Why do we hate Florida State?

I admit it. I am a Florida State hater.  Judging by yesterday's reaction to the Seminoles loss to Oregon in the national semi-final, I am far from the only one.  It seems that most of the country took great pleasure in seeing Jameis Winston, Jimbo Fisher and the rest of the FSU team dismantled at the hands of current Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and the talented Ducks.  I never felt sorry for Florida State, but at some point I began to wonder what is behind the loathing? Why do we love to hate Florida State?

I think there are several reasons why the Seminoles became the J.R. Ewing of college football. One reason has to be their success.  I remember when the Chicago Bulls were on their remarkable run of NBA Championships. The country was polarized by the Bulls, either you loved them because they were so good, or you hated them for that very reason.  I think there is a large percentage of people who love the underdog, and if you love the underdog, you can't love Florida State, a team that had won 29 in a row going into the Rose Bowl.  It was maddening to the Seminole hater to see the team come from behind week after week to win football games, teasing us with the prospect of a loss only to be gloating and smiling at the end of another victorious effort. For those people yesterday was a sweet vindication, even though Oregon was the higher seeded team going into the game.

Other people point to cheating, claiming that Florida State is guilty of infractions and violations that have heretofore gone unpunished.  But hating a college football team for cheating is like hating a lion for killing a gazelle. One does what one must to survive in the jungle. 

Jameis Winston.  The name alone raises the ire of many a Florida State hater.  Here is a petulant wunderkind, a gridiron savant, playing the role of college football's bad boy.  How we took joy yesterday in his fall (literally) from grace.  I don't know if we have seen a player that more people love to hate.  Whether it's the relatively minor incidents of questionable behavior (offensive language, crab legs), to the far more serious question of whether or not he raped a woman, Winston has given the college football fan plenty of reasons to wish failure upon him and his Teflon coated teammates.

And that is my problem with Florida State.  I have never seen a football program with such an impenetrable shield of immunity. From the coaches, to the University administration, to the fans, to the freaking City of Tallahassee Police Department, all are doing their part to make sure that if you are a Seminole football player, the ONLY thing you will be held accountable for is showing up to practice, playing your ass off on Saturday, and "keepin' the winnin' goin'." 

It is sickening to watch an entire community, so blinded by loyalty to a football team, that they are willing to look the other way time and time again while those who don the helmet essentially do whatever the hell they want, without any fear of consequence.  I am scared to think of what lengths these enablers will go to protect their beloved program.  Could a Florida State football player literally get away with murder in Tallahassee?  I want to say of course not, but sometimes I am not sure.

Hey, maybe I am blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I mean, it's just a game, and boys will be boys, right?