"They hate us cause they ain't us."
No matter the fanbase, each state has its most-hated rival. That one team whose fate often looms more importantly than that of your hometown favorite. Losing seasons become successful when your team beats that hated rival. Coaching fates are won and lost depending on the final score during rivalry week. And sometime even a national championship feels just a bit empty -- just ask Ohio State.
RotoWire.com finding the "Most Hated Sports Team in Every State" means looking across each of the four major professional sports and trying to determine its most popular team -- and that team's top rival. Sounds simple enough. But the data often tells a different story once you go beyond the cliches and social media posts.
For some states, their most-hated rival pre-dates the dawn of professional sports in the U.S. The rivalry between Boston and New York, and New York and Philadelphia, goes back to the 18th Century -- as those cities competed for commerce and power in the American colonies.
Much to chagrin of those in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who took the first bold steps in the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence was drafted in Philadelphia some 250 years ago. But it was New York, and not Philadelphia, that served as the new nation's first capital when the Constitution went into effect in 1789.
The hatred runs centuries deep.
San Francisco 49ers 4 
Atlanta Falcons 3 
New Orleans Saints 2 
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 
Las Vegas Raiders 1 
Dallas Cowboys 1 
Philadelphia Eagles 1 
New York Yankees 6 
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 
San Francisco Giants 2 
St. Louis Cardinals 2 
Boston Red Sox 2 
Chicago Cubs 1 
Texas Rangers 1 
Houston Astros 1 
Minnesota Wild 4 
Pittsburgh Penguins 4 
Colorado Avalanche 3 
Chicago Blackhawks 2 
Philadelphia Flyers 1 
St. Louis Blues 1 
Boston Celtics 2 
Golden State Warriors 2 
Denver Nuggets 1 | # | Most Hated Team | Sport | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Yankees Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont | MLB | 6 |
| 2 | San Francisco 49ers Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington | NFL | 4 |
| 3 | Minnesota Wild Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming | NHL | 4 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia | NHL | 4 |
| 5 | Colorado Avalanche Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota | NHL | 3 |
| 6 | Atlanta Falcons Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina | NFL | 3 |
| 7 | New Orleans Saints Alabama, Georgia | NFL | 2 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Dodgers Arizona, New Mexico | MLB | 2 |
| 9 | Boston Celtics California, Florida | NBA | 2 |
| 10 | San Francisco Giants Hawaii, Nevada | MLB | 2 |
| 11 | St. Louis Cardinals Illinois, Iowa | MLB | 2 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers Indiana, Kentucky | NFL | 2 |
| 13 | Chicago Blackhawks Michigan, Missouri | NHL | 2 |
| 14 | Boston Red Sox New Jersey, New York | MLB | 2 |
| 15 | Golden State Warriors Ohio, Tennessee | NBA | 2 |
| 16 | Chicago Cubs Arkansas | MLB | 1 |
| 17 | Las Vegas Raiders Kansas | NFL | 1 |
| 18 | Texas Rangers Louisiana | MLB | 1 |
| 19 | Houston Astros Oklahoma | MLB | 1 |
| 20 | Dallas Cowboys Pennsylvania | NFL | 1 |
| 21 | Philadelphia Eagles Texas | NFL | 1 |
| 22 | Denver Nuggets Utah | NBA | 1 |
| 23 | Philadelphia Flyers West Virginia | NHL | 1 |
| 24 | St. Louis Blues Wisconsin | NHL | 1 |
Key Data Findings
When breaking down our data by sport, MLB is the dominant driver of rivalries nationally, winning 17 states -- likely reflecting the depth and longevity of baseball's regional identities. The winner here -- the New York Yankees -- began as a charter American League team -- in Baltimore -- back in 1901. The franchise relocated folded and relocated to New York as the Highlanders in 1903.
The sports hate then began to flow toward New York from New England. The Boston Red Sox began as a charter American League team in 1901 in won the first World Series two years later.
The hatred for the NHL's Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins backs just a bit more octane than their NFL counterparts in San Francisco and Atlanta. That's a nod to the strong hockey culture corridor from the Great Lakes through New England and into the mid-Atlantic.
In the NBA, success breeds envy as the Boston Celtics (an all-time best 18 NBA titles) and Golden State share top honors for the most hated ream in the Association.
Top Rival Team By Sport
| Sport | States Won | Top Rival Team |
|---|---|---|
| MLB | 17 | New York Yankees (6 states) |
| NHL | 15 | Minnesota Wild / Pittsburgh Penguins (4 each) |
| NFL | 14 | San Francisco 49ers / Atlanta Falcons |
| NBA | 5 | Boston Celtics / Golden State Warriors |
More Most Hated RotoWire Research
- Most Hated NHL Teams In Each State
- Most Hated NFL Team In Each State
- Most Hated College Football Teams: A State-by-State Map of America's Villains
The Most Universally Hated Teams
The Yankees sweep the 6 New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) as their most-hated rival in our survey. That makes the Yankees most-hated rival in the most states. No other team in any sport comes close to that breadth of regional or national antipathy. For millions of New Englanders, October of 2004 rivals July of 1776 when it comes to independence and liberation from tyranny.
Most-Hated Teams Overall
| Rank | Most Hated Rival | Sport | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Yankees | MLB | 6 |
| T-2 | San Francisco 49ers | NFL | 4 |
| T-2 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 4 |
| T-2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 4 |
| T-5 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 3 |
| T-5 | Atlanta Falcons | NFL | 3 |
| T-7 | New Orleans Saints | NFL | 2 |
| T-7 | Los Angeles Dodgers | MLB | 2 |
| T-7 | Boston Celtics | NBA | 2 |
| T-7 | San Francisco Giants | MLB | 2 |
| T-7 | St. Louis Cardinals | MLB | 2 |
| T-7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | NFL | 2 |
| T-7 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 2 |
| T-7 | Boston Red Sox | MLB | 2 |
| T-7 | Golden State Warriors | NBA | 2 |
How We Did It
Each state's rival was determined by identifying the dominant local fanbase team per sport, calculating a rivalry score for that team's primary rival, and taking the highest score across the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB, and taking the highest score across all four leagues as the state's "most hated." Scores are composite figures drawn from RotoWire fandom survey data weighted by rivalry intensity factors (historical matchup depth, geographic proximity, and playoff/championship friction).
