Who do you hate? I mean truly dislike with all your energy, somebody you go out of the way to openly insult? For most of us, the list is pretty short if not non-existent. Humans should not hate other humans.

But when it comes to sports, our hate is out in the open. The Yankees hate the Red Sox, Duke hates North Carolina and Brett Favre hates the idea of retirement. And no division in all of sports is more hate-filled than the NFC East. So here at NFL Blog Blitz, we asked all our Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins bloggers to rank the other three team’s in the division in terms of hate, with one being the most hated and three being the least. All six inter-division matchups have had classic battles over the years, and that is reflected in the list. Here is the rankings of the Redskins writers, but we suggest you visit the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants pages as well to see what they think also.

After running through a cupcake schedule in their first 6 games, the 5-1 Redskins prepare for a huge battle at home this week against the hated Eagles on national television. This game just might tell us what this team is really made of heading into the bye week. Note: I may possibly in some stage of denial.

Anyways, in honor of Eagles week, here is a breakdown of whom I hate most in the NFC East. Out of respect for my friends and family, I will leave the Redskins off of the list for now. In order of ascending hatred:

3) New York Giants:

Six years of living in New York gave me a probably not too popular soft spot for this team. Enjoying the New York sports fans in combination with having many friends from Boston who like to talk a lot gave me a healthy hatred for the Boston area teams. Through some sort of transitive property, when the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl and ended the Boston sports dynasty, I had no choice but to ban Giant hating for at least 5 years. This self-imposed ban was made even easier by the fact that the same team embarrassed Tony Romo (0-2 postseason record) and the top seeded Cowboys on their home field in the same playoffs. Ironically, out of the three NFC East rivals, the Giants are the one that Washington absolutely cannot beat, yet still the third most hated by me.

2) Philadelphia Eagles:

Oh Eagles fans, how I hate you. In 1995, I attended the instant classic at Veteran’s Stadium quarterbacked by Gus Frerotte and Rodney Peete (actually it really was a great game). It was at this game that I learned first-hand about the upper decks in Philadelphia. Admittedly, my friend Brian used poor judgment in the 3rd quarter when he decided to inform a large man with an Eagles jersey that his team was going down. However, when the gentleman responded by quickly advising Brian that he and his friend (aka me) should go and sit down before they got their teeth kicked in, it seemed less than hospitable. As Eddie Murray’s 45-yard field goal sailed beautifully through the uprights on the last play of regulation to send the game to OT, Brian and I cheered silently in our seats, being careful not to disturb anybody. Luckily for us, and our teeth, the Eagles won in overtime.

More recently, I admit that I have a bit of trouble hating Donovan McNabb, which is frustrating. This is in part due to the fact that he has had to overcome nearly getting booed off stage on draft day by some of the lovely Eagle fans like the one depicted above. He also had to overcome the Terrell Owens soap opera in continuing to lead his team in to contention year after year. However, despite my lack of hatred for this team’s leader, the rest of the team and its fan base can feel free to continue suffering with near misses into the indefinite future. That would work fine for me.

1) Dallas Cowboys:

In 1983, when Tony Romo (winless in the postseason but often highly touted) was not yet 3 years old, I sat in the stands at my first live Redskins playoff game. I sat and cheered with my dad as we dismantled the Minnesota Vikings. Actually, I had remembered a dismantling, but Wikipedia claims Washington 21 Minnesota 7. The reason I probably have it in my head as a blow out was because for much of the day, the fans ignored the game at hand and relentlessly chanted “WE WANT DALLAS!” RFK stadium literally shook to the point that it looked like it would collapse. Long time Redskin fans know that I am not exaggerating one bit. This memory is further sweetened by the fact that the Redskins did get and did beat Dallas in the NFC Championship game the following week, arguably the greatest win in Redskin history, including Super Bowls.

Growing up, Dallas week was always the week we waited for, and there were many years in which the rest of the season didn’t even matter. The list of players that I hate in Dallas Cowboy history is almost as long as the list of unspeakable things I have said to my television when that team is playing. The early 80’s are about as far back as I go, and just looking up and down the 1982 roster I can start rattling off names. Danny White, Drew Pearson, Butch Johnson, Tony Dorsett, Too Tall Jones, and even Raphael Septien (with his stupid pre-kick routine) jump off the page at me.

Then in the 90’s it got really ugly with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith (that’s right I hate classy Emmitt Smith), Deion Sanders, and Michael Irvin. The Cowboy team of the 90’s even went so far as to hire two of the most easy to hate coaches in history: Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. That mini-dynasty was a very dark time for my relationship with the NFL.

Since the end of said mini-dynasty, the suffering of the Cowboys has been the source of most of my joy in the NFL, as the Redskins have struggled to provide much on their own. Watching this team choke year after year has been a treat. With less than loveable players like Tony Romo (0-2 in playoffs in case I forget to mention it), TO, Jason Witten, two Roy Williamses, and Pacman Jones leading the way during this recent stretch, the hatred has not subsided one bit.

Oh I almost forgot, Jerry Jones and his giant TV/punting target. I can’t think of a better team to be stuck with such a meddlesome owner, sticking his hands in everything while he has no clue what he is doing and slowly ruining a once proud franchise. Actually, let’s skip ahead a bit.

Stat of the day: Do you know how many playoff games the Dallas Cowboys have won since the end of 1996? None, i.e. zero. The fact that this can actually make me smile as a grown adult can only mean one thing. That’s right: true hate.

--- MARC RECHT.

3. New York Giants:

The Giants are one of those classic old-school franchises with a lot of tradition which they haven't really abandoned. I respect that in a franchise and there's something almost likable about the G-Men.

Or there used to be. Now they are good, and Washington can't even come close to beating them. Eli Manning has become an effective QB and the Giants are so good on both sides of the line of scrimmage that I'm very jealous.

Their front office is smart and acquires depth in all the right places. The players embrace the toughness of the coaching staff. In short, the Giants are everything I want the Redskins to be.

2. Dallas Cowboys:

Big D. DC hates them. In the '80s and early '90s both teams were amongst the elite for much of the time. Every game kept the rivalry at the pinnacle of intensity

. Now the rivalry badly needs to be revitalized. It's lost plenty of luster, and both teams have abandoned their history. The words Dallas Week don't get me excited like they used to.

Maybe it's the fact that we haven't had a classic game with them since 2005. Maybe it's because neither of us has been a consistent major player in the NFC East in over a decade.

But all it takes is a heartbreaking loss and that will all change. I wasn't alive for many of the classic games so I don't have the tradition to lean upon. I need a classic game to rekindle the rivalry.

1. Philadelphia Eagles:

I flip-flop between the Eagles and Cowboys and I know it's heresy to have Philly over Dallas, but I decided to be non-conformist.

I despise Philadelphia sports. For the better part of the my life I have watched the Eagles dominate the NFC East and I don't like that.

Too many times have I seen Donovan McNabb beat us. The Eagles have been incredibly consistent this past decade and much of their success has come against the 'Skins.

It doesn't help that their fans take every opportunity to remind DC about their recent inferiority. And the worst part is: we have no response to the trash talking. The Eagles have dominated us.

--- JACK ANDERSON.