Cheers rang through Oracle Park on opening night as Aaron Judge of the Yankees struck out four times. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Some sports teams are universally disliked except by their passionate fans. The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are two teams that come to mind. The Los Angeles Dodgers definitely fall into this category as well.

The more a team wins, the more detractors it accumulates.

The more a team spends, the ire grows even stronger.

Every sport has a hateful team. The reasons may vary, but there seems to be certain widely held sentiment that X team is the one to hate on.

Even though Derek Jeter of the Yankees retired in 2014, fans still wear his jersey. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The “hate” probably provides fuel to that team’s fan base even in non-winning seasons.

It’s not always logical. After all, this is just entertainment.

It’s the buying your way to a championship that seems to irk most outsiders. The Dodgers top that list in baseball. But if your favorite team “bought” their way to a trophy, would you like them less?

“The Dodgers might have bought themselves a third consecutive World Series while continuing to shop on Rodeo Drive. Consider the player contracts: Shohei Ohtani ($700 million over 10 years), Mookie Betts ($365 million over 12 years), Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million over 12 years), Blake Snell ($182 million over five years) and Freddie Freeman ($162 million over six years),” Yahoo! Sports reports. “Outspend the competition by obscene amounts of money and build a nearly unbeatable roster. They did it again on Jan. 15, unofficially becoming the most reviled team in sports, agreeing with free agent Kyle Tucker on a four-year, $240 million contract.”

Yahoo! Sports earlier this year ranked the top five most hated teams in sports history:

• 1: LA Dodgers
• 2: NY Yankees
• 3: New England Patriots
• 4: Duke basketball
• 5: Detroit Pistons.

At Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, there were so many people in pinstripes for this year’s opening game I wondered if had been transported to Yankee Stadium. Nope. It’s just that these darn Yankee fans are everywhere.

They are loud and proud of their boys in pinstripes. Unfortunately, they had everything to cheer about in that three-game series.

But the Dodgers are in town this week. While there will be a sea of blue in San Francisco, fingers are crossed that the men in orange and black prevail—proving money can’t buy everything.