Like many Americans of prudent judgment and sound mind, I will be rooting passionately against the Heat during this year’s NBA Finals, and thus for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Why, you ask? Because I have a memory longer than the 24-hour news cycle, that’s why.

We live in a contrarian society, one that argues, overanalyzes and debates ad nauseam. So as soon as it became too popular or mainstream to hate the Miami Heat and LeBron James for all their ills and faults (both real and received), a sort of counter-movement started, making the case that rooting for the Heat and for LeBron was okay. Because they’ve suffered defeat and struggle, the line of logic goes, they’ve now earned the right to succeed.

Let me be clear: it’s not, nor will it ever be okay, to root for LeBron and the Heat. They brought this scrutiny and loathing – all of it – upon themselves. They are the sports version of the antichrist and DEAR BABY JESUS, KEVIN DURANT IS OUR ONLY HOPE.

We’re not even two years removed from The Decision, LeBron’s one-hour television special when he metaphorically urinated on his pseudo-hometown of Cleveland, trotting out kids from the Boys & Girls Club as props to serve as cover. We’re not even two years removed from Miami’s post-Decision victory pageant, when LeBron promised “not four, not five, not six” championships. We’re not even a year removed from the post-NBA Finals press conference last year, when Bron Bron ranted and raved about how the little people needed to stop hating him and should get back to their peon lives.

And yet people like Jeff Van Gundy, the former basketball coach and current ESPN announcer, believe there should be a “statute of limitations for [Miami’s] stupidity,” as he recently suggested during a telecast.

Yes Jeff, there is a statute of limitations for stupidity. It’s there for all of us. It’s called death.

So here are 11 reminders why rooting against the Miami Heat is and always will be the socially just and morally sound thing to do. The concept of hate in list form isn’t new, but it’s needed now more than ever. And why 11? Nigel Tufnel, the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap, understands.

Admittedly, this will be quite difficult without once using the word that begins with a “D” and rhymes with “moosh.” But I will do it for my wayward countrymen who don’t comprehend what is at stake here.

11) The Heat are un-American

Hyperbolic? Not at all. There’s the alleged collusion that brought this unholy mutant together. Then there’s the fact that teaming up with your bros on the South Beach for an easier path to accomplishing one’s goals is the perfect micro-example for everything that is wrong with the Millennial Generation that both Bron Bron and I belong to. Remember that time Alexander Graham Bell teamed up with rival Elisha Gray because the telephone was too hard? No? How about that time John Lennon got intimidated by Brian Wilson so he joined The Beach Boys? Not that either? What about that time Michael Jordan called up Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and said “I need your help, fam!” Not that either? Huh.

10) Shane Battier

It’s not a coincidence that the NBA’s most prolific flopper went to Duke. Of course he did. Let’s just be thankful he left the floor slapping and general life awkwardness in Durham.

Anyways, he also said this about his teammate LeBron James: “He is a fascinating [case] study because he’s really the first and most seminal sports figure in the information age.”

Just stop, man. You’ll get your ESPN commentator tryout after you retire. For now, you’re simply confusing your subject matter.

(9) Miami Heat Fans

Any wide pan of the crowd at American Airlines Arena is always a trip through the zoo of humanity. Can vapidity be quantitatively measured? How can that many people be orange? How do we as a society produce that much hair gel?

So many questions. Perhaps the Miami Heat’s how to be a fan 101 “Fan Up” guide has some answers!

(8) LeBron James – Part I

Where to begin. I’ll start with the off the court stuff. He sometimes comes across as a contrived, walking billboard for [Insert Product Here, Be Sure to Pay his Peeps First], probably more the result of being an athletic prodigy than anything else. There’s the fact that he often refers to himself in the third person. Or that in the rare interview away from his Nike and PR handlers, he comes across as a petulant, narcissistic child.
Then there’s the millions of dollars he cost Cleveland’s economy when he left. So yeah, it’s a child’s game and he can go wherever he wants as a free agent, but let’s not pretend it didn’t impact real lives and real people.

There’s also this: “The LeBrons,” a cartoon about the different parts of LeBron’s persona, nominally for children but that’s really an exercise in self-indulgence. The real life LeBron created it and serves as an executive producer for the show. Dr. Drew could have a field day on Bron Bron’s psyche after watching just one episode, it’s that absurd and transparent.

Oh, and there’s this: he asked his fiancée to marry him at his own birthday party. It’s not about you Bron Bron, it’s about the girl. Here’s hoping the wedding cake isn’t topped with just one oversized groom.

Congrats to the happy couple!

(7) ESPN

From airing the epic fail that was The Decision to their “Heat Index” sub-site to their endless rotation of talking heads waxing eloquent about Miami, no one has been more complicit in the unleashing of this plague on the sports world than The Worldwide Leader. I’m sure they’ve made plenty of beaucoup cash in the process. Good thing, those plucky underdogs up in Bristol sure could use it.