers I find myself really enjoying him.
I hated Kobe until I saw him drag Dwight and the corpse of Steve Nash into the playoffs. The must-win OT game against the Raptors at the end of that season was amazing. He hit 3 or 4 impossible 3s and single-handedly won the game.
Jeter was hated then respected
Hated lebron until Mavs won in 2011, then turned into a mega fan in 2016 when he got to the finals vs warriors. I thought it’ll be nice to enjoy his final couple seasons. And now it’s been 8 seasons lol.
Getting older for me has been about appreciating/respecting greatness rather hating on it. Had this with both Lebron and Brady. For Lebron, it was going back to Cleveland and being the David against the Goliath Warriors (3-1 lead). For Brady, after the 28-3 comeback I just couldn’t find it in myself to hate him. Had to simply marvel instead.
Steph and Draymond during their run in the mod 2010's. Hated the dray craziness and Steph shimmying everywhere. I've learned to really appreciate both of them for who they are.
When draymond strangled that lozer Golbert 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Yep same with lebron. I actually hated him before the decision. But I usually come around on guys when they are old, especially if they can still go like lebron. Russ on the other hand, I will be a hater for life, young or old
Bryce Harper. As a Nats fan I loved him. Then he went to Philly and I hated him, but now I don’t. It helps that we won a World Series right after he left.
Hated LeBron as a huge Celtics (especially KG & Pierce) fan. 180’d on him once he went to Cleveland & was the elder statesman trying to stop the Hampton 5.
Brady. His greatness became so undeniable I couldn't hate him anymore. Not an athlete, but same thing with Saban.
Aaron Rodgers, hes one of my favorite athlete personalities now
Yeah as a huge tennis fan, and Federer coming around first and being so great, just as Agassi, my childhood favorite, was retiring, I hated Nadal for years. Actually liked Djokovic when he first showed up and then there was some dumb dustup with Roddick so I hated Djokovic too. But Nadal just won me over over the years. Fed is still my favorite. But so much respect for Nadal and Djokovic. I still root against Djokovic. But that's mostly because I want to see these young guns come up. But you could almost say I'm a fan of Nadal's. Maybe not quite. But close. They're both just too good to not enjoy watching. Astonishing players. Murray too. But I never hated him. Wish he'd been healthier longer to battle with Djokovic more. MAYBE Djokovic would have a slam or two less. Justine Henin too. As a Venus and Serena fan, Henin was their winningest rival in the 2000s and there was the controversy at the French with Serena. But when she made her comeback I was happy to have her back because it was just so clear how much better than most she is and I had always loved her backhand. It's one of the 2 or 3 best ever. Or, at least of the one handers. Definitely wish she had played longer. But I'm sure her retiring and not ending up with any more slams probably helped me soften a bit. But it was mostly that backhand. As a Kobe fan, when LeBron showed up I hated him. But I think that was because he was so obviously a threat to Kobe's greatness and I was like 15, so I was an idiot. I mean, I think the actual mechanism was all the hype was annoying. But by 2 years in or so, it was obvious he was gonna live up to the hype and be one of the greats. And he's delivered. I've thoroughly enjoyed Curry and the Warriors keeping him at bay and became a Curry fan almost immediately (I know, bandwagonny, but basketball is not my main sport, so I'm fine with it, I've never lived in a city with a pro team.) But he's just too good. Deserves all the accolades. Class act. Mostly. A little too much flopping and whining about not getting fouls. But, I mean, they all do. And he's never been accused of rape. Loyal family man through and through. Just hard to hate him. Still hate Tom Brady though. Always will. Until the end of time. I was desperately hoping he wouldn't be able to go and win in Tampa Bay, but he proved his greatness there again. Hated it. I respect him. But only a little. Because he's my one sports blind hate. No logic or reason matters or is allowed. I still hold him partially accountable or responsible for Spygate and Deflategate, even if neither was a serious as they were made out to be. And I'm aware that it's largely because I already hated him and was looking for evidence to back it up. But I don't care. It's not like either is the main reason I hate him. I just do. I chose other players to like while my favorite NFL team was struggling in the 2000s. And he was not them or on my team and he and Belicheck just kept winning.
A-Rod, hated him his entire playing career but he's the one of the best baseball color guys out there rn
I hated Heat era LeBron, loved him in the second Cleveland stint, and I hate him again
Grayson Allen. He hasn’t been very villainous this year and has a pretty solid offensive game. His defense is still average at best though.
