Schadenfreude is a German word which means pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. It's the type of showy word commonly used by erudite and indulgent media commentators, like book reviewers who are often more verbose then the book they review. But these days schadenfreude is all the rage in the sports media.
I don't know how many of you have been to Vancouver but if you have you would certainly remember. It's arguably the most beautiful city in the world and I have nothing but fond memories of visits there, particularly last year during the Winter Olympics. The hospitality and generosity the locals showed the world made me unabashedly proud to be a Canadian and I hope at some point the good people of Vancouver get to experience the joy of their beloved Canucks winning the Stanley Cup. But not this team and not this year. This team are the most talented in the NHL but too many cheap shots, questionable hits and dubious dives to draw penalties during their run has seen most fans and sporting pundits outside of British Columbia heaping scorn on the Canucks.
The Boston Bruins were a big, bruising collection and not always the most honorable crew in the league. But they soon became the default rooting choice for many and it's a pity, really. This being Hong Kong, there are more Canuck fans here than all the other NHL teams combined. Many of them are friends of mine; at least I hope they still are. And when their beloved side were disposed of 4-0 in the final game by Boston, there was joy for many in the Canucks' misery. Even before the final buzzer went trouble was brewing in downtown Vancouver and it quickly devolved into widespread rioting and looting. I don't care how much you dislike the Canucks, it was hard not to feel sorry for a great city under siege by a small group of idiots. In the span of about an hour all the camaraderie and vibrancy the world saw last February during the Olympics had been covered in a bonfire of rage. Sadly, it's a stain that will be harder to remove than the one from their hockey team.
But all that Canucks schadenfreude looks like a veritable lovefest compared to the hate for the Miami Heat. In the annals of modern sport it would be difficult to find a team more genuinely reviled than the Heat and after going 2-1 up over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals, it seemed like the defiant and cocky boys from Miami were about to get the last laugh on their millions of critics. Led by their big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat perfectly embodied the sense of entitlement prevalent among so many young and wealthy sports stars today. Bosh bolted the chilly climes of Toronto to sign with Miami this past off-season and a few days later, in one of the most offensive uses of an hour of prime-time programming, James announced he was leaving Cleveland and 'taking his talents to South Beach'.
At a massive fawning festival in a packed Miami arena, the big three assured one and all that multiple titles were merely theirs for the taking. If they were chocolate they would have eaten themselves and it subsequently took little effort to hate the Heat and most specifically LeBron.
The Mavericks, suddenly the most popular team in the world, won the next three games and a shocking championship. Dallas players admitted they were hugely motivated by the Heat's lack of respect. The Heat schadenfreude was now off the scale and nobody was roasted more than James, who visibly shrunk during crunch time. He thinks he's better than us came the rallying cry. Well he is. He's a better loser.