By Other Division Rivals, Are The Saints The Most Hated NFC South Team? (1 Viewer)

[Saint Jack]

Every division has the one team that is universally hated by the others in that division. The NFC East has the Cowboys. The AFC East has the Patriots. The AFC North has the Steelers. You get the idea. Anyway, I was reading this thread on the Falcons forum.

Who do most Panthers fans hate more Falcons or Saints?

And it got me thinking. Are the Saints that team for the NFC South? That when the Saints succeed, it makes the offseason a little more bitter for the others.
Basically, every other team in the NFC South is jealous.

 

[Swimmer]

Every division has the one team that is universally hated by the others in that division. The NFC East has the Cowboys. The AFC East has the Patriots. The AFC North has the Steelers. You get the idea. Anyway, I was reading this thread on the Falcons forum.

Who do most Panthers fans hate more Falcons or Saints?

And it got me thinking. Are the Saints that team for the NFC South? That when the Saints succeed, it makes the offseason a little more bitter for the others.
Basically, every other team in the NFC South is jealous.

And after we win the SB this year, they will be sick to their stomach

 

[BoNcHiE]

I think it's Atlanta.

 

[mdharper]

Geographically it's the Falcons, so that who it will be on average over time. Tampa gets to be a Florida vacation.

 

[Jumpman910]

No one hates that dumpster in Tampa. Its pure comedy how long theyve been bad

 

[panther17]

I don't think the NFC South has one. Not one team has dominated the division. And only one of the teams has been a safe bet to be out of the playoffs talk by the Hall of Fame game kickoff.

 

[Buickman]

My step-son is a Carolina fan and he hates Atlanta almost as much as me....Almost.
And yes, I've tried to lead him from the dark side to the light.

 

[syracuse saint]

I think that it would be Atlanta. I believe that, if they were honest, most NFC south non-Saints fans would be envious of us having Drew and SP. Also, I think that Cam Newton makes Carolina be a real close 2nd to Atlanta. There are times when I dislike them as much as Atlanta because of him.

 

[ChaChingBaby]

I wouldn't bother reading other team's forums, cause every fan base is biased in their own right, including ours.

The Falcons fans no doubt hate us the most. It's completely understandable, since we are their biggest rival and vice versa. I believe one of the reasons our rivalry is so strong is because neither team has a long history of relevancy. We were a dumpster fire when they had their playoff years in the 70's and 80's and then the same happened in reverse when we had our good teams in the late 80's. Only in 1991 were both teams playoff contenders and that was probably the height of the rivalry back then. I think our rivalry with them has truly heated up to serious levels in the last decade since both teams have made the playoffs in the same year now 3 times.

Do not forget that all through the 80's and 90's, the Falcons were no different than us in terms of having to deal with the annoyance that was of the 49ers dynasty. If you grew up with the Mora era, you probably hated the 49ers more than any other divisional foe. Joe Montana and Steve Young both retired with an undefeated record in our Superdome. No matter how great our Dome Patrol defenses were, the 49ers were the juggernaut that always prevented us from having a first round bye in the playoffs and the possibility of a serious title run. The same thing happened to the Falcons, except they managed to outdo the Goliath in 1998 at the end of the Niners long run.

Our history with the 49ers is undoubtedly one of the major reasons why the 2011 playoff loss hurt so much. It brought back all those scars from the past and painful memories of seeing them rip our hearts out. A lot of the most agonizing close losses we had in the 80's and 90's were to those 49ers. Like I said, if you grew up in the 80's and 90's, you probably hated the 49ers more than any other team.

I think Panthers fans have always hated us the absolute most, or at least in the last decade or so. We're the only team that has a ring in the current era, so it's understandable for them to hate our Saints.

No one cares about Tampa Bay at all. They've become so irrelevant since after 2002, their win/loss record since then is starting to look eerily similar to the old creamsicle Bucs of the 80's and early 90's. I don't hate them, I feel bad for their long time fans who have every right to be displeased with management. They're kinda like Buffalo, except they have a ring.

 

[Super Dad]

I woud rank it:
- Atlanta
- Carolina
- Saints
- Bucs (hard to hate a team that has been subpar for as long as they have)

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

I think we are. I’ve got a lifelong friend who is a Falcons fan (I know) and one who is a Panthers fan. I’ll ask them for their POV. I don’t have any Bucs fan friends.

I would think that with all of our success over the last decade we would be their number one enemy. Haters only come after you when your kool aid is good. I used to hate the Cowboys but they’ve sucked for so long I am totally apathetic towards them now. Usually have to be good to be hated.

 

[mountaineerdude]

Well the Falcons and their fans are both classless and sorry .... they threw eggs at our bus in 2012 ..... their radio station made fun of Steve Gleason ..... and I pity them for having to pump in artificial sound into their stadium to provide undue advantage to their team ....

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Well the Falcons and their fans are both classless and sorry .... they threw eggs at our bus in 2012 ..... their radio station made fun of Steve Gleason ..... and I pity them for having to pump in artificial sound into their stadium to provide undue advantage to their team ....

Not all of their fans. My friend is very classy and a good dude. He just happens to love the Falcons. There are exceptions to every rule.

 

[whodatphil]

If you are the most liked team in the division, you are probably doing something wrong lol

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

If you are the most liked team in the division, you are probably doing something wrong lol

Exactly!