Why is everyone being such a dick to Link?

Zelda, her father -- heck, just about everyone in Link's hometown (this time) of Skyloft was giving him crap. The townspeoples' attitude painted a very specific picture for me: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's Link is apparently the Spicoli of Skyloft.

You can imagine my surprise, considering how many Legend of Zelda games I've played (which would be just about all of them, CD-i games notwithstanding). It's like nobody in Skyloft expected much of Link beyond sleeping in, even today, when his chance to become a knight-in-training rests on flying (and winning) in the big race.

Suddenly, I felt more invested in Link that I had in my entire life. I wanted to prove all of these jerks wrong -- and I did, competing (and winning) in the big race. My prize was a one-on-one rap session with Zelda and a homemade parachute in the game, but the more important prize was my attachment to Skyward Sword. From this moment on, I was hooked.