Pass the Haterade

As an enthusiastic sports fan I feel as though hating is my god given right, but I'm sick of doing it. Among teams that I dislike: The New York Yankees, Duke Basketball, and the Dallas Cowboys. I guess the obvious reason for this is these teams are always very very good. So consistently good it's sickening. However in the last few years, my beloved Red Sox and Patriots have taken home their fair share of trophies. This got me thinking...maybe things shouldn't be hated on just because they're better than what they compete against. Which brings me to the topic of this article...The Florida Gators Basketball team.
I used to be a HUGE fan of Florida basketball. Every single year I picked them to go reaaaal deep in March and every year they let me down. Go figure, last year I have them getting upset in the first round and they win it all (defeating my pick to win it all Villanova in the process). Needless to say, this made me a tad bitter.
All year I've hated on Florida for no particular reason besides them being really really good at playing team basketball. I still think Noah plays with an undeserved swagger that's borderline arrogance, but nobodies perfect. With all of this being said, I'm not hating on them anymore. They are a true team in every essence of the word and to hate them out of my own bitterness wouldn't be right. What I've come to love about this team is where they could put themselves historically. I was too young to see Duke and a twinkle in my father's eye when John Wooden roamed the sidelines. Seeing a team win back to back national championships through the grueling 65 team bracket would be something to marvel at.
As good as each player is individually, they work so well together as a team. Each player fits their role perfectly and everyone gets along. They're college basketball's version of the New England Patriots or Detroit Pistons. Their most unheralded star is shooting guard Lee Humphries who is currently shooting a ridiculous 69% behind the arc in conference games. He stretches the defense and doesn't allow opponents to double team Horford and Noah on the block. Taurean Green is the most underrated point guard in the country and he's Florida's leading scorer. All of those players are important to the team but the straw who stirs the drink is Corey Brewer. He's the best perimeter defender in all of college basketball and their best NBA prospect. He always comes through with 2 or 3 big shots in close games.
Florida's starting five consists of a group of guys who believe in the philosophy all for one and one for all. Nobody on the team averages more than 15 points a game which tells me they understand the importance of selfless basketball. It's so rare in today's game to see a group of guys who care more about winning than impressing NBA scouts with selfish play. Thanks to the Florida Gators basketball program, I've stopped hating teams just because they're good.

Except the Yankees and Duke...I still hate those two a lot.