Sports Stars and Teams Hated by Kids in the '90s
Once again, we're headed back to the '90s. But this time our mission is to check out sports stars and teams who kids couldn't stand. There are some obvious choices featured on this list and some other ones you may have forgot about.
"Hate" is such a strong word. So before we get going, let's be clear about the criteria we used when it comes to this slideshow.
The teams and individuals who made the cut were ones kids rooted against for many different reasons. They either won too much, were notorious villains or played the game the wrong way at times.
For the sake of disparity, we've also included some names from the world of sports entertainment. Basically, the names and teams you'll explore on this list are infamous '90s icons.
Fire up the slideshow below and let's find out who was lucky enough to make the cut.
Utah Jazz
1 of 10
Don't blame the Utah Jazz. They didn't do anything wrong.
The Jazz just had the misfortune of trying to defeat one of the most popular athletes in the history of sports, Michael Jordan. Because of that, they were pegged as MJ's last great rival.
During his last two NBA championships runs, Jordan went up against the Jazz in back-to-back Finals. Dueling with the likes of Karl Malone and John Stockton, the squad from Utah was deemed villains by the kids who got down with milky pens and Boys Meets World.
It wasn't Utah's fault. In fact, it was a talented team. But for kids who wore their Jordan and Pippen gear to school, none were about to root for a team rocking a purple jersey with a frosted mountain range slammed on it.
Dallas Cowboys
2 of 10
When you win a lot, you tend to attract an army of detractors and haters. The Dallas Cowboys drew that very army to their doorsteps throughout the '90s.
Pundits dubbed the Cowboys “America’s Team." Playing within the confines of Texas, the pristine blue stars pressed onto their silver helmets and rich history always made them one of the most talked about franchises in sports.
When Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989, he brought a new era of bustling Dallas bravado along with him.
The NFL in the '90s was all about the Cowboys. They had the talent, charisma and coaching to win three Super Bowl titles. Whether it was flashy players like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders, or the more subdued leaders in Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys played like a well-oiled machine on both sides of the ball.
Children across this great nation either jumped on the bandwagon or despised this team because of the Cowboys' bombast ways.
Ted DiBiase
3 of 10You won't find a better villain in wrestling history than Ted DiBiase. His menacing laugh and catch phrases will forever be a part of WWE's culture.
DiBiase's character was all about the money. He was rich, spoiled and hated everything besides dancing dollar signs and cold, hard cash.
In the '90s, "The Million Dollar Man" was responsible for a convoy of carnage. He ushered in the debut of The Undertaker, the fake Undertaker, formed Money Inc. with the devious Irwin R. Schyster and toward the end of his WWE run, he even brought "Stone Cold" Steve Austin into the mix.
As a singles competitor, DiBiase further fueled his heel ways. But the youth of the '90s will always remember him for his out of the ring contributions. His inventive scheming masked by gold and diamonds was the stuff of a true villainous legend.
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Duke Men's Basketball
4 of 10
Duke gets a lot of flack for being one of the top college programs in the country. It truly is a team you either love or can't stand the living sight of.
Led by Mike Krzyzewski, the men's basketball team has always been a squad that's never lacked talent. Some of the best collegiate players of all time have assembled on the hardwood floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In the '90s, Coach K's teams were special. He had powerhouse talent like Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and, later on in the decade, Elton Brand.
Maybe it's because Duke lost out on Michael Jordan to North Carolina in the '80s, or maybe it's because they've always been good—the program has won four National Championships under Coach K's guidance. Whatever the reason, Duke was a team that most '90s kids weren't feeling at all.
The real team of the '90s in college hoops was Michigan's Fab Five. They had the style, swagger and confidence to capture the imaginations of all the young folks.
When Duke beat the Fab Five in the 1992 Final Four, that disdain for the Blue Devils turned into something truly tangible.
Bill Laimbeer
5 of 10
The Detroit Pistons "Bad Boys" persona has become legendary within NBA circles. Without the "Bad Boys" the league wouldn't be what it is today.
Before the art of flopping became a thing, Pistons big man Bill Laimbeer used it to his advantage. On top of that, the scrappy center played with a physical edge to his game that most people weren't accustomed to.
He wasn't the most talented guy on the roster—that spot was reserved for Isiah Thomas. However, Laimbeer was an enforcer who nabbed rebounds and played "dirty."
