The San Francisco Giants Congratulated The Los Angeles Dodgers On Their Playoff Berth...Wait, WHAT!?

This is how the Giants' season ends. pic.twitter.com/3KCtOULwQ5

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) September 30, 2015

One final message. pic.twitter.com/OQwwCwx3kn

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) September 30, 2015

Respect the rivalry? RESPECT THE RIVALRY!?! The whole point of a rivalry is that there is very little respect between both parties involved. Get this "love thy neighbor" nonsense the fuck out of my face. If one of my teams did this for a rival I would instantly walk out of the building and probably write a very stern letter to the front office AKA tweet a bunch of super disparaging things at the team twitter account. The San Francisco Giants are not required to congratulate a team that they hate. As a matter of fact, if I were the Los Angeles Dodgers I would view this sign showing respect as a sign of disrespect. Don't belittle the hatred that exists between you and a rival. It's like beating up your bully for the first time and having him get up to give you a handshake after. Yeah, uhh, thanks but no thanks. There's no love lost between rivals. You shouldn't just want to beat your rival, you should want to embarrass them, and rub their nose in it after you do so. Nothing will put a dent in the satisfaction of winning faster then the person you beat being happy for you.

There is really only one way to view this. The Giants clearly don't consider the Dodgers a rival, no matter how many people get stabbed in the parking lot. This is a message of pity. A message that only a team that has clearly dominated the division for the last decade would send. A message that says "we feel comfortable celebrating your lowly playoff berth because we have 3 World Championships over the last 6 years". Once you start feeling empathy for the failures of your competition then you no longer consider them true competition. You can't have your sworn enemy wishing you the best. The whole point of having a sworn enemy is to bask in their misery after you beat them. Half the fun in winning is to see them lose. The only fun in losing is to wait for them to lose. Don't pat them on the ass on the way out the door. You should be waiting patiently to dance on their grave. That's what rivalries are all about. They definitely aren't all about providing a team that you hate a respectable backdrop as they celebrate on your home turf.