Who to hate

So you're a Buffalo Bulls fan...

When you arrive at UB, it should be obvious whom you're expected to cheer for. UB Athletics is a Division-I program with a lot of up-and-coming sports. Rooting for the blue and white is a sometimes frustrating, but promising aspect for fans to look forward to.

But with the love for your school and its athletics comes the necessary hatred you must possess for its opponents and rivals.

Over the years, gritty losses and battles that our athletes have endured have sparked some personal hatred that us, as fans, should be aware of. Our goal as fans falls in line with the team that's on the field. We attend games to boo and make the opponents feel as uncomfortable as possible - anything to give our squad a mental edge.

We will enlighten you on who deserves the most aggression from our fans.

Men's Basketball: Akron

The overrated team that never was. Akron is consistently regarded by most as the Mid-American Conference's most dominant team, especially last season with 7-foot shot-blocker Zeke Marshall.

The Bulls paid little attention to Marshall or the Zips, as they swept the Zips and earned the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament. The Bulls had plenty of losses to teams less qualified than the Zips (and we will get to them later). But it is a feeling of dismantling them from a title they had yet to earn that sparked the Bulls to dominate them last season.

Heading into the 2012 season there is one thing that will be for sure: the Zips will be looking for revenge. When Akron step foot in Alumni Arena, the five starting Bulls won't be the only thing they should fear. Boo them feverishly.

All Sports: Kent State

It's simple: hate Kent State. Why? Because of people like former guard Michael Porrini, who got into the Bulls' huddle during a timeout, and had a face you just wanted to punch. He got into a heated argument with Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon. If Witherspoon - quite possibly the nicest guy on the face of the earth - gets mad at you, you know you deserve to be hated.

Also hate the Golden Flashes because of the distance; they're the closest team to Buffalo in the MAC. Because they always find a way to break the Bulls' hearts. Because their baseball team is excellent. Because we have never beaten them on the road at the MAC Center.

They deserve our hate. Give them plenty.

Basketball: Ohio

Oh, Ohio, how we hate thee. Last year's three-point loss to the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament semifinals was a 'stomach-punch' type loss. That Buffalo team was considered to be one of the best UB squads ever, and a championship seemed destined.

Back in '05, in a very similar situation, the Bulls lost to Ohio on a tip-in, which cost the Bulls the MAC title and a berth into the NCAA tournament, in which the Bulls have never been. Every time Buffalo seem poised to have a magical season, and finally get the proverbial monkey off its back, the Bobcats take it away.

F*ck Ohio.

Football: Ball State

There are still tears flowing from Muncie, Ind. from the loss in the 2008 MAC Championship game, a game in which their 12th-ranked Cardinals fell in spectacular fashion to the Bulls, 42-24, ending their undefeated season and giving Buffalo its only football title.

Their fans felt cheated, that they still should have beaten the Bulls, that we were lucky. The game last season was a hotly contested one, and the Cardinals were the ones victorious at home, as a touchdown with 29 seconds left gave them the 28-25 win.

This one is sure to heat up in the next couple of years.

Let the hate begin.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com