What is the best rivalry in sports? I was thinking about writing a brief description of the contestants below, but I got preoccupied with a few other things. Sorry. If you really want to know more about any of these rivalries, go to Wikipedia or search Google. Anyway, here are my finalists in no particular order:
India vs. Pakistan – Cricket
The Ohio State University vs. University of Michigan – College Football
Brazil vs. Argentina – Soccer
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadians - Hockey
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox – Baseball
Duke University vs. University of North Carolina – College Basketball
Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona – Soccer
Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears – Football
Celtic F.C. vs. Rangers F.C. – Soccer
Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort (can you tell I have Harry Potter on my mind?)
Cheers vs. Gary’s Old Towne Tavern
Springfield Isotopes vs. Shelbyville Shelbyvillians
So which one is the best? Are there any other rivalries that are better than all of these? Oh, for folks who think Army-Navy football should be here, the 1996 game was the only one since 1963 in which both Army and Navy entered with winning records.
On a local/personal level, I submit the Cortica Jug for us IC alumnae. When I was working in NY, I was the lone IC alum among a sea of Cortland people - the rivalry made things interesting!
ReplyDeleteSean? How is Steelers/Browns not on your list?????
ReplyDeleteuva v. va tech - college football
ReplyDeletebram v. dan - joe montana football
bram v. melody - karaoke
messiahs v. china- offspring
For sheer hatred and brutality, I vote for Michigan/Ohio State. This rivalry is not only a collegiate rivalry but a geographic one. People from Ohio hate people from Michigan and vice versa, mostly because of a two-century old squabble over the land surrounding Toledo. The annual football game is like a football match between Israel and the West Bank.
ReplyDeleteGood topic! Yankees vs Sox and Leafs vs Canadians are probably my top 2.
ReplyDeleteOnly two real votes so far? I thought we would have more. As for the comments...
ReplyDeleteChristine, I really, really, really wanted to put the Cortaca Jug on the list, but I couldn't justify it as bigger than Ohio State-Michigan or Brazil-Argentina.
Rinsem - I also wanted to add a Pittsburgh team to the list, but see my answer above. The Steelers-Browns hasn't been the same since the original Browns moved to Baltimore. Except for the Tommy Maddox-Kelly Holcomb play-off game a few years ago, you really can't call this a rivalry anymore. Now when Bill Cowher takes over as the Browns coach next year, we can add them to the list.
Jason - The last three really made me laugh. The Messiahs vs. China really isn't a rivalry anymore since China (either used to us still does) limits the amount of children a family can have. Maybe Messiahs vs. India would be better.
ReplyDeleteThree more years, and we should pull ahead of India. They can outsource their babymaking to us.
ReplyDeleteThe Argentine El Clasico is the most passionate and important rivalry in all of Sports. Boca Juniors vs. River Plate have the most passionate fans and the game is also about social classes. Boca is the working class and River Plate are the rich.
ReplyDeleteOn a second note, Soccer is the most popular sport and therefore leads to more rivalries. Americans don't take their sports more passionately than soccer fans around the world.
I personally think that Red Sox/Yankees is probably the best rivalry in all of sports. There hasn't been a scenario that hasn't happened, obstacles overcome, that the Redsox/Yankees haven't done. One that I was kind of surprised didn't make the list was IU/Purdue. As someone who spent some time outside of the Bloomington area, I have to tell you that friendships have been ruined and marriages have ended over this rivalry. It's pretty insane.
ReplyDelete