I had never seen Peyton Manning play football until the last five minutes of tonight’s Super Bowl. But I always rooted against him. Just didn’t like the guy, while not knowing anything about him. I have the same sour feeling about some other athletes — Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Jim McMahon, Nancy Kerrigan, Michael Phelps — but these are all people I’ve seen play.
I found the last five minutes of the Super Bowl extremely satisfying, justifiably or not.
Quomodocumque 
I’ve only seen Manning play a couple of times, but I have quite a different view of him: I’ve always liked the guy. In interviews, he seems rather soft spoken and intelligent for a football player. A friend sent me this link earlier about the Manning-ire that seems to be out there:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4870733
In particular, the following paragraph stuck with me:
“A few things Manning doesn’t want publicized: He bought laptops for roughly 20 underprivileged kids in Indianapolis. He took a dozen or so foster children out for steaks at St. Elmo’s in downtown Indianapolis just so they’d know what it was like to eat at a fancy restaurant. Manning’s wife, Ashley, became so close to some of the kids she met in the PeyBack Foundation that she’d sit in the bleachers for their football games.”
I think that’s fairly rare occurrence in modern American professional sports. I was pulling for the Saints, but I think Manning deserves respect, not disdain. Save the disdain for Derek Jeter.
On the other hand, which athletes do you especially like?
I share your irrational dislike and can’t explain it either.