The line for everyone who feels sorry for Alex Rodriguez starts right here.

Please, no pushing or shoving. It may be a tight squeeze, but there’s room for everyone.

There, everybody comfy?

Somebody take a snapshot, quick. I mean, when was the last time you had a chance to get a photo of A-Rod in a phone booth?

That, my friends, is where the “poor A-Rod” line starts and ends.

A radio talk show host asked me the other day if Alex Rodriguez is the most hated man in sports. More hated than Kobe Bryant? More reviled than our own Terrell Owens?

It’s a good question, but the answer is simple.

Absolutely.

A better question is why.

And it’s not, as A-Rod implied in this week’s “Sports Illustrated” cover story by Tom Verducci, just about the money.

Verducci’s interview with Rodriguez stirred the pot in New York yet again, but then, it doesn’t take much to do that.

A-Rod pointing fingers at teammates and other players, talking about how good looking and how smart he is, brought to mind Ann Richards’ memorable one-liner about the senior George Bush at the Democratic National Convention, the one we’ve seen replayed over and over again since her death.

“George can’t help it,” Ann cracked with a dazzling smile. “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

She could have easily been talking about A-Rod, only the toes he keeps drooling over are golden, thanks to that $252 million contract Tom Hicks stupidly bestowed upon him six years ago.

Asked by Verducci why criticism of him is so widespread, inside and outside the game, A-Rod smugly replied, “We know why.”

The contract? A-Rod nodded.

He needs to believe that, to believe that he is hated because of the money.

Because if that’s not it, then it’s personal. Then it’s about him.

“When people write (bad things) about me, I don’t know if it’s because I’m good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team,” he told Verducci.

He also mentioned that he can’t help it that he’s “bright.” Fortunately, he didn’t also list “humble,” which might have invited instant annihilation by lightning bolt.

What A-Rod needs to do is take a highlighter, as I did, and highlight the quote Verducci included from an anonymous teammate. Then he needs to read it over and over again.

“One thing people don’t like is his body language. Too much of what he does on the field looks … scripted.”

Bingo!

And it’s not just what he does on the field. His whole life is scripted. There’s not a genuine bone in his body. Everything about him is a facade.

Alex Rodriguez is like one of those shaving-cream pies players sometimes shove into a teammate’s face while he’s doing interviews.

It looks like a pie, but it tastes like … shaving cream. There’s plenty of fluff there, but no substance.

In the three years A-Rod played with the Rangers, I repeatedly went back to him for what I hoped would be an “in-depth” interview, an insight that would tell me something about this guy, who he is, what he stands for, what he believes in. I struck out more times than he does in the postseason.