Annoying fans and stupid name: Why I hate West Bromwich Albion

Note: On Saturday, Aston Villa will travel to the Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion. It's a derby, and many fans hate WBA. A number of those fans write for this site. Over the next few days, we'll be exploring why we hate the Baggies so much.

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I suppose I should have put a spoiler alert in that headline, because it tells you exactly why I hate the Baggies. Their name is dumb and their fans are annoying. But this is hatred, and in sports hatred is fun. So let's roll around in the much for a bit shall we?

Baggies Fans are the Worst

"Pride of the midlands!" "We're better than you!" "Villa are a small-time club!"

The lies spread by Baggies fans are numerous, but harmless. They're quick to remind us that for two seasons they finished about Aston Villa in the table. 2011-12 and 2012-13 were pretty bad years for Villa, so I get it. They were also pretty heady for West Brom who ascended to (I'll wait a second to let you grab your climbing gear and oxygen here)...

...eighth.

Phew. Pretty lofty. And then there was last season, inarguably Villa's worst since the departure of Martin O'Neill. A season in which Villa manage a pathetic 38 points and were still two points better than the Baggies. But really, me mentioning that is no better than what most WBA fans do. Let's face it, in this decade, both teams have been miserable. So who, then, is actually the pride of the midlands. Let's do a comparison here, and I'll let you guess which team is which:

Team A:

It's rather obvious that Team B would be the bigger, better, more historically great club, but Baggies fans would have you believe that it was Team A. Silly Baggies fans, you're so adorable.

West Bromwich, Albion, Northern Hemisphere, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way

I've harped on this before, but West Bromwich Albion is a stupid name. Albion just means England, so their name is essentially their mailing address. That would be like rooting for the Aston Villa England. Or the Bayern Munich Bavaria

If there is any redeeming factor to the name it is that Baggies don't take jokes about it too kindly (see: annoying fans) so it is endlessly fun to make such jokes. What's an Albion? Where's an Albion? Oh it enrages them! But my personal favorite are calling the team something entirely different. West Bromwich Albacore, for instance. Or West Bromwich Albatross, hanging around the necks of the midlands.

But I'd like to present a new name for the Baggies today, one that I am sure Villa fans can use derisively and to great effect everywhere on the internet:

Perfect, no?

Conclusions

In conclusion: screw the Baggies. Go back to the Championship where you belong.