Stars Only Home Fans Could (Irrationally) Love
The "Free Tom Brady" rally in New England showed that home fans still love Tom Brady. And why wouldn't they? He is a winner, and he brought them four Super Bowl titles. However, his on-field whining and Deflategate drama has made it harder for anyone outside New England to like him lately.
Why do people in L.A. love Kobe Bryant despite his widely publicized arrogance? Why do fans in Cincinnati support reinstatement for Pete Rose despite his admitted wrongdoing?
The answer is this: home fans are loyal. Sometimes, the same behavior that has opposing fans booing has home fans defending their own even harder. The following athletes are beloved by the home fans, but maybe not so much by everyone else. And in each situation, there are a few possibilities for what home and way fans might be thinking.
Josh Hamilton
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What Opposing Fans Think: He left Texas the wrong way, and he's been a bust.
Josh Hamilton bolted Texas in 2013 for a $125 million deal with the Los Angeles, and he rubbed it in a little. Hamilton told Gina Miller of CBS DFW, "Texas, especially Dallas, has always been a football town. They're supportive, but they also got a little spoiled at the same time, pretty quickly. There’s true baseball fans in Texas, but it's not a true baseball town."
What Texas Fans Think: He's a great player, and we're happy to have him back.
L.A. traded Hamilton back to Texas, who welcomed him with open arms, giving him a standing ovation his first game back.
Danica Patrick
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What Opposing Fans Think: She gets too much hype for someone who hasn't backed it up on the track.
Danica Patrick is certainly a role model for aspiring female athletes. However, she has just one win in the IndyCar series—the 2008 Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan—and zero wins in NASCAR. She does have the most top-10 finishes for a female in NASCAR, but generally in sports, people have to win a few championships to get the type of hype Patrick does.
What Danica Patrick Fans Think: She's awesome, and we want to see more of her.
Here, "home fans" just refers to die-hard D.P. fans. She's not a team, but there are avowed supporters out there who passionately defend her. A 2014 Harris Poll found Patrick to be the No. 2 most popular female athlete in America, according to ESPN—ranked higher than Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova.
In addition, she just became the only person to get voted into the Sprint All-Star Race twice. Alec Brzezinski of Sporting News reported Patrick said:
"I have great fans. I know I didn’t make it in last year, but I heard that they voted even more last year than the year before that and so I’m sure that this year was nothing different. I think I got close at the end and they came through. They always come through. I am lucky to have such great fans.
"
Sidney Crosby
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What Opposing Fans Think: He's a cry baby.
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins has the reputation of being a bit of a whiner. In 2013, on a plane carrying members of the sports media, the pilot heard a crying baby in the background and got on the intercom to ask if Sidney Crosby was aboard.
What Pittsburgh Fans Think: We's one of the best hockey players in the game, and we want him for the long haul.
Crosby was just 18 years old when he played in his first NHL game, and 20 when he was named captain of the Penguins. He's a prolific goal-scorer, and his team has such faith in him, they signed him through 2025.
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Pete Rose
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Pete Rose is baseball's all-time hits leader, but he was also given a lifetime ban from MLB for gambling in 1989. Decades later, Rose is petitioning MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement.
What Opposing Fans Think: He admitted to wrongdoing, and he should serve his punishment.
Steven Marcus of Newsday reported former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent said:
"This issue has always been the deterrent in baseball against gambling [and] is almost perfectly successful. It never happens, and the reason it doesn't happen is if you touch that third rail, you're out of baseball for life whether you're a Hall of Famer or not, and nobody's ever been reinstated.
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What Cincinnati Fans Think: Rose should be reinstated. Many, especially those in Cincinnati, think he should get off with time served, so to speak.
Mason Levinson of Bloomberg Business reported the results of a poll by Seton Hall University. The survey found that 48 percent of respondents felt Rose should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Marshawn Lynch
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What Opposing Fans Think: Sure, he's good at football, but what is his problem with the media?
Marshawn Lynch harbors a very public disdain for the media. He famously responded with only one phrase during his four-and-a-half minutes at Bowl XLIX media day: "I’m just here so I won’t get fined."
Lynch isn't always friendly with fans either. In 2014, TMZ reported Lynch refused to sign autographs or engage with fans after a game in Washington D.C., while teammate Russell Wilson was happy to do so.
What Seattle Fans Think: He's Beast Mode, and we love him.
Marshawn Lynch is one of the most dominating rushers in the NFL. The Super Bowl champion has posted four straight 1,000-yard-plus seasons, and he is capable of beast rushes like this. According to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, teammate Doug Baldwin said of Lynch, "He is getting the most popularity for doing nothing, so I would tell him to change nothing."
Brett Favre
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What Opposing Fans Think: His retirement drama was ridiculous.
Once revered in Green Bay as the Packers' legendary quarterback, Brett Favre's wishy-washy retirement saga soured even those who once worshipped him. Not only did Favre jerk the Packers around about his retirement, but he later went on to play for their division rival Minnesota Vikings.
What Green Bay Fans Think: He was our quarterback for 15 years, and we forgive him for the way he left.
