jjsimp: While I've never used that word, I only get Schadenfreude for people that like to push limits. You know the type: Snowboarders trying to ski down a cliff, rock-climbers, skydivers, stuntmen, base-jumpers, criminals, etc. Normal people I hate to see fail.
Skydivers and base jumpers are admirable idiots in my opinion : part of me admires them for their daredevilry ! However, they show a certain disrespect for their friends and relatives who I'm sure are always on tenterhooks just waiting for that fateful phone call ... I wouldn't say I feel schadenfreude towards these daredevils though because they are not "evil" like, say, serial killers are evil, and in any case if you wish harm to them you also wish harm to those who love them and who will have to grieve for them if they die. I'm veering off topic here though because this is a thread about words.
But schadenfreude is not a nice word. It has four syllables, trips off the tongue very nicely, looks good on paper but ultimately it describes something evil and therefore I can't like it.