Though you may have a favorite team that you will cheer for throughout the holiday break, we think what is far more important is who you should root against. Follow our anti-rooting guide and you will know all the teams to let out your anger on to ensure a jolly holiday season.

Teams to root against in the NBA

New Orleans Pelicans

With the return of a healthy Zion Williamson, nothing has stopped the Pelicans, who jumped out to the top of the Western Conference with a record of 18-8 this year. However, a recent string of controversial incidents has led to this young squad becoming a team to root against. Last Friday, during the last five seconds of a game the Pelicans were winning by 10, Williamson threw down a 360 dunk that was completely unnecessary. To many, this broke the unwritten rule of not padding stats in the last couple of seconds when the game is already out of reach. Not only that, but in that same game, there were rumors of the Pelicans using a machine to amplify boos aimed toward Chris Paul, an opposing player who played for the Pelicans earlier in his career. Not only is that a completely obnoxious reaction from the fans, but it was also a completely unnecessary and disrespectful move by the team itself to someone that has done so much for the Pelican organization. 

Dallas Mavericks

If you’re looking for a team to support this holiday season, the Mavericks aren’t even an option because they barely qualify as a team. Their core consists of Luka Doncic…and that’s about it. The Mavericks depend on their Slovenian superstar to carry the team almost every single game, with the presence of their role players being negligible. They had a solid role player in Jalen Brunson last year, but the Mavericks let him walk in order to free up cap space to ensure Luka stays with the Mavs. This holiday season, don’t support the Mavericks, as they lack team chemistry and the basic ingredients for a team that is fun to watch and fun to root for. It would be much more exciting watching them lose, as they don’t play team basketball and they depend on one player for everything.

Teams to root against in NFL

Philadelphia Eagles

Between the Eagles toxic fanbase and their overwhelming success, it’s pretty easy to root against them. Of all fanbases too, Eagles fans are the least deserving of an elite team. These fans are obnoxious and disrespectful as they boo when opposing players get injured and heckle at any opportunity they get. Giants fans especially should root against the Eagles after their complete demolition of the G-Men in Week 14 and the fact that the two teams are divisional rivals. When the Eagles are playing the Cowboys, the hard part is deciding who to root against. The two teams play on Christmas Eve and although the Cowboys should be everyone’s least favorite team, the Eagles are a close second to many. So, with how the Eagles have played this season, they are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, which is why you should undoubtedly cheer for their demise.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers, led by Tom Brady, have put up one of the worst seasons in Brady’s hall of fame career. After what Brady has done to the NFL over the past 23 years, it is only right to root for his demise. Between Deflategate, Spygate I, Spygate II, and his NFL record seven Super Bowl rings, we have had enough of him and the team he plays for. Not to mention his recent controversy where he had retired during the 2022 offseason and only weeks later, decided he hadn’t played enough and would be returning without even missing one game. Brady elected to not go out on a high note and is paying for it this year as the Bucs sit at an underwhelming 6-7 record. Now that his illustrious career is coming to an end, NFL fans need revenge for the harm he’s done to all of our favorite football teams.

Teams to Root against in Soccer

Manchester City

There’s a reason why Manchester City seemingly can’t fill their stadium. The oil-funded “city-zens” operate more like a corporation rather than a soccer team. Owned by oil tycoon Seikh Mansour, the team essentially bought their way to the top, spending seemingly limitless amounts of money to create a super team straight out of something you’d see in a video game. The team has won 15 titles in the past 10 years. That is literally 1.5 titles a year. Woah. They are overpowered and there are no signs of it stopping as they are currently second during the December break. Manchester City deserve a loss, and their game against Leeds United on the 28th is a perfect opportunity for this upset.

Real Madrid

In Spain, the “Los Blancos” are seemingly the villains every year. Real Madrid has a history of winning, boasting some of the greatest players and managers of all time like Zinadene Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho, and Karim Benzema; last season they took home the Champions League Trophy. The team is known to play dirty, and back when their rivalry against Barcelona was the greatest on the planet, they were known to try and injure Barcelona’s best. The team is gearing up to play Valladolid on the 30th, so it’d be fun to watch the team lose for once in their lives. 

Teams to root against in College Sports

Georgia Bulldogs Football

The University of Georgia is the reigning National Champion, having just won their first National Championship since 1980. Similar to last year, the Bulldogs have been the number one team in the country for the majority of this season according to the Associated Press Poll. This may sound like a feel good story but it’s not. Georgia is becoming a college football dynasty right before our eyes and going all the way this year may solidify this. College football needs turnover and different teams at the top just like in every other sport, as it certainly isn’t fun to watch the same teams dominating the competition year after year. Georgia losing in the postseason will likely allow an underdog to win the College Football Playoff, and who doesn’t like a good underdog story?

Duke Blue Devils Men’s Basketball

It goes without saying that nobody really likes Duke. To even the most ordinary of college basketball fans, The team is associated with terms like overwhelming dominance, obnoxious fans, and Coach K. While Coach K retired last year, Duke is still, and always will be, a team to root against. Duke has created a “team culture” that consists of playing dirty and being overly cocky, as evidenced by players like Christian Laettner and Grayson Allen who went to Duke and carried these toxic traits with them into the NBA. In fact, Duke coaching staff has encouraged players to obnoxiously “slap the floor,” a technique made popular by players where a defender slaps the floor mid-coverage in order to intimidate their opponent. At the same time, Duke continuously gets one of the best recruiting classes in the nation every single year, no matter their results in the previous year. This cycle of top high school talent committing to Duke just furthers their dominance every year, much to everyone else’s dismay. So far, this trend has continued in the 2022 season as Duke has jumped to a 10-2 overall record, landing them at 4th in the ACC. Thus, this holiday season, make sure you are steadfastly against Duke.