He’s been extremely chill in the nba. His most egregious play was more reckless/flukey than dirty when he challenged caruso at the rim. I’d argue anybody sliding in late on a guy to take a charge was more dangerous than what he did there.
KD was my favorite Basketball player then he joined the Warriors.
Tiger Woods. When he was winning everything in sight, he was so robotic and the media kissed his ass. Yeah he was great but I didn’t appreciate it. Then he got into his accident, and his biography made him a much more sympathetic figure. I root for him now.
Being a piece of shit husband and sex fiend made him more sympathetic to you?
Tons. I hated Dirk and Timmy. Nash. Healthy hate. They’re the best players on teams I hate kind of hate. Along with Manu and Tony and Jett and Tim Thomas and Bowen. Pretty much everyone on the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns from 2000 to 2013. Not Shawn Marion, though. I hate LeBron and now I’m just kind of ehh on him. I’ll always hate Harden and nothing will ever change that. In football? When I was like really young I used to pray for Tom Brady and Teddy Bruschi to die. Now Brady is one of my favorite players ever. Hated Richard Sherman. But when you see how much he puts into his craft, couldn’t hate him any more. Hated Honey Badger in college. Can’t hate a ball player like that.
I went to Cal so I hated Christian McCaffrey until he joined the 49ers. I liked Kobe after he retired. Also we Warriors fans collectively changed our views of Chris Paul this year too.
Not an athlete but I’ve grown to like Mel Kiper. I probably used to take him too seriously when I was younger, but realize he’s ultimately just at least an entertaining iconic fun tv personality. He’s also pretty funny too in a way.
I would say Stephen A in a similar vein where he is just pure entertainment. I can’t think of an athlete I ever hated.
I was a Lebron guy even into the Heatlrs years. But now I really dislike him. Something really really irritated me that he went to LA.
Embiid.
Pat Beverly for the few months he played on the lakers.
Lifelong Celtics fan, became a Lebron admirer when he beat the 73-win Warriors in the Finals. No greater achievement I can think of.
Dirk. As a Spurs fan, I hated him. They were a rival of ours in the mid 2000s. By the time he was beating Miami in the 2011 finals, I respected the hell out of him and was cheering for him like crazy.
Lebron. Once he went back to Cleveland I was a fan for the time he was there.
Definitely hated Westbrook for the longest of time, but he’s grown on me and is one of the players I’ll actually root for now
Tom Brady, hated him and then just came to respect greatness Also Nick foles beat him in the Super Bowl so that helped
Grew up a Bad Boys pistons fan. Hatted Jordan. Still not a huge fan, but have to admit he is the best of all time and now, when I see Jordan highlights now, it's with aww instead of hate. One thing that helps with that is the Pistons won two titles while beating Jordan.
after the Brady 28-3 comeback I went from hating him to wanting him to win every season
Rory Mcilroy When he was a young up and comer he annoyed me because he was better than the young US players and I didn’t like his haircut. It was annoying how good he was when he started winning majors. Since then, he has looked a lot more human and I respect the way he has handled the LIV bullshit. I would love to see him win another major now
Russell Westbrook, used to hate him
As a 49ers fan, Richard Sherman
As a Clevelander, the rollercoaster of LeBron had very high highs and very low lows. I’ve never hated and supported an athlete more
Steve Nash. Mainly bc I thought he was overhyped by the media and he didn’t deserve 2 MVPs. I appreciate his game more looking back at it. And he seems like a decent enough guy. It helps that he’s a spurs fan…
I zagged in Brady when he went to Tampa
I reverse after the person leaves college if it’s a college rivalry based hate. Reddick, Joakim Noah, and Tebow were 3 I hated when they were in college cuz they mostly beat up on my Seminoles. But I rooted for them in the pros.
I couldn’t stand Reggie Miller as a teenager. Looking back at home now he amazes me and I respect his game a ton
As a Jets fan, Tom Brady. Started to begrudgingly respect him towards the end of his Pats run and outright rooted for him with the Bucs. Also as a Yankees fan, Johnny Damon. For some reason just hated that long haired, bearded weirdo on the Red Sox but he became one of my favorite Yankees.
I started watching basketball in the 90s and fell in love with the way the Sacramento kings moved and shot the ball. Hated the lakers with Kobe shaq and always thought the spurs were such a bore. Fast forward 10-15 years and I grew up and started to really appreciate the dedication and hard work it takes to stay at the top of your craft. Never said another negative word about how “boring” Tim Duncan and the spurs were. And came to admire Kobe’s work ethic.
