We all develop irrational dislikes of opposing players, especially when they achieve some measure of success against our team. Usually, the more fervent the fan, the more heated the hate. Individuals such as Richard Jefferson, Manu Ginobili, Kazaam, or Stephen Jackson all have something in common: they are talented players on former or current Detroit rivals, and I f*cking hate them when they play the Pistons.

So The Cavalier over at YAYsports should be forgiven for suffering through his season of Detroit-dislike, further evidenced by his comic strip and comments today. Witness this:

It was a nice little comeback attempt, but as Chauncey will tell you, that was just Cleveland being cute lil' fellas. Hate to say it, but somewhere between 2004 when they won the title and right now, the Pistons became really unlikable, and that has nothing to do with this series. We've been saying it all year, if you've been paying attention. They're awful arrogant for a team who won one title two years ago.

Now this isn't the first time Tha Cav has taken aim at Chauncey this season. He took offense to Chauncey's "Hey Miami, it's just one game" quote after Wade's fourth-quarter comeback earlier this season (which, by the way, came complete with a silly "We are the champions"-style celebration from the Heat). And he took offense to Chauncey's admitting that the Pistons sometimes suffer from boredom when playing poorer teams as well. One gets the sense that Chauncey's cool exterior, his confidence, and his "tell it like it is rather than how it should be told" approach may not be what The Cav wants to hear, especially during a series against the Cavaliers.

But look, Le Cav does an excellent job and expends a lot of energy informing us all about drama Association-wide, rather focusing on a specific team. His homerdom only really gets to show through when discussing the undulations of his beloved Cavs. Matt and I, on the other hand, have the benefit of expending 90% of our efforts on the Boys in Blue (and the other 10% condemning dancing shirtless children and talking about mini-ninjas, which is still somewhat related, sadly). We unabashedly rip Piston rivals, and we don't worry about offending because most of you rip them right along with us.We doubt very many Jazz fans visit this site regularly...but hey, if you do, allow us to direct you to some humorous Memo Okur pics!

So, when you visit YAYsports today (as you should), keep in mind how maddening it can be to witness the success of a team other than your own. Sure, they may have rooted for the Pistons when they were the little guys, slaying Shaq and the Lakers in '04. But now the Pistons are Goliath. And just as we all hated the Celtics and Lakers as the Pistons were climbing the ladder in the 80s, so too do the ascending teams of today and their fans hate the Pistons.

They hate the swagger, the confidence-bordering-cockiness. They hate Chauncey's too-cool-for-school demeanor. They hate what the Pistons have become (favorites, who know it).

And we're sorta fine with that.

The Cavaliers are not competing [YAYsports]
Antoine Walker is clutch like Old Spice [YAYsports]
The Heat and the Pistons are getting it on [YAYsports]
Mehmet Okur official homepage