Snyder's Soapbox: Avoid 'Little Brother Syndrome,' the worst of all looks for sports fans

Why make yourself angry thinking about your favorite team's biggest rival?

Matt Snyder

May 5, 2026

2:52 pm ET

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4 min read

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Welcome to Snyder's Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it's free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you'll get smarter, though. That's a money-back guarantee. Let's get to it.

It probably shouldn't have bothered me as much as it did. It was just so appalling. I just can't get over how you'd let something hang over your head like this.

I guess I should back up. It was Oct. 28, 2018. The Red Sox had just completed one of the greatest seasons in MLB history. They won 108 games in the regular season with a +229 run differential. They went 11-3 in the playoffs, never facing elimination. The Red Sox fans who made the trek to Dodger Stadium were understandably in high spirits. And what do I hear from the concourse?

"Yankees suck! Yankees suck! Yankees suck!"

That's "Little Brother Syndrome." Deep down, these Red Sox fans know -- and it crushes them to the core -- that the Yankees are still far more decorated and the marquee franchise in Major League Baseball.

But, man. It doesn't have to be this way.

I still just can't believe it. How could you possibly let another team affect your psyche like this? The phrase "rent-free" might be overused, but this was totally a case of the Yankees living rent-free in the heads of these Red Sox fans. I felt sad for them. How can you not enjoy a championship without worrying about something you hate instead?

It isn't just relegated to the Red Sox fan base. We see it all over the place. Mets fans obsessing over the Yankees. White Sox fans obsessing over the Cubs. It isn't even just fans. How about the Brewers flying an incorrect "L" flag after they beat the Cubs? Boy, I'm shocked they got swept the next round after acting like the NLDS win was the top of the mountain.

I went to Indiana University. When I witnessed our football team do the unthinkable and actually win a national title, I can honestly say the absolute last thing on my mind was Purdue. Why would I think about anything other than just being happy about IU?

I don't get it.

But it happens, and it's a really bad look.

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I'm not going to pretend fans of my favorite teams are immune. I saw plenty of IU people talking trash about Purdue on social media in the wake of our title. I've heard -- and HATED -- "Green Bay sucks" chants in Wrigley Field. It's so stupid! And it screams "little brother," even if the Bears won the NFC North and a playoff game last year. Stop doing that, please!

The internet is good for so many reasons. Hell, I wouldn't have this job without it. I'm grateful for its existence. This area, though, is one of the areas where it's bad. Little Brother Syndrome permeates every corner.

A team wins in a walkoff? A bunch of naysayers show up in the comments. A fun player makes an incredible defensive play? There's always THAT GUY on Instagram to explain that even a Little League player could've made that play and everyone who is happy is actually a dumb loser. Someone posts on Facebook about a ballpark they love, but then here come the fans of the rival to explain to everyone why that park is actually a dump and the worst place ever and all the fans are morons and don't know ball. Have you ever heard that this particular ballpark is where fans cheer for fly balls as if they were home runs for a second? Yeah, it happens in all 30.

The nadir is the constant obsessing over the hated rival. If I'm an IU fan and IU is not playing Purdue, I'm sorry, but I just really don't give one iota of a crap what Purdue is doing. But we've all seen it, right? Insert any team with its rival into this discussion. We see people all over social media making comments about the team they hate, often more frequently than about their favorite team. I saw a Cardinals account last week make a snide remark about Pete Crow-Armstrong when the Cardinals won a game on a robbed home run catch. It wasn't against the Cubs.

That's Little Brother Syndrome behavior to a T.

It must be an utterly exhausting way to go through life.

I realize I'm far from qualified for such a position, but if I were your life coach, I'd suggest simply ignoring everything you hate in sports. Sports are merely a vehicle for our entertainment. Why make yourself angry over that? The key to a fruitful life is happiness. Why do you work? So you can put food on the table and a roof over your head, right? But why? So you can be comfortable. Why? Because comfort