“You either love them or you hate them, you know?” Have you ever been asked this question and found that you neither love nor hate what the other person is talking about? That is how I feel whenever I am talking with another football fan about the New England Patriots.
This Sunday, the Patriots played in their fifth straight AFC Championship. During the past 15 years, New England has undoubtedly been the most dominant franchise in football. They have had a winning record each of the last 15 seasons, made the playoffs 13 of those 15 years, appeared in six Super Bowls and won four. No other team has numbers even remotely close to the Patriots' record.
The Patriots are the best franchise in modern football, but that comes with some challenges. Nearly every single football fan that isn’t a Patriots fan will say that he or she hates New England and will root against them. I find myself in an isolated group. I actually often root for the Patriots. They are so creative, so talented, so disciplined – it’s beautiful, and I love seeing beautiful football win. But why is the ambivalent Patriots fan such a rare occurrence? Why do so many people hate the team on top?
This phenomenon extends beyond football. Just look at an elementary math classroom, and you will find that most students say that they hate the smartest kid, even if they don’t actually mean it. Employees sometimes resent the exceptional coworker; many around the world abhor America for its political, social and economic excellence. People envy greatness. From a young age, it is fashionable to dislike excellence if one is not excellent yet. But this is an idea we must begin to shun.
Excellence ought to be celebrated. Excellence is beautiful and intoxicating. People can’t rip their eyes away from exceptional quality. A gifted welder is thrilling to watch. The excellence and dedication to craft draws one in. An exceptional teacher inspires engagement with the subject matter. A great football team ought to be no different. The mastery and elegance of the team's play should be praiseworthy, not inspiring of spite.
Perhaps some are hesitant to respect the best because they feel that it inherently implies a despise for the weak and untalented, but this is not true. I am not a Patriots fan, and yet sometimes find myself cheering for the Patriots. Likewise, I am not a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, yet I find myself smiling when this perennially poor-performing team gets a win. I am able to do both because I am foundationally celebrating the same thing: beauty. It’s beautiful to watch the greatest team display their craft with ease and also beautiful to see the joy of often downcast faces during a rare win.
The NFL can teach us to celebrate excellence. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I don’t always want to see the Patriots win, but purely as a football fan, I love watching the Patriots elegantly play a beautiful game. If I were busy jealously hating the Patriots, I would have missed out on admiring one of the most talented sports dynasties of all time. I am willing to trade envy for admiration. Let us not waste opportunities to celebrate excellence because of trivial, base jealousy. Let us admire the excellent.