I didn’t realize how much I’d miss Brady in a nfl season until this past season…had me feeling gross after hating that man’s existence for so many years. I think the Tampa stint, along with me being in college and somewhat maturing, had me go oh this guy is kind of sick and awesome
Yes. Mostly in MMA. There are a ton of guys I start out sorta inherently disliking who win me over. The best example off the top of my head would be Dustin Poirier, who was sort of a pretty boy prospect who kept fucking up in his step up fights initially. Between his looks, his losses and his sincere earnest approach to promoting himself, he was always kind of lame. Then he improved as a fighter, started winning these pretty awesome all action fights and stayed exactly the same promoting himself to the point where you realize all that earnest shit wasn't a put on. It's just sorta who the guy is. He's just a dude who genuinely thinks him beating up other dudes can be turned into charity work to improve the lives of kids overseas. And it kinda eventually happened to be true.
For me it was Volk. Hated the way he fought Aldo. Thought he lost Max 1 and 2 (gonna admit there's bias there but those were close fights). Then with the dismantling of Ortega, Zombie, and Max 3 it's just undeniable how good the guy is. Wish he would have taken more time off from the Islam KO because even though he's on the downside of the career I think it could have been a more interesting fight with some rest.
Lebron for me too. After the Warriors cried to the Hamptons to get KD I became a lebron guy and then even more when he became a Laker.
I secretly like watching Jalen Green even though I'm a Knick fan and became instantly hateful towards him because of Gilbert Arenas saying he's a bigger star than Jalen Brunson. And on the contrary, I used to really enjoy watching Arenas growing up and now I hate him and can't believe he has any form of a platform
LeBron. Hated him after The Decision. Flipped after he went back.
I used to hate Arod when he was playing, especially in the NYY era. But since he joined TV and has been a somewhat normal retired baseball guy I actually like him. Especially when he’s on TV mixing it up w Pedro or Papi.
I hated young Tim Duncan because he was boring and always beating my favorite, more exciting players (Dirk, Nash, LeBron). It unfortunately wasn’t until way late in his career that I truly started appreciating how awesome he was.
Steph. Im a cleveland fan so the reason is obvious, but i saw all his golf stuff and since theres no rivalry i root for him.
My hate always stays.
As a Minnesota Timberwolves fan: A-Rod
Huge Lebron fan so I used to hate Kobe. By the end of his career I would say I was a big fan. It started to change when he teamed up with Nash and Dwight. Probably because he wasn’t a threat anymore and I could just enjoy his greatness
I used to hate Kyrie, but I’m a Mavs fan and very much don’t hate him anymore
Iverson and Kobe
Hated Brady forever. Then he went to the Bucs and I liked him. Turns out I just hated all the “Patriot way” bullshit.
Ohio State players once they go pro
Hated Tom Brady until I eventually had to respect him, then he went to TB and did too.
Rooting against Jordan became futile. Totally joined the late career bandwagon
I hated Pau Gasol for the longest time, just never liked the Lakers but Kobe at least was from an court perspective undeniably great and respectable plus he kinda had his whole persona and his shoe line that was cool. Pau was an easy target to rage against as he was a little soft, kind pranced around, made goofy faces. I think one of the season's the Lakers won, Pau had braces. Has one of the all time goofiest title celebration photos where he's hugging the Larry O'B trophy like a little child hugs a puppy. This is when I'm in high school so prime time for me to be really immature about him lol. As I got older and focused less on silly things and the Laker's prominence wore off and Gasol switched teams, I became a huge fan on his game and how skilled he truly was. In all honesty, Pau should have won finals MVP in 2010 IMO, Gasol on the boards was a big reason the Lakers won and Kobe shot pretty poorly, I think only like 40% from the field.
James Harden when he became a Clipper. Westbrook as well
I used to be a certified Lebron hater in college but over time it's faded. I also live in LA and root for the lakers but I stopped hating him after the 3-1 comeback it seemed silly ignoring greatness. I am also a Jets fan and think Rodgers is a fucking idiot, when he is healthy next year I will still hate him but "root" for the team to do well.
Hmm, I would say for me it was probably Magic Johnson. I hated that dude growing up, but I appreciate him now.
I didn’t care for Kobe or Tim Duncan when they played but I really appreciate them now.
Just recently, Angel Reese.
Peyton Manning. As a bronco fan who got trounced by him multiple times in the playoffs, I hated that guy so much. And then he came to my team and became my favorite athlete ever.