The answer is: We're only human. From the beginning of time people have been passionate about hating. And when it comes to competition, not even politics can compare with the passion people feel about sports.

From the jousting knights, to the roman arena with gladiators fighting for their very lives, people have loved competition; and with competition comes passion.

Whether you are a Nascar fan, hockey fan, football fan, or baseball fan, you are filled with passion and emotions; usually regarding the opposition. Although football and basketball and baseball are all team sports and we have our favorite teams, there is always ONE player we love above and beyond all the others. And so as we watch the game, we hoot, howl, boo, hiss, scream, and basically make sure the teams and players know how we feel.

Nascar has always been a very personal sport: there are teams but there is only one driver so consequently the fans feel even more personally involved. This brings out more perversity than with teams because we feel that OUR driver is the best (no matter what he is doing now, OUR driver is still the best).

Take for example Sunday's race: I happened to be at my mother's house who puts up with her only daughter loving Nascar BUT..the woman is SO perverse! She knows I just hate Jeff Gordon, and although the 20 car was taken out early, she knew that I would not want Jeff to win. So..what does she do? She cheers Jeff on! Why does she do this? To 'get my goat', rile me up, irritate, and of course, in the end, to make me laugh.

And although I dislike Jeff Gordon intensely, do I really want any harm to happen to him? No, of course not. A lot of people ranted and raved against Dale Sr. for many many years, and yet his death was devastating to them. It's just competition...we don't REALLY hate people that much. We just don't want them to do good in the competition that we happen to be so passionate about. Now, does this mean that when I hear 10,000 people stand up and boo Jeff Gordon I'm not pleased? Are you kidding? Keeps me grinning from ear to ear the rest of the day!

So friends, fans, and fellow human beings. Let the passion flow, the love, the hate, the arguments, the discussions! Would we really want it any other way? I think not!