Despite his muddy departure, the folks in Green Bay seem to look upon Favre with admiration. The Packers have scheduled a number retirement ceremony at Lambeau Field for Thanksgiving, and he is also going to be inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. According to Weston Hodkiewicz of USA Today, fans protested after the initial plan involved keeping the ceremony closed to the public, and now fans will be welcome to attend.
Tom Brady
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What Opposing Fans Think: He's kind of a jerk on the field, and now he might have also cheated and lied.
Tom Brady has a history of yelling at referees when he doesn't get his way, and his wife once dissed his own teammate. Now, his reputation has really taken a hit due to all this Deflategate business. He was suspended by the NFL for four games when the Wells Report found he was "at least generally aware" of equipment tampering.
What New England Fans Think: He's our guy, and we love him. Also, don't hate us cuz you ain't us.
It makes sense that Brady is beloved in Boston. He has, after all, led the New England Patriots to four Super Bowl championships. Patriots fans recently held a rally to "Free Tom Brady" at Gillette Stadium. One couple even vowed to postpone their honeymoon until he is "free" of the suspension.
Cristiano Ronaldo
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What Opposing Fans Think: He flops, and he's arrogant.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a reputation for being a flopper and for being a bit too arrogant. He once told Marca (via Tony Manfred of Business Insider) why opposing fans boo him: "It is because I am handsome, rich and a great player, because I am envied. I have no other explanation."
What Real Madrid/Portugal Fans Think: He's the best player in the world—we're glad he's on our team.
Ronaldo has won FIFA's Ballon d'Or three times, and he is wildly popular despite his public arrogance. In a 2014 analysis, Forbes discovered he has by far the largest social media following among major athletes.
Manny Ramirez
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What Opposing Fans Think: He's a cheater.
The end of Manny Ramirez' long career was marred by PED scandal. In 2009, his name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003, meaning he could've been using during the Red Sox 2004 World Series run.
Ramirez served a 50-game suspension while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then in 2011, he tested positive again but opted to retire instead of facing a 100-game suspension.
What Boston Fans Think: He's a winner.
Ramirez had a long and successful baseball career. He spent seven-and-a-half seasons with the Boston Red Sox, where he helped them win two World Series titles and made the All-Star team every year.
Despite his involvement with PEDs, Ramirez remains a beloved figure in Boston. The Red Sox paid tribute to him during a ceremony at Fenway Park in 2014, and Ramirez received a rousing standing ovation from fans.
Kobe Bryant
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What Opposing Fans Think: He's cocky, and he's a ball hog.
It's no secret Kobe Bryant has a general arrogance to him regarding basketball. In fact, he once told Chuck Klosterman for GQ (warning: interview contains profanity), "Does my nature make me less enjoyable to play with? Of course. Of course it does."
Regarding the ball hogging, Bryant once told Janis Carr of the Orange Country Register, "I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team. I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown."
What Lakers Fans Think: He's one of the greatest players ever, and we hope he never retires.
Kobe Bryant is a five-time NBA champion and therefore beloved in Los Angeles. Being in L.A., he also has many celebrity fans. Rapper Lil' Wayne told Jeff Weist of LA Weekly he became a Lakers fan when Bryant came to town, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea once defended the Mamba against a critical article by Henry Abbott of ESPN.
Ryan Braun
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What Opposing Fans Think: He cheated, and he was a real jerk about that urine sample thing.
In 2011, Ryan Braun tested positive for synthetic testosterone but successfully appealed a penalty. The basis of his appeal had to do with chain of custody issues. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Braun solicited support from other players and told some of them the urine collector responsible for his positive sample was anti-Semitic.
In 2013, Braun's connection with the Biogenesis scandal earned him a 65-game suspension. This time, he admitted to lying about PED use and apologized for how he handled the situation in 2011-12.
What Milwaukee Fans Think: Yay for Ryan Braun!
So, most guys who have been involved in doping scandals—and especially those who have lied about it—suffer the consequence of a tarnished reputation. The fans in Milwaukee must be the most forgiving people on the planet, because they gave him a raucous standing ovation upon his return from suspension.
Tiger Woods
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What Opposing Fans Think: He doesn't seem like an overly good guy.
Historically, Tiger Woods hasn't exactly had a harmonious relationship with the media. Then in 2009, rumors of infidelity resulted in one of sports' biggest scandals in years. Woods eventually admitted to allegations of extramarital affairs—his reputation took a huge hit, and major sponsors began to back out.
What Tiger Woods Fans Think: He's one of the golf's greats, and he's had a positive impact on the health of the sport. We're over his past.
Woods also isn't a home team, but he does have dedicated fans who are on "Team Tiger" and rigorously support him. Woods has won 14 majors and spent 683 total weeks as the world's No. 1 golfer. He helped resurrect the game of golf, and his contributions are lasting.
Three years after the infidelity scandal, Woods' success on the golf course helped him to regain some of the lost popularity. His final round at the 2013 Players Championship drew 7.6 million viewers, the most any round in that tournament had drawn in over 20 years. Woods is also wildly popular on social media, despite his rare use of those channels.
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