The Astros continue to be mired deeply within a shocking and awful cheating scandal. The Rockets have not only gone all in on small ball, but they feature two of the most surprisingly unliked superstars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Despite the excellence on the court and the diamond, people love to hate on Houston.
And that's not even counting the Texans, who seem to be operating under a set of rules wholly independent of the rest of the NFL.
If you are a Houston sports fan, you might feel like we have returned to a time when we had no championships, when Houston sports were more synonymous with misery than joy.
Don't let that happen. If you are feeling bad bout the Astros cheating or about the criticism of the Rockets, remember your new best friend: spite.
You no longer have to be attached to the idea of being beloved. You are free from the tether to teams that need to be liked and respected. At this point, who cares? When it comes to Houston sports, things have broken bad, so there is no good reason not to embrace the hate.
From this point forward, enjoy every moment of victory and shove it down the throats of the haters. What they think is irrelevant. They counted us out for decades. Nothing has changed.
Besides, what do we, as fans, have to apologize for? Nothing.
What, you don't like our teams? Like we care. You think you can damage our psyche? Please. We lived through Buffalo and Phi Slama Jama. Media called the Rockets Uglyball in the '90s when we were winning titles. The New York Post called Houston a Hellhole. That's the best you've got?
We've lived through hurricanes and floods and recessions and oil busts. We've been the least cool, least recognized big city in America. We went from a blue collar oil town to a a white collar innovative center of industry. And you think people bitching about how much James Harden dribbles makes us feel bad about ourselves? You must be crazy.
When we hear Charles Barkley or Shaquille O'Neal bitching about the Rockets, we just remember Sir Charles once threw someone through a plate glass window in Houston and Shaq got swept by the Rockets in the Finals. When Bill Simmons calls this team unwatchable, we remember he's unlistenable.
And while we may not be thrilled with the Astros cheating scandal, it changes nothing. The Dodgers weren't beating our 'Stros in 2017. And they probably won't beat them in 2020 either.
You aren't rooting for us. We don't care. We didn't ask for nor do we need your approval. We've been picked on, laughed at and ignored for as long as we can remember. Go ahead and add hate to the list. It only makes us stronger.