Love to Hate

Hate is an integral part of being a sports fan. As much as we love our team, we hate other teams, players and cities almost as much. Lovers of hate got a present last night when LeBron and the Heat lost the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. I am not a Dallas Mavericks fan, I'm actually New York Knicks fan, but I have to say the outcome of this finals made my day and I know I'm not the only one.

I cannot recall the last time I hatred of a team has been so palpable. I hate my fair share of teams (Red Sox, Patriots, Devils, etc) but those are based off my loyalty to teams that are their direct rivals. Hell, I've hated the Heat long before James was even in the league thanks to the great Knicks/Heat games of the late 90s. However, the hatred of the Heat transcends all normal sports hatred criteria. If you don't know why that is then let me remind you.

As a New York Yankee fan I'm well acquainted with those who blindly hate my team. The Yankees win more than any one else, they spend more than any one else, and more often they are better than any one else. Those are all reasons for nationwide hatred of a team. The difference between the Yankees and the Miami Heat is the reason why the hatred for the two is different.

As with the above picture, the Miami Heat acted in June like a championship was a foregone conclusion. They were cocky before they had anything to be cocky about. Call me crazy but I think it might've rubbed the other 29 teams and their fan bases the wrong way. Then there is the hatred the James brought with him.

The Decision might go down in history as the worst PR move ever. Yes there were many teams that wanted James and yes some of that hatred is based off a feeling of being spurned, but you cannot argue that the way he left Cleveland was just stone cold. Also, the idea that a self proclaimed king would choose to join a "super team" rubbed a lot of the all-time greats the wrong way. James wasn't just chastised by 29 other fan bases, now he was being chastised by the greats he idolized.

I'm not a sports reporter (obviously) but I have to believe that for some this championship will be remembered more by how the Heat lost and less how the Mavs won. And those of us who love to hate tip our caps to the Dallas Mavericks for giving us more fuel to our Heat hating fire. Hopefully next season the Heat will remember that you don't start the season by celebrating, you do what the Mavs did and end the season that way.

The Die Hard 2 Theory

"A sequel to an iconic movie will always pale in comparison to the original when compared, even if said sequel is a solid movie in its own right"

Die Hard 2 is a really good movie if you take it as a one off action film, the only problem is you can't. Here is John McClane again, and it is even Christmas again, a man alone fending off terrorists. They take McClane out of LA and out of the cramped Nakatomi Plaza and put him in DC at Washington Dulles International Airport, brilliant! It is a good movie, but it isn't a great movie for all the reasons that made the first one great.

I'm not sure when I came up with my "Die Hard 2 Theory" considering I was 8 when it was released, but regardless, the theory stands true. The impetus to share this theory with all 3 of my readers came after going to see The Hangover Part II with my sister. The movie as a whole was good but I could not stop thinking about the original while watching it.

What made the original so great was the novelty of the idea (if you disregard the fact that the premise of waking up and not knowing what happened the night before was done earlier in the movie Dude, Where's my Car), a bunch of guys at a bachelor party wake up with no clue as to what happened the night before and the groom is missing, shenanigans ensue! Alan was a brand new character and every idiotic thing he said was hilarious because we had never seen a character quite like him. All the things that made The Hangover great are all the things that made The Hangover Part II just okay.

If The Hangover Part III is inevitable, and I believe it has already been announced as happening, I only hope that it continues down the Die Hard route. Die Hard with a Vengeance, while still not as good as the original, was far superior from Die Hard 2. What the third installment did right was it took the character you knew and loved and didn't just throw him in a similar situation, but took him someplace new (and don't say The Hangover Part II did that just because they went from Vegas to Thailand).

In conclusion, if you liked The Hangover you'll probably enjoy The Hangover Part II, but it won't thrill you like the first one did. Oh and enjoy your summer of sequels!