Player haters why do you hate? So much gets made out of knocking star athletes, teams or coaches off their lofty, self-created pedestals. The problem is that no matter how many people claim to "hate" these individuals, there's always a fan base ready to step up in their defense. I'm typically the first person to defend just about anyone, but the real reason that some attract so much ire has nothing to do with the standard accusations that we've become accustomed to.

Take for example the "you're just jealous approach". What exactly should we be jealous of? Is it millions of dollars that we've never possessed? Is it fame and advantages that we'd more than likely be uncomfortable with? You don't miss what you've never had. Besides, if that were the case then we should basically hate every athlete since even most bench warmers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, if not far more. Nope, that can't be it.

Maybe it's because we're tired of certain teams constantly tar and feathering our favorite squads. Take it from me I know that feeling. I'm a New York Jets fan. I watched Dan Marino gather a disproportionate amount of his career stats at Gang Green's expense. When Buffalo was losing four Super Bowls in the early 90s my crew practically went oh for the decade against them. Don't even get me started with everyone's favorite team to currently hate... the New England Patriots. I may not have "liked" Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Tom Brady but they have nothing but my respect.

How about the theory that nobody likes the guy on top? If I remember correctly even Knicks fans almost masochistically enjoyed watching Michael Jordan dismantle Patrick Ewing and friends on the Broadway stage. We waited with baited breath to see what magic His Airiness would pull from his bag of tricks to stick yet another dagger into our hearts. You just couldn't avert your eyes from the train wreck waiting to happen. You'd peek out from between your fingers and grudgingly appreciate the history you were watching.

It's not even the perceived arrogance involved. In the sports world the literal definition of the word arrogant is actually a necessary evil. Without arrogance all athletes lose their edge. If you do not unconditionally believe in your heart that you are at least the equal of the person standing in front of you... then you've already lost. Arrogance may not be the most enviable trait in mankind's repertoire but in athletics it's a cap where one size better fit all.

What is IT then? What brings otherwise sensible people to almost blind fits of rage whenever they discuss that certain someone they despise? Depending on who's doing the talking, IT is a word that gets conveniently replaced by positive adjectives such as proud, confident and competitive when it suits our purposes. That word is smug.

Smug: well satisfied, or too obviously pleased, with oneself

Self-absorbed people

Making ridiculously rude and

Unnecessary choices that

Gratify only them

Smug is Kobe Bryant putting his desires in front of the team to participate in running Shaquille O'Neil out of Los Angeles, even if Shaq's ego played an equally significant and petty role. For that matter smug is also what allowed his reputation to be further sullied by brazenly putting himself in a situation where he could be accused of rape... even if the girl in question was possibly a mentally unstable young girl looking to set him up.

Smug is Alex Rodriguez's notorious double-speak...during a year of tremendous statistical significance... where he practically single handedly carried the Yankees on his back...culminated by the widely criticized negotiations with Joe Torre...following a season of unjustified booing and catcalls at the hands of his very own fan base...that finally saw public opinion sway to his side.  Smug is then choosing to make his "opt-out" announcement on the day that the rival Boston Red Sox won a second World Series title and demanding 350 million dollars as the starting point of negotiations. Talk about a fleeting moment of renewed popularity.

Smug is New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick making a mockery of long held standards in the NFL. Smug is including Tom Brady on his "injury report" for roughly 5 straight seasons as "probable" due to a shoulder injury... just because he can. The whole world knows by now that Tom Terrific is just hunky-dory... especially after 33 touchdowns in only 9 games. Smug is shoving a cameraman in the back of the head to shake Jets coach Eric Mangini's hand after a game, simply to "prove" that you're really a "good" guy. Smug is running up the score against any and all opponents, including fellow legendary coaches such as Joe Gibbs, simply because you have a vendetta against the league because you got caught cheating...whether it was insignificant or not.

Smug is a cat with your canary in its mouth... staring at you with an expression that says, "Who me? Ain't I cute?"

Smug is why some people "hate" those that we blindly root for. Now wipe that smug look off your face every time you look in the bathroom mirror... just because your favorite team happens to be really good at the moment... because it won't last forever... and sooner or later you'll have to admit the truth

(In my imagination half of New England just gave me the finger).

 PLAY BALL!!!