From their refusal to forgive Bill Buckner to their make-believe "Red Sox Nation," Boston fans give baseball many reasons to be ashamed of an otherwise great franchise.

Maybe It's not their fault.

Heck, most of them have only been baseball fans for a few years.

Nevertheless, it sure seems that Boston Red Sox fans have become the most annoying rooters in all of professional sports. Yet the big media outlets, especially ESPN and Fox Television, continue to give them preferential treatment. Folks like Joe Buck and Bill Simmons are constantly praising Red Sox fans for their alleged long term loyalty to the club and their supposed "special bond" with the team.

Most absurd, of course, is how we are repeatedly being force fed this notion that America is in love with "Red Sox Nation."

Yeah, baseball fans sure have been asked to eat a lot of crap over the past few years when it comes to the Red Sox faithful. Which was okay for a while. Some of these people had indeed suffered a lot before the 2004 postseason. But the grace period is now officially over. It's time to judge Boston Red Sox fans by the harsh light of day.

So, without further delay, here are the Top 10 Reasons to Hate Red Sox Fans.

#1. After all those years of incessant whining and crying about how losing builds special character, they finally win and exhibit no grace or dignity or "character" whatsoever.

#2. Cowboy Up! This may have been the most ridiculous rallying cry in sports history. New England Cowboys. Just like George W. Bush.

#3. Red Sox Nation. Is this a joke? As if the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Mets and Braves don't have millions of fans throughout the country. And most of those fans, unlike this sudden wave of instant Red Sox rooters, actually follow their teams and don't just wear the cool-looking hats.

Just for the record, it costs $199.95 to join the Ultimate Fan Group of Red Sox Nation. This level of membership comes with the right to purchase two tickets in the Green Monster seats -- for another $140 a pop. You also get a laminated membership card!

Even their own team takes advantage of Red Sox fans.

#4. Their almost inexplicable hatred of Roger Clemens. Let's go through this, once and for all. Clemens was drafted by the Red Sox, came up through the minor league ranks with the club, and eventually became the finest pitcher in the team's history.

The Rocket won three Cy Young awards with the Sox, and could have won five (he placed 2nd in 1990 and third in '92). He also had one of the greatest seasons in pitching history in 1986, when he went 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA and won the American League Cy Young and MVP awards.

However, after the 1996 season, the Red Sox booted Clemens out of town. Make no mistake about that. Clemens wanted to stay, but he was driven out of Boston because the team's general manager felt that he was in the "twilight of his career."

We all know what happened next. Clemens went on to win 162 more games, four more Cy Young awards and two World Series rings. Instead of blaming the team's inept management, however, Boston fans chose to direct their hatred at Clemens. They still hate him to this day.

A real show of class and baseball knowledge by Red Sox Nation.

#5. They absolutely skewered Bill Buckner for his fielding gaffe in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Buckner was a wonderful ballplayer and a really decent guy. He collected 2,715 hits in his career. In 1986, he was one of the best hitters on the team. He smacked 18 home runs, collected 102 RBI and was the club's top slugger in September.

Yet after he misplayed a Mookie Wilson ground ball in the final inning of that tragic Game 6 loss, Boston fans were so cruel to Buckner that he had to flee the city. Fans have recent'y tried to reinvent history and claim that they never blamed Buckner. Don't believe it. They crucified the guy. He had to move to Idaho, for God's Sake! Way to stick by your players, BoSox fans.

#6. Sweet Caroline. The Royal Rooters must be rolling over in their graves when the drunken bandwagon hoppers break into this Neil Diamond sap-fest.

#7. Ben Affleck. Star of Gigli. Mr. Jennifer Lopez. Secretary of State for Red Sox Nation.

#8. Fever Pitch. This is the worst movie ever made, and it's about a Red Sox fan. That couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?

#9. The Sports Guy. ESPN's Bill Simmons is the prototypical Red Sox fan, or so he claims, and he stinks out loud. Every single article that he writes is exactly the same: Red Sox, Patriots, dumb joke about a sitcom, and then a stupid remark about one of his buddies, all of whom seem to have ridiculously annoying nicknames like Burp, Pooper, or the Diaper.

Didn't he say that he was gonna "Die in Peace?" Uh, when?

#10. Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy

Take a good, long look at the Red Sox 2004 World Series roster. Every pitcher, and every single starting position player with the lone exception of Trot Nixon, did not come up through the Red Sox system.

That's right. Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Keith Foulke, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts, and Orlando Cabrera were all high-priced free agents or acquired through trades.

Now, examine their 2007 payroll. It's $165 million. That is higher than all but one team in baseball.

This is not a small market club of scruffy underpaid underdogs. These are the New York Yankees, except they are located 300 miles to the northeast.

Despite the club's obvious mercenary approach in recent years, Red Sox fans are always the first to accuse other teams of "buying their championships."

In Conclusion

This article could go on and on. And On. And On.

Of course, there are plenty of real Red Sox fans out there. For those if you who lived through the horrors of 1946, 1967, 1975, 1978, 1986, and 2003, you have earned the right to be as annoying as you want to be.

Cowboy Up!

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* Schilling was drafted by the Red Sox in 1986. But he was traded in 1988 before he reached AAA ball. The Sox finally brought him back in 2004 -- at a salary of $12.5 million. Some Sox fans have complained about this aspect of the article, claiming that Curt was "home grown." Yeah, he's home grown. Sure.

Despite their fans, the Boston team is worthy of praise. Here are four articles that are Red Sox friendly.

10 Reasons to Love the Boston Red Sox

Curt Schilling is a First Ballot Hall of Famer

Game 6 of the 1986 World Series

Ted Williams was an American Hero