I say to friends from out of state.. the worst thing ever was boston teams winning championships. We're loud and rude on a normal day. Now give us some championships, we're insufferable
I think a big part also is that it seems like bruins fans avoid the main forums around here and the B.S. on them.
Tor and Mont and Van etc etc fans seem to love bashing the bruins and us fans repeatedly on the main boards and i think honestly alot of other fans just jump on the popular hate train.....
I hope so. I don't mind. It is annoying when people for hate us for the wrong reasons though like saying "chara is the dirtiest player in the league"
We are certainly under a microscope. If Marchand dives there will be a main board thread with 500 posts, but if doughty or a player on a popular team does nothing happens. Oh well I enjoy the haters
I don't think the B's are the most hated team; there are really only 3 players that are truly railed upon by the other fanbases (Marchand, Lucic & Chara) ... the other players aren't nearly crapped on as much as those three. (And I'd add Edwards as the 4th most hated "Bruin", ahead of any other actual player.)
It's tough to say which fanbase is most hated - every team has some awful, awful fans, so it's just a matter of how many there are and how vocal they are. And I don't think that Boston's fans are any better/worse than anyone else's.
And in general, I think there are too many fanbases that think that their team is the one that's most hated or has the most biases against it. There are like 6 or 8 fanbases that lament how everyone else is against them ... when normally there is only a small percentage of fans that are against any of them.
I don't know if this fits within the spirit of the thread, but my desires don't tend towards being hated, either fanbase or team.
Hatred on a team implies dirty play to me. I think of teams employing the likes of Sean Avery, Steve Ott, Matt Cooke and justifying it by the pukes' continued employment on the team, i.e. the team finds nothing wrong with their behavior or how dangerous they play. I think of intentional headshots, intentional boarding, slew footing, diving, all of those as valid reasons to hate a team.
I'd prefer the team be feared rather than hated, or the hatred be a by-product of the expectations around the physical abuse to be inflicted on the opponent, or as Claude likes to call it the "heavy play". Fear Looch, fear Thornton, fear Quaider, but don't hate them. Fear the Bergeron line because of the play of Bergy, The Nose, and Segs. Fear the 4th line because not only are they punishing but they are also productive.
If the Bruins as a team are hated, is it because of the hit Looch put on Ryan Miller, or the antics of The Nose? I don't think many of the Bruins' opponents can have many complaints regarding the level of play. But they sure can be concerned about the physical play they will face when they play them, assuming the Bruins' don't take the night off.
So, for me: fear the Bruins, but don't hate them.
Fan hatred on the other hand implies rude, belligerent fans who make travelling to an away game a dangerous, unenjoyable event. Tossed beers and food on visitors, fights in the stands, intimidation by actions or threats. I'd rather the Bruin fanbase not be "hated". I'd prefer to not be associated with a fanbase that is hated.
I don't remember any ill will between the Bruins and Canucks (heck, that regular season game was pretty boring) but once you got into a series with them, it was pure hate. I would add it is now the same with Buffalo, and had moments with Carolina and Tampa.
I think part of the problem is that the Canucks fanbase felt entitled to the cup. Reading in their forum during the cup series was ridiculous. I remember some fans discussing whether they should lose game 3 on purpose so the cup could be raised at home (yes several of them expected a sweep). I also remember how dismissive of Seids the Canucks fans were.
That in a nutshell was the fanbase-their team won the President's trophy and Boston was just a bunch of upstarts who wouldn't even find a roster spot on the Canucks team outside of Chara.
I have no doubt that the Canucks team wasn't thinking about losing games on purpose or dismissing the hockey skills of the Bruins. I think they knew they were the favorites but I have a hard time believing any hockey player in playing for the Cup believes they are being handed a cakewalk to the parade.
Tor and Mont and Van etc etc fans seem to love bashing the bruins and us fans repeatedly on the main boards and i think honestly alot of other fans just jump on the popular hate train.....
I venture out onto the main board on occasion and there is always at least one thread that is focused on bashing the Bruins.
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there are really only 3 players that are truly railed upon by the other fanbases (Marchand, Lucic & Chara) ... the other players aren't nearly crapped on as much as those three. (And I'd add Edwards as the 4th most hated "Bruin", ahead of any other actual player.)
I actually think some fans of other teams would have a hard time naming too many other Bruins-or they get them wrong (see "tough guy David Krejci" or recently somebody trying to argue Bergeron was a "rat").
As for Edwards I bet there are more threads criticizing Edwards than Chara and he is probably the most hated local play by play guy outside the Bruins fans (shoot he is disliked by a lot of Bruins fans).
Personally, I think Oilers fans are pretty annoying. Anyone remember these old favorites...
"Dustin Penner is soooo much better than Ryder. He's a legit, 1st line forward!"
"Ales Hemsky is a point-per-game player. He's worth WAY more than that."
"Ryan Whitney is a legit #1 defenseman. He pretty much runs our defense."
Oilers fans are among the most passionate in the sport. As a consequence, we see both the best AND the worst fans in the NHL. I actually don't believe there is a more knowledgeable group of people.
Being out here in Western Canada, you would not believe the amount of support the Bruins get. Hated by few, but respected by most - and loved by more than you would expect. My job by necessity allows me to speak with randoms on a daily basis, and it's five to one in favor of the B's.
And when healthy, Ryan Whitney IS a legit #1 d-man. Not the best in the biz by any means. But legit. His toothpick skeleton is what holds him back.
