Trying to rationalize irrational hate against the Golden State Warriors

Being a Golden State Warriors fan right now is a blessing, but that also means taking a fair amount of complaints that don’t really make sense. 

As a lifelong Bay Area sports fan going to college in Los Angeles, I receive a fair share of smack talk for supporting teams like the Giants or the Sharks. But as historic as the Giants-Dodgers rivalry is or however intense Sharks-Kings games get, nothing in 2016 gets people more riled up than when I out myself as a Golden State Warriors supporter.

“Yo, f— the Warriors,” is usually the response, followed by an avalanche of complaints about how the Warriors are just not fair, how they’re ruining the game and how Kevin Durant is a bigger traitor than Benedict Arnold.

It’s amazing to look at how quickly the public consensus has flipped about the Warriors. Prior to 2013, my admittance of being a Warriors fan drew condolences and pity. From 2013 until midway through 2016, it emitted envy and amazement — perhaps a little jealousy, but no rage.

Now, though, the Warriors and their fans might as well as be best friends with the devil. I’m pretty sure this team’s public approval rating would rival those of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of reasons to not like the Warriors. So, to the basketball fan whose team will not win a championship this season, let’s go through some of them.

I feel your pain as a fan of the other 29 teams, basically playing for second place because the Warriors are projected to win more games than is humanely possible and have 2/3 odds to win the championship (nope, the odds are not 3/1. I checked. We’re good.)

I feel your angry reaction to the Warriors — who just won 73 games in a season and made back-to-back trips to the Finals — adding Kevin Durant, who is really good at basketball.

I mean, just look at that. Look at how happy he is, running and smiling and high-fiving in that Golden State Warriors uniform.

Watch it. Watch it again. And let it marinate — the hate, that is. Let it sink in slowly that a former MVP and four-time scoring champion in the prime of his career decided to hook up with another MVP and two other All-Stars on one of the historically greatest teams in NBA history. Think about that, and then try to think of who the top four players are on your team’s roster. Yeah, I understand the hate.

I also feel your distaste for what you perceive to be arrogance spewing from the Warriors and their fans (like I’m demonstrating right now. #ArrogantSZNAlways.) I get it. Stephen Curry turning around before his shot even goes in is so disrespectful to his opponent. The only thing worse would be if the Warriors signed Kevin Durant and he also started doin- oh wait:

Oh, and Draymond. I understand the very essence of Draymond Green triggers you. I would too, if he wasn’t on the Warriors. You hate his guts, whether it’s calling out your team, literally kicking dudes in the manhood or — again — literally blasting his manhood on Snapchat for the world to see. Draymond is like that crazy uncle on an otherwise perfect family that you hate. You can’t come up with concrete reasons to hate everyone else, but Draymond gives you enough of a cover to say, “Yep. I despise that family.”

Most of all, though, you hate the Warriors because, well…They’re. Just. Too. Good. To quote owner Joe Lacob, the Warriors are #LightYears ahead of your team. They have the best players. They have the best coach.  They run the best offense. They shoot the ball like no other team every has; they score like no other team has ever scored. They have the best shooter in the game, the second-best shooter in the game, the most prolific scorer in the game, and the most versatile player in the game. Klay Thompson, a two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA member, is their fourth most important player. Think about that.

The Warriors have broken the NBA. They’ve rendered the regular season meaningless. They’ve got Howard Beck writing longform features titled, “Operation: Stop the Warriors,” where Beck interviews a ton of opposing players, coaches and executives who basically say the equivalent of  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ because no one has any clue how to stop this team.

I mean, look at what one Western Conference executive told Beck he was hoping to happen to the Warriors:

"“That they get hurt or hate each other, for sure, We’re all rooting for that.”"

Let’s just toss aside the alarming fact that a grown man is wishing harm against other people over a game and consider how hopeless it must feel thinking of ways to beat the Warriors that your only solutions are that they either get injured or “hate each other.” How high ranking is this anonymous “executive?” Give that man a raise.

The point is, while people generally respect greatness, they despise greatness that lasts too long or rubs off the wrong way. The Warriors — for all the aforementioned reasons — rub people off the wrong way and are going be great for a long, long time. They are basically if the Patriots, Yankees and Duke (in their respective heydays) morphed into a singular team. Tom Brady could post a Facebook Live of himself deflating a closet full of footballs and he would still receive less vitriol than the Warriors.

Seriously. You’ve got Charles Barkley still proclaiming jump-shooting teams can’t win titles. Seemingly every retired player thinks their team would’ve beaten the Warriors, including Cedric Ceballos and Rip Hamilton. Yes, I’m sure the 1993-1994 Suns and the 2004-2005 Pistons would beat the Warriors in a hypothetical matchup. This is not logic speaking; it is rage, jealousy, and envy that this team is revolutionizing basketball by simply launching shots from 35 feet and making the “back in the day” NBA look like poverty.

To those people, and to you, NBA fan whose team will not win a championship next season: Why not respect the Warriors? Why not respect a team whose starting five in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season — Curry, Thompson, Green, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli — was all drafted and developed by the Warriors? What’s wrong with the Warriors pitching a free agent in Durant and then signing him? I mean, were they supposed to turn him down? “Sorry, KD, but people hate us enough already. We’ll pay Harrison Barnes $94 million instead.”

Next: Warriors visit Saint Pablo

No. The Warriors built this team from the ground-up, not by drafting some prodigy with the No. 1 overall pick or bringing together a “Big Three.” They built this team with meticulous steps and calculated gambles, from trading Monta Ellis to signing Andre Iguodala. They have an incredible General Manager in Bob Myers, a legendary advisor in Jerry West, and an owner in Lacob who is not afraid to push the buttons.

In essence, Warriors are tasting right now what the other 29 franchises would do anything for just a sip of. But if you want to keep hating, fine. Just know that I’ll be laughing hard and not feeling a bit of pity for you the next time Curry throws a casual behind-the-back drop pass to Durant for a deep three.