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1. Red Sox vs. Yankees
2. Duke vs. UNC
3. Michigan vs. Ohio State
4. Alabama vs. Auburn
5. Texas vs. Oklahoma
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/the-5-rivalries-in-sports-that-actually-matter/
Our game with Little Bro was eliminated because "Teams may only have one true rivalry counted"
I live in the triangle and can tell you that although its a strong rivalry, it doesnt beat ours in terms of tradition, competitiveness and craziness between fans.
I just recently moved to the area and I haven't really seen or heard much of anything about the rivalry. It definitely seems like less of a big deal to everyone around here than the michigan-osu rivalry.
Its not the same. The Game has the feeling of encamped armies and a palpable tension - like a skirmish can break out at any time and no one would be surprised. Here, everyone just commutes to the games and there aren't 150,000 tailgaters. There really aren't any tailgates to speak of and everyone is wearing blue.
Franklin Street after a UNC win is kinda a big deal, I guess.
The other thing is, both UNC and Duke kids hang out in Carborro / Chapel Hill so its not like there's "turf."
what's the triangle?
I believe he's referring to the Chapel Hill-Durham-Raleigh area of North Carolina (UNC-Duke-NC State). I live there, and it's simply known as the Triangle.
We all think of Dook as a traditional power...but before the mid-1970's, am I right, they were a nobody in basketball? I know, that's 40 stinking years, but... UNC has been a hoops power for twice as long, IIRC, and certainly UM/OSU football goes back 100(ish) years.
I thought for sure that Notre Dame - Purdue would be on that list...
No one outside of Sox fans, Yankees fans and ESPN cares about Boston vs. New York. Somehow the world has been tricked into thinking it is a more widely enjoyed rivalry than it really is.
But the Yankees and Red Sox have huge fan bases. And, they often meet in the ALCS.
As much as I think M-OSU is the best rivalry, I don't think anyone outside of our two fan bases cares about it either. And we haven't even decided a B1G champion in a while.
Rivalries are in the eye of the beholder. Most of us here don't care about UNC/Duke, Auburn/Bama, etc. This list (as all lists of this sort) is purely based on history, regional significance, etc. The fact that the Yankees and Red Sox have two of the largest five fanbases in the MLB, have played in some epic games, and have a heated history is why they deserve to be on this list. And as much as I'm not an ESPN supported, I don't think they warrant any blame for this.
recently.
They have met only three times in the ALCS since 1969, all of which happened after 1999. I don't know if I would call that "often", even 3 times in the last 15 years doesn't sound all that often.
what with playing in the same division and there being no wild card.
Like was mentioned before, you cared during the playoffs. What about the dozen other games they played that year? Did you care? what about the hundred they've played since?
Granted, that's just how it works with divisional oppenents in MLB, but they've played each other 2000+ times. Literally. Outside of diehard yanks or sox fans, you honestly don't care about this game more often then not. The U of M vs. OSU game and the Duke vs. UNC games, now those games more often than not mean something and command more national attention/respect on a game by game basis.
Isn't an apples to apples comparison.
Hell, I'm a diehard Tigers fan, but how much do I care about every TIGERS regular season series? Admittedly, not a ton at times.
MLB regular season is just generally diluted, but saying outsiders only care about BoSox-NYY in the playoffs isn't really a damning statement.
In other words, your comment seems to suggest less that people don't care about BoSox-NYY and more that you can't really care about MLB rivalries because of how many games are played. Honestly, that's fair, but I also think it's more fair to compare rarer rivalry contests (CFB; typically only one game per year; CBB; typically only 2 games per year, at most 4 [conference tourney + outside chance at NCAA tourney game, too]) to MLB playoffs than every MLB contest. In that regard, BoSox-NYY holds up well, I think.
Note: I fucking hate both Boston and NY. But hard to argue that their rivalry isn't compelling.
whether a majority of people care or not, could be measured in the amount and intensity of the hate they generate between the two fan bases. And I don't think anyone would deny the amount of hate between the Yankees and Red Saux fan bases.
Having watched a few Yankees-Red Sox games from the bleachers of the old Yankees Stadium, I absolutely concur. In the bleachers, it is a contact sport.
You mistyped. I have corrected your error.
No one outside of (Team 1) fans and (Team 2) fans cares about (Team 1) vs. (Team 2).
I remember before Boston won the world series in 2004 it was somewhat of a big deal with Pedro Martinez throwing one of the Yankees coaches down, but once the Red Sox won that world series ESPN started hyping it way more.
Not questioning the list itself (given the criteria they establish) but man does this thing look and read like a Bleacher Report cut n paste job.
And candidly given that one key criteria is the games must "matter" I'm guessing our rivarly with OSU is being evaluated based on basketball given that the football game hasnt really "mattered" in regards to the B1G since 2007.
Michigan-ohio state will always be a big rivalry even if one team is down. Take the last game for example when Uofm almost beat the buckeyes. That game had national title implications which added to the rivalry. Obviously it didn't matter bc they lost to sparty the next week but at the time it was huge.
