Indiana vs. Chicago.
Small city vs. big city.
Colts vs. Bears.
Pacers vs. Bulls.
When I was growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I only hated a handful of teams. Being a Cubs fan, I hated the Cardinals, being a Bulls fan I hated the Jazz, being a Bears fan and a good person I hated the Packers, and being a Blackhawks fan I hated the Red Wings.
Chicago loves its sports and hates the rivals. Growing up, I remember burning any Green Bay memorabilia before the Bears played the Packers.
Common phrases around my house would be the infamous “Detroit Sucks” chant, and “The Mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays”, in reference to Karl Malone choking in the playoffs against the Michael Jordan-led Bulls.
In Chicago, we love having rivalries and we take them very seriously, almost like a religion. It was a sin to ever cheer for the Packers or Red Wings, or even date a fan of the teams. Fans of those teams are horrible people, I was taught.
In Chicago there was never a reason to hate any team from the small town of Indianapolis. I never knew anyone from Indianapolis and never knew anything about their fans.
They had a good Pacers team with Reggie Miller leading the way when I was growing up, and the Colts were on the upswing with new future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. The only time I hated Indy sports teams is when they were facing a Chicago team.
Everything changed one night.
February 4th, 2007.
I was a senior in high school living and breathing Chicago Bears football. That dreary, rainy night I watched the game at my house with my brother instead of going to a Super Bowl party.
I was focused and ready to celebrate a championship. Instead the great Rex Grossman had different plans, and flushed my championship dreams down the toilet. From then on I hated the Colts, Manning, and the whole city of Indianapolis with a burning passion.
Just my luck the upcoming fall I was attending Indiana University, where timing couldn’t have been worse. I walked into a hurricane that first year.
No matter what the Bears did that season, I couldn’t say a word without an Indiana-born kid saying “Well we beat you in the Super Bowl.” These words have haunted my dreams for four years.
I yearn for the day that Peyton Manning retires and takes half the Colts fans with him into the abyss.
To add more fuel to the fire, the Bulls played the Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs this year. While the Bulls won the series in five games, the series was a battle, and was a lot closer than it should have been.
The Pacers kept it close every game, even winning one. For a week, no Indy and Chicago kids were friends. All conversations would turn into the argument “I can’t believe you let an eight seed beat you in a game!”
When the series was all said and done ,the Pacers fans instantly became Atlanta Hawks fans and are cheering for a Bulls demise. Soon I will be out of this small state of Indiana and back in Sweet Home Chicago, but my hatred for Indy sports will still burn.
