I wonder whether you could explain that loathing, H? I ask because others have said the same as you and I truly just don't get it.
The letter 'v' is used between team-names as a standard abbreviation of 'versus'...ie it indicates that there is to be a contest. I really can't see any difference in use between actually saying 'vee' and saying '500 BC' (bee cee) instead of '500 years before Christ' or 'The hospital is awash with MRSA' (em, ar, ess, ay) instead of 'The hospital is awash with methicyllin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.'
'Vee', it seems to me, is just an equally handy abbreviation. Cheers