Florida -4.5

I have discovered that when it comes to my rooting interests, in games where my team isn’t playing, that I am motivated much more by wanting a team to lose than I am wanting a team to win. Fortunately for me I am not a fan of any teams that have been down-right horrible for extended periods, Knicks aside, so it’s not as if my love component has been inactive. For the purpose of getting a point across, I am going to reveal the teams that I root for in professional and college sports. I would not say I am a die-hard fan of any team, I think too rationally to ever let myself get caught up in the successes and failures of people I don’t know and of contests I have no control over. A point is coming with all of this, so just hold on. Here is my list:

• NFL: New York Giants
• MLB: New York Yankees
• NBA: New York Knicks
• NHL: New York Rangers
• College Football: Notre Dame
• College Basketball: N/A

Here is my point: all of the above teams have given me reasons to be positive for a long time; games to be excited about, playoffs, championship games, improvement from one year to the next, etc. Having the opportunity to watch an athletic competition and to pull for one side because you honestly and truly want that team to win is vital in order to maintain the proper Love-Hate Ratio (LHR) in your kinetic chain. Since the late ‘80s I have never had to go consecutive sporting seasons without at least one of my teams having some level of success, giving me something to be positive about. It is important to note that I am not talking strictly about winning championships. Take the Yankees for example: they have not won a championship since 2000, but every year they are in the playoffs, they are playing and winning big games and that keeps the love flowing. Not love for the team, just love, positive feelings, a reason to smile and feel upbeat. Almost every team on my list has given me reasons to be upbeat, again Knicks aside. The problem for me with college basketball is that there is no team that I really pull for so by default I root for teams to lose, and that makes my College Basketball LHR way out of whack. I honestly believe it is why my NCAA Tournament brackets have gotten worse each year. I am too busy hating.

I bring this up because across this country tonight, the vast majority of people will not be rooting for the team they love, they will be rooting for the team or the player that they hate. Ohio St. and Florida fans aside, both these universities, and Joakim Noah, cause an uprising of hate and disdain in most everyone else. Ohio St. cheats, they lie and they steal. What separates them from the others that cheat is their arrogant and pathetic alums that are somehow proud of the way their athletic programs are run, but when a guy like Maurice Clarrett falls victim to the Machine of Corruption that the Buckeyes are, that fan base turns on him and mocks him. Ohio St. has blood on its hands, but the fans of the Suckeyes are so thirsty and pathetic for fake glory they whore themselves out for a win, any win at all.

Florida on the other hand is hated because they are the defending champs in football and basketball, and they are slightly obnoxious. Well, Noah is REALLY obnoxious and the rest of the team is normal. There will be a fair number of people just rooting against Noah tonight, I am not one of them. I will not be rooting for anyone, but rather my hate will flow in abundance against the Ohio St Buckeyes yet again.

In January I took the Gator football team because the line was too high and I didn’t think Ohio St. was good enough to cover a line that big. Tonight I lay my money on the Gators once again, because they are, by far, the better team.