Poll: Alabama Fans’ Most Hated Football Player Ever
By Editorial Staff
There are some players that chap you more than others. Most of the time, players are hated by other teams because they are really talented, get too much media attention or are just flat out dirty. For Alabama, these players come along every year but there are some that stick out more than the average bear. They are the ones that make you want to throw a heavy object at your TV, burn an image of the player in your backyard and say words that your mother would be ashamed of. Who is that player for you?
Peyton Manning
Over the years, there have been certain people that could bring out a fiery rage in my father that would frighten women and children; Peyton Manning is one of those people. Manning is no longer a threat to Alabama, but there are still some people that cringe at the sight of him. He’s the reason I know all the different combination of curse words and insults that I do. He was revered as one of the best players in the nation and certainly the best quarterback Tennessee had ever seen. He was loved by announcers and you couldn’t turn on a TV without seeing his face on the screen. I suppose it helps that he never won a national championship or a Heisman.
Cam Newton
There has never been a smile I hated to see more than the one that plastered across the face of Cam Newton so many times in the past few years. This Auburn quarterback is a player that can drive Alabama fans into a tizzy by just mentioning his name. This is a perfect example of someone that is easy to hate because not only is he an amazing athlete that helped Auburn get their national championship, he seems like a real piece of work. It wasn’t just his controversy, it was his attitude. His smugness and cockiness are by and large the most maddening characteristics of Cam Newton. The biggest annoyance regarding Newton is that Alabama never got redemption when it came to him. I think that’s why he gets my ultimate vote.
Tim Tebow
Tebow is someone that is a little harder for me to hate. It’s not easy hating someone who seems like a genuinely good person. I kept waiting for a scandal and yet, nothing. Tim Tebow is another player that is a darling of the media. Certain sports media figures questioned their own sexuality on air for this talented and quite handsome quarterback. It was infuriating. Despite the fact that he seemed to own the world and Alabama for a period of time, we got to watch him weep like a baby on the sidelines after the 2010 SEC championship and that was an amazing feeling. He’s gone now and many people have decided to stop hating him but I know several that will never get over the way they feel about him.
Tyrann Mathieu
Mathieu goes on this list for the simple reason that when I hear his name an unexplainable fury takes over my entire body. Some of you may already be aware of my disgust for “The Honey Badger,” and I fear it hasn’t subsided even though Alabama shut him down in the National Championship game. Don’t get me wrong; the guy is good, but he’s not amazing. He’s a dirty player who thinks far too much of himself. He has the same trouble-making skills as Cam Newton, and shares a lot of his cocky attitude. These guys should be best friends. Ugh. I’m getting worked up just thinking about this guy.
Other
Manning, Newton, Tebow and Mathieu are not the only players that Alabama fans have loved to hate. There are plenty of alternatives: Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, Darren McFadden, Jordan Jefferson and others. Heck, there are probably some Alabama players that may make your list (I can think of several that have driven me crazy). Who would you pick?