Their crime was to show that an obsession with sports is a a ridiculous waste of time and effort and deserves being exposed for the childish perversion it is. Some people would rather kill the messenger than be reminded of that.

No, there's nothing wrong with enjoying an athletic contest, it is a perfectly reasonable and legitimate form of entertainment. But the kind of behavior and obsession we get from supposedly adult sports fans is right there on a level with the interest preteens show in Lindsey, Britney, Paris and Nicole. And people can get very angry when you point that out to them.