I've experienced it too. People don't wanna hear about somebody else winning a bunch of cash on a random sporting event, so they'd rather you lose as a lesson that "it's not that easy to acquire money".
I blame almost all of it on ignorance. My best friends that do gamble root for me...or at least they tell me they do lol
Very true.
I have different types of friends for different reasons. Some are fun to hang out with, others are the more serious types who can help me get shit done. They all know I gamble some, but very few know I do it to the extent I do. I think gamblers are just inherently wired a certain way, and if you're not one of them...then you just won't be able to understand what drives them. It's like taking me with fans of shows like American Idol, X Factor, etc...I've probably watched 2 mins of those shows in my life because I think they are dumb. I can't for the life of me understand why people would not only care enough to call up and vote for their favorite singer, but some get absolutely irate when their favorite gets booted off the show. Seriously, who gives a shit? It's not as if you're ever going to become friends with the contestants anyway, and the outcome won't change your life one way or another. But I'm sure some people look at gamblers the same way.
I remember telling a friend of mine about experiencing a very bad beat a few years back, and he smugly responds "That's why you shouldn't gamble...the house always wins." Yeah, dipshit...except there were people on the winning side of that play too, so it wasn't as if a blackjack dealer drew some 6-card combination to 21 and the whole table lost. It's sad...some people don't want to see you succeed because if they haven't figured out how to do it, then no one else should either...