Lots of guys suck, it doesn't bring on the hate.
Mostly people hate him, because he's too religious for their liking, particularly the militant atheists who automatically assume he's a moron, and equate displaying/talking about his faith with shoving it down their throats.
Regardless of that, I admire anyone succesful who humbles themselves by trying something that they are 99.9% certain to fail in, even though they don't need the money and are certain to be ridiculed. It takes courage to do something like that.