Kansas City Royals: Haters vs Critics

Just because a fan is critical of the Kansas City Royals, doesn’t mean that they’re a hater. What is the difference between being a hater and being critical though?

The word critic has a few different definitions. I like the one used by Merriam-Webster.com: one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique.

In general, being critical of a team is a good thing. The person isn’t delusional thinking their team is perfect, but looking to improve the team.

For example, if the KC Royals offense is in a slump for more than a two-week period, the critic will let you know about it. They will point out the the players batting average, on base percentage, and other statistics to give the other person the proof of the struggles of the offense.

Most of the time, the critic wants to share these numbers, so that the team or other fans can change and become better. It’s not to put the team down or to say they are terrible, but about bettering the team in hopes of a turn around.

It’s like watching the show Restaurant: Impossible on the Food Network. Chef Robert Irvine goes to a failing restaurant to attempt to save the restaurant from closing down and to try to help the owners get their passion back.

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Irvine gives the owners a gut check, telling them what’s wrong with the food and the decor of the restaurant and sometimes what’s wrong with them. It may seem like Chef Irvine is being a “hater” at first, but he’s just trying to find the problems with the ownership and restaurant so he knows what to fix.

During the show, he changes a lot of things. He changes the menu, the decor and the workers’ attitudes. He’s only got two days and 10,000 dollars to complete the task or the restaurant fails. After the two days is up, he gives the restaurant back to the owners for a special re-opening. From there, it’s up to them to keep the restaurant open and successful.

A hater, on the other hand, bashes someone with little or no statistical points.

A hater is a person who thrives on showing hate toward, criticizing, orbelittling other people or things, usually unfairly, according to dictionary.com. 

A good example of a hater is NFL.com writer, Jason La Canfora. La Canfora is a bitter Orioles fan who holds a grudge against the Kansas City Royals. Two years ago, the Royals swept the Orioles in four games in the 2014 American League Divisional Series. Ever since then, he’s continued to bash the Royals on Twitter.

Here’s a good example of a “hater” tweet…

La Canfora has a problem letting things go. He continues to bring up the past and attack the KC Royals and their fans,  just to make himself feel better. That’s what haters do. They put others down to make themselves feel stronger. It’s sad. They don’t even do a good job of backing their points, if they have any in the first place.

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Let’s not be like La Canfora. Let’s be like Chef Irvine. Being critical is OK, but please refrain from entering hater range. We don’t won’t our city, Kansas City, or the city you represent, represented in a bad manner. We want fans from other teams to come to The K and enjoy their time there and come back. So please refrain from being a hater.

What do you think about critics and haters? What are some ways you would go about handling them? Leave a comment in the comments’ section below.