I hate the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Can’t stand the Charlotte Hornets either.
And the Colorado Buffaloes … the next day I root for them will be the first.
How often have you heard any of those statements? I’m guessing never to nearly never, and I’m suggesting the reason for such is their propensity – or lack thereof – to win anything of note since MTV quit playing music videos. But the Seattle Seahawks have been winning, and due primarily to that success made a lot of local and national fans of the professional game, happy to see them unceremoniously removed from this year’s NFL playoffs.
People love a winner, but equally appealing to fans of sport is the eventual fall of that same winner. With Seattle’s most recent success, the “12’s” went from “great fans” to “annoying.” Russell Wilson went from a “hardworking overachiever,” to a “quarterback diva.” And Marshawn Lynch, from a “hardnose throwback,” to a “greedy thug.” For the most part, the same people responsible for the Seahawks rise, but due to one Super Bowl Championship and near miss a year later, many of the same people who enjoyed their rise to the top, have bemoaned their success and reveled in their fall from grace last Sunday at Carolina.
Why is that? Seriously, I’m interested.
Seahawks fans aren’t any worse than any other fan base experiencing success. Sure, there’s a minority segment of fans overzealous in their efforts to celebrate their winning ways, but aren’t those the same fans that hadn’t experienced a Super Bowl Championship in the history of the franchise? And yes, there’s definitely a bandwagon portion of that same Seahawk fan base that couldn’t tell you a thing about the team prior to Russell Wilson’s arrival. But show me a winner and I’ll show you that same minority segment of their fan base as well.
There’s a reason people hate the Dallas Cowboys. A reason people hate the New York Yankees. And a reason some people around here hate the Oregon Ducks. It’s because they win, and their teams don’t. People love a winner, right up to the point where that same winner makes them feel less about themselves and their teams.
I’m not saying you can’t hate the Seahawks, after all, an opinion is a right protected by the laws of common sense. But I am suggesting that you back that argument with reason beyond, “their fans are annoying,” “they think they’re hot s**t,” or “they’ve got a bunch of bandwagoners,” because that’s the same stuff bitter and jealous people say about every other successful stalwart of sport. All of the aforementioned complaints – while likely true to an extent – could and usually is said about every other team good enough to win at a level capable of creating such angst.
Fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars would be all of that, if they won.
Fans of the Charlotte Hornets would be all of that, if they won.
And Colorado Buffalo fans would be all of that, if they won.
But none of them are winning, so by the same logic they’re great organizations and their fans deserve the utmost respect.
Until they win.
You want to hate the Seahawks, then hate the Seahawks, but when your team wins, your school dominates its rival, or your “guy” finishes on top, remember to apply that same standard to you and your team in the wake of said success. Because logic is logic, even when you’re staring that same winner in the mirror.
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