I agree, but the criteria that they set out eliminates us from their list. It says, "Both teams are generally near the top of the standings in the last five years"
Michigan has only been "near the top" once in the last 5 years. In the other 4 years, we've finished ranked once that that was 24th in the AP while unranked in the coaches. One out of five years is not enough to make the generalization.
Basically, it's just a poorly-written article with predetermined results and criteria set to match the results. That's the point that's trying to be made.
so its not a "ranking" just the 5 that they deem the big ones according to their criteria
for cameo appearance.
ha..
thanks Steve, hope you are doing well.
was going to be horrible
True to an extent, depends largely on your location and background. Here in the Northeast, unless you are alum or alum related, Mich-Ohio does not mean much. This is not a college football hotbed. Pro sports dominate.
A.) Of course nobody cares about Michigan-Ohio. Setting aside the fact that they've neer won, the Bobcats rarely play us.
B) Aren't the only places where prosports don't "dominate" the places that don't have pro-sports teams. And it's very dependent on sport. Even though Michigan isn't a huge basketball state, college basketball is a much bigger deal than the NBA, despite the fact that we have one of the very few franchises with multiple titles.
/s on (A)
Where's Sparty vs. Indiana on that list?
Or ND-Purdue. That was the most important to preserve, of course.
I think the Texas vs. Oklahoma game gets extra credit for attempted castration of opposing fans. Castration really glamorizes your program. That probably boosted them in the ratings.
"Best Rivalry" also-ran Texas A&M obviously gets this, since a large segment of the student body often tries to ritually castrate themselves.
And that closes our daily segment of "Today In Castration".
...is a lot like Michigan-OSU when it comes to recruiting. OU is like Michigan in that they do well in their own state but in order to be a national power they've REALLY got to make hay in the larger talent pool to their immediate south. The better OU does against Texas in Dallas, the more desirable a destination it continues to be for stand-out talent that doesn't mind leaving their home state.
Plus there is A LOT of money at that game. It's almost like Harvard-Yale, but with cowboy boots.
What about Oklahoma fans in Texas and Texas fans in Oklahoma? I'm sure it's similar to Michigan-OSU in that regard.
I'm not sure if there's a state-wide hate of the other state the way there is with Michigan and Ohio though (fuck you Ohio cops).
I know a lot of them buy longhorn decals and put them upside down on their cars. I always thought that was stupid as hell since the money is going to Texas' athletic department.
Red Wings v. Avs, that was some powerful hate for a pretty extended period. In the regular season, in the playoffs, there were some fantastic wars. Though of course UM v OSU will always be #1 in my heart.
I mean, come on?
agree about Packers/Bears. That's about as intense a rivalry as you'll see.
I lived in Virginia for a long time and all the Redskins fans there hated the Cowboys, but I don't think it's on the same plane as M-OSU. There's just a lot more hatred and passion in college sports where many of the fans are students and alums, and the players aren't just mercenaries (i.e. they chose to be a part of that school, its traditions, and its rivalries)
Red Sox and Yankees play like 18 times a year can't tell me all of those games really matter all the time. UNC Duke is BS bc CFB> CBB.
to talking football with two fishermen. (I had mentioned I live in Tallahassee, and in the course of talk I admitted I couldn't root for FSU no matter what because of those 90s losses.) When they heard I was a Michigan fan they immediately piped up about M-OSU. It's a thing, and the rest of the nation knows it.
and I nailed it. I don't know if I am proud of that or embarrassed by it.
My vote would be for Madrid/Barcelona. The history, politics, and sheer quality over the course of several decades makes this the biggest rivalry out there. If you don't like soccer, fair enough, but if you are an objective observer of all sports and sports rivalries, this should be at the top of the list.
On a smaller international scale, but probably bigger in Argentina you should also include Boca and River Plate. Though those teams have both been inconsistent in recent years.
They excluded anything they didn't consider appointment television. I assume that meant soccer didn't qualify it due to the majority of Americans not caring about soccer.
... if the criteria is appointment television for US viewers, which it was implicitely given the chosen teams. If it is for overall viewership, there is no debate about Barca/Madrid.
Given that piece of the criteria was implicit vs. explicit, I wanted to call out that there are much bigger rivalries worldwide that have been excluded. That's all.
is the most intense rivalry I have ever seen, first-hand.
in Scotland, Celtics versus Rangers.
Basically all rivalries start locally and if they need good teams on both sides - consider, once Pistons versus Bulls was a great NBA rivalry when both had good teams, today it would be lucky to sell half the tickets. Harvard Yale football is a big deal for the FB fans at those schools but outside of that - no one really care. We just need to a contendor for the Big Ten Championship again and then all of the rivalries will become important again. Right now unfortunately we just aren't in the hunt.
Mexico vs Portugal (after all..their matches typically determine which nation is the greatest on earth)
I really feel like Bama Auburn should top the list at the moment. The winner of that game has gone to the National Championship game EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST FUVE YEARS. Let that sink in.
God dammit, five.
