I'm a Steelers fan. I like a lot of teams, actually, but when it comes down, I'm a Steelers fan. The Steelers are a very hated team. So somehow, I get crap about them.
The thing that keeps me from being really passionate about sports is all of the pride. Pride of the players as well as the pride of the fans. The fans are worse though--they are bragging on something they don't and can't control. I know a lot of Bengals fans--one in particular is very hating of the Steelers. This year was a bit rough given that the Steelers lost both contests with the Bengals.
Now, what I'm getting at here is that the thing that goes hand in hand with pride in sports is disrespect. It's like, keep your hate. I don't want to hear about how great you think your team is and how crappy you think my team is. That's what I really don't like. And I'm as bad as any about hating teams, because I could list a few that make me red in the face. But I do my best to not rub in losses, or even mention them, because I know that not all sports fans are competitive (I'm not, for one) and you're likely to irritate someone like that.
I think that's all...