Nope. Bruins may squeak into the top five, but I can't believe hardly anyone has mentioned the Penguins because of the perception that A) the league favors them because of Crosby and B) the fans are phonies who only showed up when the team was good and were ready to watch them leave town.
All you have to do is say the word Crosby on the main boards and a fight breaks out. Sure, Lucic and Marshmont are lightning rods, but it's nothing like Sid.
And then the 3 Canadian teams aforementioned, mainly because they haven't won jack and yet act as if the hockey world revolves around them.
Boston teams in general are hated. And its because of the success. The Patriots are historically irrelevant but are the most hated NFL team because the success they have had...and it didn't take long for that to happen.
I think the Bruins are because they latch onto that Boston hate, and over half of the Eastern Conference teams have a pretty decent rivalry with us (Carolina, Washington, Buffalo, Montreal, Pitt, Philly, NYR, Toronto.)
But we aren't "hated" hated by fans in general. We aren't a dirty team a neutral fan might be envious of us but he is not going to hate us like say the Canucks or similar teams in years past who were notorious punks/goons.
If the Canucks won the series against us and had a recent Cup the hatred towards their team would be enormous. If Pitt had kept winning ditto, its only b/c of the injuries to Crosby that they aren't passionately hated right now.
not sure about hated but certainly overall I'd say Boston fans are the smahtest in the US and may have a leg up on some North of the border such as Leafs fans under 35 (been to Toronto several times and the older ones who remember Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, and Ron Ellis are impressive; the younger ones are to busy ripping their players and are angry)
Remember when people outside of New England liked the Patriots? They were an underdog team against a favorite. Then they won 3 Super Bowls. Now everyone hates them.
Same story, different team. A bunch of teams who can't win hate us. The hate seems a lot bigger because the majority of people on here are by far Leafs/Habs/Canucks fans. They don't shut up. A lot of Western Conference fans actually love us. They're just a minority on this site.
I could really give a damn if we're the most hated team, because
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Originally Posted by Colorado Avalanche
If you are hated It means you are doing something right: Winning.
Boston sports fans in general have a reputation of being rude and arrogant when visiting other cities for events.
In another thread about Yandle and the Phoenix franchise the poster mentioned how unruly and unsportsmanlike the Bruins fans were at the Job ing Arena in the last two years.
Western and Midwesterners tend to be more civil and respectful as I observed from games in Denver, Chicago, San Diego while attending Bruins, Red Sox and Patriots games there. I guess it's a cultural thing, something we Easterners have to work on.
You can lumped Philadelphia and New York in there as well. 3 US cities with *******s for sports fans.
I definitely don't think the Bruins have the most hated fanbase.
Leafs - First, the perception is that the rest of Canada hates Toronto. They're probably just jealous becuase it's the best city in Canada :-P I kid, I kid. I believe for the longest time the Leafs fans were probably the most hated because they feel that they are the centre of the universe. They believe every high-profiled free agent or coach wants to go there and every year is (was) their year. Living in TO, I know that attitude has died down a bit during this decade but I'm sure it'll start up again eventually.
Habs - Habs fans are like the snarky rich guy in every bad 80s movie. You know, they guy everybody hates. That's pretty much a summary of how I believe they are viewed.
Canucks - I think the riots gave them a really bad name. Aside from that, the arrogance they displayed going into the cup finals really left a bad taste in my mouth.
Flyers - I think we all know their reputation. Also think they are percieved in a worse light than Bruins fans.
Overall, I think any fanbase that believes it's god's gift to a sport is the most hated. That may stay constant througout the years (Habs) or fluctuate with success (Canucks).
Teams:
Aside from traditional rivals, I can see why casual fans may hate the Bruins. They have Chara - Nobody cheers for Goliath, and Marchand - agitator that's easy to hate. On top of that, teams may not like how the Bruins "bully" their way to wins. This is pure perception and, partially, media hype. True North American hockey fans should, in theory, love the Bruins. Ask any Canadian (I'm sure it's the same in the US) what makes a perfect hockey team and they will tell you that you need to have good goaltending, a solid defence, the ability to roll four lines, grit, team toughness, somebody who can throw down, and a nice mixture of size, skill, and speed. Umm....does that not sound like the Bruins? Like I said, I can probably see why the casual fan may dislike the Bruins. Knowledgable fans don't have to like the Bruins, I mean, you have to consider rivalries and the fact that many people cheer for the underdog but, they should at least respect what the Bruins bring and acknowledge the fact that they follow a perfect model on how to build a team.
So basically a lesser tougher version of william zabka (johnny lawrence from Karate kid)?
Boston teams in general are hated. And its because of the success. The Patriots are historically irrelevant but are the most hated NFL team because the success they have had...and it didn't take long for that to happen.
I think the Bruins are because they latch onto that Boston hate, and over half of the Eastern Conference teams have a pretty decent rivalry with us (Carolina, Washington, Buffalo, Montreal, Pitt, Philly, NYR, Toronto.)
But we aren't "hated" hated by fans in general. We aren't a dirty team a neutral fan might be envious of us but he is not going to hate us like say the Canucks or similar teams in years past who were notorious punks/goons.
If the Canucks won the series against us and had a recent Cup the hatred towards their team would be enormous. If Pitt had kept winning ditto, its only b/c of the injuries to Crosby that they aren't passionately hated right now.
This is where most of the hate comes....the canucks are goons/punk but not the bruins ? You do exactly like you say canucks fan act...we aren't dirty they are....
