Hate-watching might be a new term in the sports lexicon, but it has been a huge part of athletics for decades. From the Dallas Cowboys to the New York Yankees, there are pro teams and college programs that fans love to see fail. After that monumental collapse by the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight, we can't help but wonder if that was the best hate-watching moment of the past 365 days. Thankfully, we have gone ahead and ranked the ten most satisfying hate-watches in North American sports over the last calendar year.

10. All Original Six teams miss the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Original Six teams (the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers) have always been the gold standard for winning in the National Hockey League. Since the NHL expanded ahead of the 1967-68 season, an Original Six team has won the Stanley Cup 21 times. That basically means that Original Six teams have won over a third (36.8%) of the Stanley Cups since then. That's why it was so enjoyable that, for the first time in league history, all six original teams failed to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. There might have still been a repeat champion, but at least it wasn't one of the six teams that have won 64 Stanley Cups combined since 1915. Knowing they didn’t even have a chance to hoist the Cup must’ve been very satisfying.

9. The Los Angeles Lakers are bounced out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs for a second straight year.

The fact that they are the Los Angeles Lakers is bad enough for some people. For others, they hate LA because LeBron James plays for them. But after the egregious trade the Dallas Mavericks made in the middle of last season that sent Luka Dončić to Los Angeles, the visceral hate for the Lakers was at an all-time high during the 2024-25 campaign. Many people thought Los Angeles would breeze to the 2025 NBA Finals. That's why it was so delightful to watch the Lakers lose their second consecutive first-round playoff series after they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in just five games. In their last two playoff appearances, Los Angeles has a 2-8 record. Though that’ll probably change in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, it doesn’t change the fact that the last two seasons have been a failure for the Lakers.

8. The Toronto Blue Jays score 23 runs on the New York Yankees in Games One and Two of the ALDS.

You know a team got its ass beat when its fans accuse the other organization of cheating. In the 2025 American League Divisional Series, the Toronto Blue Jays demolished the New York Yankees 10-1 in Game One and 13-7 in Game Two. In those two matchups, the Yanks gave up 29 hits and eight home runs while recording just seven strikeouts. New York would keep its season alive with a 9-6 victory in the Bronx, but it would be too little too late as the Blue Jays would advance to the ALCS following a 5-2 road victory over the Yankees in Game Four. If that series loss had come against any random opponent, that would've sufficed. But the fact that it came against the Toronto Blue Jays, an AL East rival, makes the whole experience that much sweeter.

7. Connor McDavid loses the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold in the span of nine months.

I’m not one of the thousands of hockey fans who root for the downfall of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. Then again, that might be because my team plays in the Eastern Conference (Go Blue Jackets!). Either way, there seems to be a large collection of NHL fans who want McDavid to fail on the biggest stages, and that’s what he did not once but twice in the last calendar year. First, McDavid fell to the Florida Panthers for a second straight year in the Stanley Cup Final. Nine months later, McDavid had a shot at redemption in the Winter Olympics when he led the Canadian Men's Hockey Team to the Gold Medal game against the USA. However, he and his team once again came up short, falling to the U.S. 2-1 in overtime. Perhaps the most satisfying part of the entire situation is that McDavid was named the Winter Olympics tournament MVP, which is the second MVP trophy he has earned in a series that he didn't win since the start of 2024 (he won the Conn Smythe Trophy two years ago).

6. Kentucky basketball suffers its worst March Madness loss in 50+ years.

Outside of maybe Kansas, no college in the United States has a prouder basketball history than the University of Kentucky. Hell, the school even said it had "the greatest tradition in the History of College Basketball" just a few years ago. If that wasn't a good enough reason to dislike the Wildcats, then take into consideration that this is the winningest program in college basketball history as of the end of the 2024-25 season with a .759 winning percentage. Kentucky looked like it was destined for another memorable season after beating the small private school Santa Clara University in OT of their first tournament game. However, their campaign came to an abrupt end when the Iowa State Cyclones handed the Wildcats their worst NCAA Tournament loss since 1972, a 19-point drubbing in the Round of 32. There was even a moment where they trailed by 23 in the second half! Just when it looked like Kentucky would take a step forward after reaching the Sweet 16 in 2025, the Wildcats regressed and were completely overmatched under second-year head coach Mark Pope. Meanwhile, their former head coach, John Calipari, reached his second consecutive Sweet 16 with Arkansas, which makes Kentucky's failure that much more hilarious.