I guess I can see why they are on the list, but objectively I don't think they should. As mentioned by others, they play each other a lot compared to the other rivalry games. I think that dilutes the "rivalry spirit" over more games.
I watched a Yankees-Red Sox game a couple. Honestly, it looked like a lot of other baseball games: a bunch of overpaid, unathletic, steroid juiced, un-spirited drivel. Those players don't play for a team (like in college), they play for a contract.
Yeah but we can't be arrival so there's that...
as important when you play each other 19-20 times per season. This is why I can never put Yankess-Red Sox as the top rivalry in sports.
I'm sure there are many who will disagree that Michigan-OSU should be on the list because of the recent domination, but I say the passion still matches a rivalry that had been 50/50 for the last twenty years. I don't know any Ohio State fans (and I know a few from living there 2-1/2 years) who care any less about the Game than they always have. It's one thing for the side who have been on the losing end to care, it's telling when the dominating side is still marking it as the most important game on the schedule.
Arsenal and Tottenham; Manchester United and Manchester City. Baratheon and Targaryen also have had a heated rivalry; but I don't think that ESPN carries their matches anymore. Haven't seen them on HBO in a while. Maybe they're on The Ocho with Average Joe's and Globo Gym.
I just want someone to explain to me why, if Auburn's name is the Tigers, they go with this War Eagle silliness... Are they Tigers or Eagles? Or is that they don't like that Bama has their "Roll Tide" limited syllable slogan so Auburn needs one too... And if there is a legit reason for War Eagle, why not just change your name to Eagles and leave behind Tigers altogether? Oddness.
I've felt they should change their name to the War Eagles for a while. They have the LSU and Mizzou Tigers as well, so it would help differentiate. Eagle is the most common mascot (probably actually behind the collective Native American mascots), so at least War Eagles would separate them from everyone else.
And were behind
An eagle landed on the goal post, was noticed. Auburn went on to win
So the team is the tigers, but "war eagle" is their "go blue"
I use the "LMGTFY" link for people asking questions to which they can answer themselves, but the link isn't as effective unless you use the shortened version.
I think you're underestimating how many Sox and Yankees fans there are. One could make the argument that they're the two biggest fanbases in the MLB. The Yankees, especially.
I don't think any pro rivalries deserve to be on this list. They're way too cyclical in terms of interest and competitiveness. Red Wings-Avalanche was one of the greatest pro sports rivalries of all time and it faded away, and didn't really exist before the mid 90s. But when it was going on, it was better than most rivalries IMO. You just get a different feel for college rivalries. From my own experience, you can just feel the anticipation, passion and hatred before, during and after the game. Doesn't matter if it is OSU-Michigan, Toledo-Bowling Green, Arizona-Arizona St, service academies etc. Those just feel more real and consistent no matter what the circumstances are for either team. Bears-Packers is good when both teams are good. Red Sox-Yankees is great during pennant races and the playoffs. Same with Celtics-Lakers. I would say the only pro sport rivalries that have that same feel are in soccer. Those feel more like the college rivalries to me than they do like the American pro-sport rivalries.
The closest to the college rivalries are probably Red Sox-Yankees, Maple Leafs-Canadians and a couple others. But I still think they pale in comparison to college rivalries.
for the Red Wings - Avs:
Goalie. Fight.
Teams really hate each other when it comes to that. I was skiing in CO and woke up the next day to see an awesome pictur: Patrick Roy with a fist in his face.
Although short it was the most intense rivalry that I can remember.
I don't know how they can say Boston versus New York is the best rivalry. They play each other, what, 20 or 30some times per regular season and then sometimes in the playoffs? That is why baseball rivalries are a joke; pro basketball, too. They play to often, which takes away some of the magic of rivalries.
"That leaves us with the only 5 rivalries in sports that matter (in no particular order)"
Man, he totally missed the all-encompassing St. Matthews vs. St. Luke's football rivarly.
The english vs french, good vs evil, blue vs red. Almost the same ingredients of the Michigan/OSU rival. And of course, who likes the french!
The English have liked the French since they formed the Entente Cordiale in 1904. But it was merely the continuation of informal good relations that began after Napoleon's defeat.
Couldn't agree more! At first I thought leafs - wings but I can't hate the wings the way I hate the habs
Army-Navy?
New Lothrop vs the hated Montrose Rams. Go Hornets.
As others have mentioned, it just doesn't seem rational to place as much significance on rivalries at the professional level.
If a player gets traded from the Ravens to the Steelers or from the Yankees to the Red Sox does that mean they all of a sudden develop a strong disliking for their former team and teammates overnight?
I think for the win should be on par with bleacher report. It's a click garnering site with little substance, and not really worth the board's time.
I think rivalries should be broken down into Traditional vs. Temporary (for lack of a better term).
For me outside of Michigan OSU most of the traditional rivalries don't interest me that much. Army Navy would probably be second on my list.
I much prefer what I will call temporary rivalries were you have 2 teams that are really really good at the same time (obviously this can happen with traditionals too). For example Red Wings and Avalanche during the late 90s was great while it lasted. The teams hated each other and were very good.
