Written by So, since CapitalBabs and I were the only two in the GameChat during this afternoon’s Twins/Tigers game, we had to find things to talk about. One of the topics we hit on was this article, in which the WSJ presents the Nielson Co.’s analysis of something they call an Internet Algorithm, which concludes that the Cleveland Indians are the most despised Major League Baseball team. The Cleveland Indians? Seriously?
(Do you suppose that’s the same Nielson Co. that tells us all the crappiest TV shows are actually being watched by millions of people and, as a result, we keep getting more crappy TV shows to watch? I bet it is.)
Normally, I think you have to give the Wall Street Journal some respect. They’re a pretty reputable (if somewhat conservative) newspaper. But today, I’m thinking maybe they should stick to writing about business and leave sports to someone else.
Babs and I both thought the conclusions of the WSJ/Nielson Co. were, to be polite, wrong. In fact, I’d be willing to bet good money the Indians don’t even come close to being the most despised team. Actually, I’d give you pretty good odds that I can tell you exactly which team IS the most despised team without the benefit an algorithm of any kind… and that team barely cracked the top 5 in the WSJ/Nielson rankings.
But to be fair, Babs suggested we put out a poll after the game to see what the rest of you think. I’m not going to list every team here because, let’s face it, who can really hate the Royals or even care about the Padres? But if you truly hate another team more than any of the 11 listed below, there’s a “someone else” box for you and you can let us know in the comments section who you really hate. And if you want to lie to us and say you don’t hate anybody, ok, there’s a box for that, too. – JC
P.S. – I was really tempted to add a “the ‘team’ of umpires working the Twins/Tigers series” as an option… but I didn’t want to skew the results based on one pathetic series by one particular umpiring crew. Of course, no poll asking “who I hate” is really complete without Bud Selig being on the list, but I’ve made my feelings about Bud pretty clear already, I’m sure.
I read that article and scratched my head too. I really think their interpretation of “hate” is different from most regular sports fans’. It seems as if their version of “hated” is a combo of “underappreciated,” “poorly-marketed,” and “most unable to generate excitement.” For example, let’s assume the Yankees are the real most-hated franchise in MLB (as far as pure passion), but they also have a strong fan base. They market well, and they put out a good (read: winning) product.
But, I still don’t get why it’s the Indians. Heck, to me, they’re not even my most hated team in the division.
I went with the White Sux above. They’re neck and neck with the Yankees, but since they’re in the division, I’m more satisfied when they lose.
This article had me confused like a baby in a topless bar. Who are these idiots, and how can the Nationals even appear on the list in the article? Do enough people even know the Nationals play major league games to hate them? Ridiculous.
My top three are:
1. Chicago Bitch Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Atlanta Braves.
Cleveland? They’re my third favorite team in the division! Wow. You can’t fix stupid… The Wall Street Journal has about the same business doing sports as Dominoes has making the oven baked sandwiches. Stick to what you’re good at…
Too bad you can’t vote for more than one team. I would’ve put the A’s, as well.
Twins are the seventh “*least* hated”.
yeah Chew, this particular application doesn’t allow that – for something like this in the future, we might use a different one. But this still shows a ranking more like I would expect from Twins fans at least. But I will throw out the tongue-in-cheek qualification – it’s a small sample size.
Huh. So it turns out that the Wall Street Journal may have mistinterpreted the results of the Nielson study. Apparently, the study was meant to indicate positive or negative feelings about the start of the season.
http://bit.ly/c09PGN (ESPN article).
What!? A newspaper got something wrong?
Ah well… it gave us a topic while we wait for the Twins to start their weekend series with that team that has Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and, oh yeah, that guy from the AllState Insurance commercials!
a few years back i would have said the tighty whiteys, but i voted for the yankees. how can anyone that is NOT from NY like that bunch of twits?