NBA.com describes the former Pistons great as "one of the most notorious players ever to throw an elbow, thrust a hip, or feign being fouled."
Unless you were from Detroit or rooted for the Pistons, you didn't like Bill Laimbeer. When Bill Simmons was writing his ESPN Page 2 column, his father summed up how must people outside of Motown felt about Laimbeer: "God, I hate that guy," the elder Simmons revealed.
Keyshawn Johnson
6 of 10
In the late '90s, Keyshawn Johnson was one of the top wide receivers in the National Football League while on the gridiron. Sadly, off the field, he was one of the league's biggest prima donnas.
Like so many wide receivers after him, Johnson made a living off spewing shards of verbal charcuterie to the press.
The former USC pass-catcher took things up a notch when he dropped his autobiography in 1997, titled Just Give Me the Damn Ball! The ranting and ravings of a second-year wide receiver proved to be too much for most young '90s kids, especially when you consider there were so many other guys they could root for at the time.
For Keyshawn, his productive career that spanned 11 years and four teams will always be overshadowed by his propensity for banter.
New York Yankees
7 of 10
The New York Yankees will always be a polarizing franchise. Their winning ways and opulent spending habits paint the club as such.
In the '90s, that narrative didn't ease up. The Yankees, led by owner George Steinbrenner, turned into a powerhouse by the time 1996 rolled around. With a cast of characters consisting of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettite and others, the Bronx Bombers would win titles in '96, '98, '99 and 2000.
That type of production put the Yankees on the same scale as the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams were hyper-talented franchises that were either loved or hated by the general public.
New Yorkers love their Yankees. On the other hand, most kids weren't into the club's authoritative ways.
Sgt. Slaughter
8 of 10In the history of professional wrestling, few stars have gone from being one of the sports most popular athletes to being hated as much as Sgt. Slaughter.
During the '80s, Slaughter was America's wrestler. The ex-Marine gimmick worked wonders with the WWE's legion of loyal fans. He was popular and feuded with some of the top villains in the industry.
But when he turned heel—a term used to describe a wrestler becoming a villain—in the early '90s, all bets were off. Capitalizing on the media coverage surrounding the Gulf War at the time, Slaughter's character became a sympathizer to the regime in Iraq.
That striking change in character was all fans needed to write him off as the ultimate bad guy.
He would feud with Hulk Hogan—an American hero—among others before he reverted back to his good guy ways when the war finally came to an end.
Still, true '90s kids will always remember Sgt. Slaughter for being one of the biggest heels around and also a backstage authority figure during WWE's Attitude era.
Claude Lemieux
9 of 10
Claude Lemieux won a lot of games and had a great career in the NHL. But that doesn't automatically make him beloved by fans.
Lemieux was aggressive, and because of that, he sometimes took things way too far. The peak of his craziness was when he launched Detroit Red Wings center Kris Draper into the boards with a colossal check from behind.
Draper's face was destroyed. Reporting about the incident at the time for the New York Times, Joe Lapointe went into detail about the injury:
"When Lemieux checked Draper, his face hit the top of the boards in front of the Detroit bench. He suffered a broken jaw, a concussion, damaged teeth, a possible fracture of the orbital bone and cuts that needed 30 stitches to close"
That type of stuff further fueled the hatred for Lemieux.
Even with a lack of popularity, the man wound up winning four Stanley Cups before he called it quits. Clearly he did something right.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan
10 of 10
The universe is a weird place. In what world would anyone who watched wrestling in the '80s and early '90s expect to see the ultimate good guy, Hulk Hogan, turn into one of the most hated characters in the sport?
When Hogan left the red and yellow behind in 1996, he helped formed one of the coolest cliques in sports entertainment. The New World Order took over wrestling and sparked WCW's golden years.
Even though the NWO was ultra-popular, Hogan was still tough to root for. Unlike his peers, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, Hollywood Hogan didn't carry that same level of anti-hero swagger.
As the NWO started to consume itself with what felt like 10,000 members, Hogan's allure was further driven down the tubes.
Despite not being big Hogan fans, kids who rocked out in the late '90s were big fans of the NWO.
Unless noted otherwise, all game scores, stats and information courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.
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