How do you respond to readers who think you hate their team?

Atta girl.

 

I don't hate your team, Caller. I don't care about your team.

 

This is the type of group rationale I'm talking about:

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=78&f=1410&t=8842016


Are the majority of the people that read sports columns this stupid? Why would Gregg Doyel, a national columnist who went to freaking Florida, care about what happens to UNC?

 

"Are the majority"

 

Since this has already been threadjacked, I don't mind saying that as a Seminole fan myself, I do agree with the term "freaking Florida." In my brain, though, I use another "f" word.

 

Be proud KJIM of your circus college.

 

I get this angle more often, but every so often someone will chastise us for "not supporting the local team." I try to point out that I work for a "news" paper, not a "fan" paper.

 

We cover 26 high schools. In my 21 years at the paper, I think we've been told that we hate every one of those schools.

 

When I lived in Jacksonville, one of the most polarized sports towns in the country, every single fan base thought I hated their team and loved their rival.

The fact they all thought that made it not possibly true didn't help; nor did the fact I went to Wisconsin.

I was a closet Gator lover/Seminole hater or Seminole lover/Gator hater or Gator lover/Bulldog hater ... etc.

 

There are some fan bases that you just can't please, no matter what you do. We have a small-school boys basketball team around here that has been No. 1 in the state the last two years (they've lost in the state championship game both times). We cover all of their games that we expect to be competitive, and then all of their postseason games.

But we'll get people who will call and be all upset because we weren't there on a night when they were playing a team that had won one game all season and the final score was 86-13. And then we hear how much we don't like them. I point out all kinds of facts, and they won't listen.

 

The entire problem with this thread is the predication that we should respond to commenters on stories.

How do you respond to readers who think you hate their team? You don't.

The end.

 

Just ignore readers? Always?

Not quite sure about that.