LeBron James and the Miami Heat: The Sports Psychology Behind Hating Them
Last summer, millions of sports fans flocked to their televisions to watch LeBron James make the "Decision" as to where he would sign to play basketball for the next several years. Even the best experts and prognosticators couldn't exactly predict where The King was going until just hours before the announcement. "He's going to the Bulls!" or "No! He's New York-bound!"
One thing is for sure. The minute that Mr. James announced he was going to Miami to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, 95 percent of the NBA fanbase became part of the anti-Heat coalition. If the overblown announcement and feelings of self-importance didn't make people a little uneasy and empathetic to the folks in Cleveland, what occurred only a few days later certainly did.
The Big Three staged a preseason championship party at the American Airlines Arena, where the trio celebrated the multiple championships that were sure to come.
To make matters worse, LeBron followed with a Nike commercial in which he mocked all of the people who had criticized him throughout the process.
During the past NBA season, article after article contained discussions of "can they do it?" At arenas all over the country, fans came out to mock The King and Heat teammates as much as they showed to cheer their local heroes.
The vitriol for this athlete and his team was outrageous. People actually used the word HATE to describe their feelings.
Why the hate? Where does this "hatred" come from in sports, where the average fan rarely, if ever, even vaguely knows the players that they mock?
The psychology of sports rivalry, particularly in this case, is based in many different areas. Even though most anti-Heat fans don't want to hear it, the main cause of their feelings is jealousy.
Sports Jealousy creates rivalries and makes people emotional about their team and the feelings of satisfaction when other athletes, teams and fans feel disappointment in their own team's performance. Sports Jealousy is comprised of negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that a person values—their allegiance to a team or favorite player.
In spectator circumstances, this Sports Jealousy often consists of a combination of anger, sadness, resentment and disgust. However, these feelings are increased depending on each individual's own situation and sense of accomplishment.
For example, I am certain that fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics have the greatest amounts of animosity towards the Miami Heat and James.
Why? Because they have the most to lose emotionally if the Miami Heat are successful.
Do you think the average Los Angeles Clippers fan hates James? Yes and No.
If that fan feels that LeBron dissed the Clips by not signing with them, then that fan will have higher levels of animosity and Sports Jealousy than the fan that is realistic about their own team's chances of signing James and focuses more on their own Rookie of the Year and the future prospects of competing for attention in L.A.
Feeling a little Sports Jealousy of your own? Don't worry! These kinds of emotions drive attendance and interest in sports. After all, we all like the adrenaline rush of a villain.
So for this, we should all THANK LeBron and the Heat for providing us with someone to root against. That said, my Sports Jealousy is happy that the Dallas Mavericks won the championship!