5. The Chicago Bears come back from a 21-3 deficit to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Playoffs.

It's no secret that the Green Bay Packers have owned the NFL's most storied rivalry over the last 20+ years, going 39-15 against the Chicago Bears since the turn of the millennium. But it's safe to say that things have become more balanced between the Bears and Packers after Chicago not only won the season series, 2-1, but bounced Green Bay out of the playoffs. Down 21-3 at halftime to the Packers, who were without their best player (Micah Parsons), it looked like Green Bay was going to cruise to an easy victory. However, the Bears mounted a furious comeback that included 25 fourth-quarter points to beat Green Bay in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, 31-27. It was a deliciously juicy moment for not just the Bears but also the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, who have also been tortured by the Green Bay Packers since 2000. With that win, it feels like the odds in this rivalry have shifted towards the Bears for the first time in a while.

4. The New England Patriots get blown out in the Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots have been the blueprint for success in the NFL for the last 26 years, with an unprecedented six Super Bowl victories during this period. That's why most fans assumed the Pats had returned to the dark ages after Tom Brady left the team in free agency. But those hopes were dashed just a few years later when, after a quick two-year rebuild, New England was once again on the cusp of history with a win in the 2026 AFC Championship Game and a shot at the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LX. To many people, it felt like the Pats had not really struggled for a long enough time in the post-Brady era. They only had three losing seasons before making it back to the Big Game. That's why it was so satisfying to see New England was completely outmatched in Super Bowl LX. They didn't score a single point until the fourth quarter and ended up losing by double digits, setting the record for most Super Bowl losses ever by an NFL franchise with six. Though this group is not as hateable as the one led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, there was nobody outside of Massachusetts who wanted to see the Pats return to the mountaintop this quickly.

3. The Kansas City Chiefs have their first losing season in 13 years.

When your team is led by a future Hall of Fame head coach and quarterback, the expectation is to compete for a Lombardi Trophy every year. Considering the Kansas City Chiefs have won three Super Bowls since the start of 2020, it always seems like a forgone conclusion that Kansas City will make the playoffs. After all, that is what we have come to expect from dynasties across all sports. Not only did the Chiefs fail to reach the postseason, but it felt like they never really had a shot at qualifying for the playoffs in the latter part of the 2025-26 season. After starting the year 5-3, they would go 1-8 in their last nine games before finishing the year on a six-game losing streak. Not only did KC lose games against its divisional rivals down the stretch, but it also went out with a pathetic whimper, falling to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans. For people who have been sick of the Chiefs' winning ways during the Patrick Mahomes era, this season was magnificent to watch unfold.

2. Indiana hands Alabama one of its worst losses in program history.

The Indiana Hoosiers had one of the most spectacular single seasons in NCAA history, which saw arguably the worst college football program of all time win a National Championship. Along the way, the Hoosiers also gave fans one of the most enjoyable hate-watches of all time when they completely dismantled the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals, 38-3. Alabama, which has won 18 national championships, including six from 2009 to 2020, never had a shot after the first 15 minutes of the Rose Bowl, falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter. That drubbing was the most lopsided loss Alabama has suffered since the turn of the millennium. It actually set a record for the largest point differential the Crimson Tide has ever been dealt in a bowl game, beating the previous record of 32 points. Long gone are the days of Alabama dominance, where they would bowl over any opponent standing in their way. Even for the most casual football fan, it was a delight to watch a team like Indiana beat up a blue-blood football powerhouse like 'Bama that handily.

1. The Duke Blue Devils blow a 19-point lead and lose on a last-second shot in the Elite Eights.

Five days ago, The Athletic shared an article that posed the question: "Is hating Duke basketball falling out of style?" But after seeing the world react to Duke's monumental collapse against UConn, it's fair to say that it will always be fun to watch the Blue Devils fail. Even though they fell to a blue-blood program like UConn, the way Duke lost was literally unprecedented. Before Sunday, number-one seeds leading by at least 15 points at halftime in Division I NCAA Tournament games were 134-0. Now, that record stands at 134-1. The Blue Devils were ahead by 19 points and still found a way to lose. More importantly, the loss came as a complete shock, unlike Alabama's loss to Indiana. Even after the turnover that set up the game-winning shot, Duke still had an almost 90% chance to win the game, according to ESPN, probably because UConn was four for 22 from beyond the arc up to that point. Despite everything working in their favor, the Blue Devils lost. But they didn't just lose; they got their hearts ripped out. And the face that Duke head coach Jon Scheyer made after the shot went in was absolutely priceless. It was a memorable and memeable moment that will be forever etched in the annals of college basketball history, making it the best hate-watching moment of the last 365 days.