9 Things Never To Say To A 'One Tree Hill' Fan

During my high school years, people were either watching One Tree Hill or they were watching The O.C. Sure, more people got sucked into Orange County than that got sucked into Tree Hill — or so it seemed at the time — but there are just some facts that even the most casual One Tree Hill fan knows. Things like Brooke Davis is the best OTH character, or that Nathan and Haley are the couple that provide us with so many relationship goals. Everything else about the show is... debatable, at best. Which is why, to be safe, there are just some things that you should never say to a One Tree Hill fan — not if you want to walk away from the conversation alive.

But, hey, maybe I'm just being overdramatic. How murderous can a One Tree Hill fan be? However, what some don't understand is that the fans of OTH are very loyal, very protective, and very fierce when it comes to defending the truths that they know to be self-evident. If need be, we are Peyton Sawyer learning how to box. We are Brooke Davis learning to fire a gun. We are Haley James-Scott getting into a fight with another cheerleader while pregnant. We are fierce, independent fans who will throw down to protect what we love.

So unless you want to be in a fight, don't say these nine things to an OTH fan.

1. "The O.C. Was So Much Better!"

So go watch The O.C. then. Despite being on television at around the same time, The O.C. and One Tree Hill spoke to such completely different audiences that there really just was no comparison. They were both great shows, in their own ways.

2. "I wish Nathan and Peyton had stayed together."

No one wishes Nathan and Peyton had stayed together. Not even Nathan and Peyton wish Nathan and Peyton had stayed together. Nathan and Peyton were terrible together. Peyton even had to remind Nathan of that fact when he had romanticized their relationship to himself in Season 4's episode "Pictures of You." Trust me, no matter who you 'ship Lucas with, everyone agrees that Nathan and Haley belong together.

3. "Brooke Davis isn't even that great."

I'm not even going to argue with this one. I'm just going to direct you to the door. May you never darken it again.

4. "Leyton was so much better than Brucas."

Granted, this statement will appeal to about half of the One Tree Hill fandom. But unless you know which half the person you're talking to is in, it's just best not to say anything.

5. "Brucas was so much better than Leyton."

See above. Although, honestly, you're more likely to get only a quarter of the fandom agreeing with you on this one, as many people ended up going to the Brooke/Julian side after Peyton and Lucas left Tree Hill for good. Do you want to take the chance? I don't think so.

6. "I don't 'ship Naley."

How do you exist? How are you even a real person? For all their ups and downs, Nathan and Haley remained the heart and soul of the show. Shockingly. Perfectly. Always and forever.

7. "Dan Scott wasn't such a bad father."

I can't. I'm done. This is even worse than hating Brooke Davis, because there are very few characters on the show whose life Dan Scott did not somehow ruin. There's loving a good villain and — nope, that's not even close to this.

8. "Julian was just a poor-man's Lucas Scott."

Sure, even when Julian showed up to make Brooke really, really happy, there was a huge part of the fandom that still wanted to see her and Lucas find their way back to each other in the end. However, to say that Julian was just a poor replacement for Lucas is a huge insult to Julian. He deserves to be judged as a character on his own merits.

9. "There was more than one tree on that show."

There may have been more than one tree on One Tree Hill, but there was only one Tree Hill, grasshopper. You need to educate yourself. Might I suggest watching the entire series from start to finish again? You're welcome.

Image: The WB; onetreehill-gifs/Tumblr (9)