A reason? During the playoffs, you see a team a whole lot in just a couple of weeks. Instead of getting ticked at Kenyon Martin one night and forgetting about it the next because the schedule has made you move on, you have to see him again in two days. You’ve got to argue with the other team’s fans for a couple of weeks. You’ve got to deal with that one player who always seems to kill you.
As a result, it’s easy to hate that other team. You start noticing even the little things: “Man, I hate Ty Lawson. Look how he wraps his ankles. So stupid.”
It’s the nature of the beast; as fans, we take everything personally.
When a Nuggets fan says something simple and harmless like, “I dunno, I
think we actually have the deeper bench and probably an advantage at
shooting guard,” it’s natural to blow up and say, “Gah! Nuggets fans are
so stupid!” It’s been covered ad nauseum how Kendrick Perkins has
changed the mentality and toughness of the Thunder. One thing he’s said
is that he figures out a way to hate his opponent. He even makes things
up in his mind. Lord knows what those things are, but we all need to
need fall in step with our scowling leader.
above Kenyon Martin
Nenê looks like Donkey from “Shrek.”
Let me add a little more wind to this grassfire and help you find your inner Perk. Here are four reasons to get you started with why you should really, really hate the Nuggets.
1. Nenê’s hair. It’s easy to hate Nenê in general. He’s got a singlename situation going on, he sort of looks like Donkey from “Shrek” to me, and he’s already tussled with Perk.
But his hair is another story. It’s some sort of weird pony-bun thing. Like I said, the more you have to look at it, the more you’re going to find yourself saying, “Really, what’s the deal with his hair?” It’s also very natural to dislike the other team’s best player because he’s going to kill your team during the series. And Nenê is almost definitely the Nuggets’ best player.
2. Tattoos. The biggest contrast in this series is the ink-to-visible-skin ratio. The Nuggets only have a couple of players who aren’t entirely covered with scribbles. If the NBA dress code ever included neck tattoos, the Nuggets would have to be contracted. It’s like they’re all wearing mock turtlenecks, and we all know how uncool those are.
3. Trash talk. The Nuggets accused the Thunder of being “cocky” and talking smack. George Karl even said, “We know what they were saying after the game here. We know. I’m not going to bring it to the public, but we know. It gets back to us.”
4. They’re the current team in the way. The playoffs are a different animal. It’s intense. It’s crazy. And if you want to move on, you’ve got to put extra into it.
That means when you look at those powder-blue uniforms, you can’t help but despise them. They are blocking the path to the next round, and they are not your friend. They are the enemy. And in sports, we hate our enemies.
Young founded DailyThunder.com.
