Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

This week I have had many conversations at work about the upcoming rivalry college football games around the country this weekend and next. This has led to talking about sports rivalries in general, including baseball- Yankees/Red Sox, Dodgers/Giants, etc and other sports.

I am a University of Utah graduate, and we play BYU, our arch rival this weekend. It does not get the national exposure of some other great sports rivalries, but I assure you it’s a great one! I work in recreation on a university campus, so this kind of conversation just lends itself to the kind of work I do.

Some general things that have come up this week as we have been talking about this have been:

What constitutes a great rivalry in sport?
Why does it have to get mean spirited, personal, and nasty?
If there is civility between the two sides, does that mean it’s not as big a rivalry as others?

Any thoughts on this and other great sports rivalries? I’ll be at the BYU/Utah game this Saturday. Be looking for me. I’ll be the one wearing red.

Ohio State - Michigan football has to be near the top. There's even a book -- "The Hundred Yard War."

Even though this rivalry isn't based solely on playing against each other(until interleague play a few years back) its a hate-hate relationship. Cubs - Sox. These teams and their fans have hated each other since just about forever. In the Greater Chicago area, politic's, level of income, what area you live in, are all fair play in this bitter hatred. There are exceptions but its basically North Side vs. Southside. Mayor Daley couldn't wish the Cubs good luck this year without it looking like his face was gonna crack - President-elect Obama said "though the Cubs have good fans, they'er more interested in drinking". I'd say the Dem's favor the Sux%#I mean Sox. Cub fans mostly think Sox fans would rather run out on the field in a drunken stupor and attack umpires or oppossing players...and oh by the way, dont most Sox fans live under an overpass? If you live around here and you claim to like both teams-well your just considered a piece of dirt and not even a real baseball fan. I guess since I live closer to the Southside I'm supposed to like the Sox...forget that, I've been a Cub fan since I could walk, and I'm not sitting next to a Sox fan that lives under an overpass, and wont crawl out unless his team wins a World Serie's. I've tried to tone this down, but its even worse than I've described. Good Thread by the way!! GO CUBS

DUKE / UNC basketball - THE best rivalry in sports.

In football I'd say Miami/Fla. State and Fla/Fla State are as big as any.

In baseball it is coming down to any National League East team vs. the Mets. The Mets are my team but they are hated by the division.

Lastly, you guys know I'm from South America so I have interest in Football (Soccer). Madrid/Barcelona is about as big a rivalry as I've ever experienced.

On another note, why is American Football called football if the ball is moved with the hands? And for all of you that do not know, Soccer is originally a term that the English gave to the game at the turn of the 20th Century. Just some useless knowledge for you.

unc/duke basketball is the biggest rivaly i would agree brett. But i would say that being from Maryland the TERPS hate the dukes. THey wear affending tshirts. Like F*** DUke. Its a hate relationship between duke and maryland basketball.
Just my 2 cents from the CRAB state.

John

yes, maryland thinks duke is it's rival for some reason. it's the same way with uconn fans - duke is their most hated team (even though they rarely play). guess if you want to be the best, you must be the best.

Brett- But when they do play its historic!

I choose to remember the '99 meeting in the Finals and forget the Laettner games -Mark

Any rivalriy which pits two teams from the same city. In the UK this is called a "derby" pronounced darby. Classic examples of this would be

Manchester City V. Manchester United (even though united don't actually play in Manchester but that is a story for a different day as I strongly dislike them)

In Glasgow the derby has a strongly rooted religious background Celtic (catholic) v. Rangers (protestant)

Liverpool there is a perceived class difference when Liverpool fc take on Everton.
The same can be said in London when Arsenal take on Tottenham.

All of these matches begin early in the day to avoid time to get "pissed" and to try and avoid fighting.

After re-reading my above post reply 24 hours later I realize I sound like a thug(I'm not). I have no excuse and I hope I didn't offend or anger anyone. I just got carried away. Again, I apologize, Eddie

For me there are only two. The Dodgers/Giants rivalry and USC/UCLA. That is one fun football game, especially at the Coliseum and not the Rose Bowl. It's even more fun when the Trojans beat the hell out of the Bruins.

Cubfaithful, I could totally be a Cubs fan after going to my first Cub game a couple of years ago. Took the train in and had a few beers in Wrigleyville before the game, and then had rooftop seats the first day and field level seats the next. The guy who got us rooftop seats was a die-hard Sox fan and he said Sox fans refer to Cubs fans as the wine and brie crowd. Have you ever heard of that? He wasn't that obnoxious but vocal enough so I could totally understand that rivalry.

I don't really hate anything or anybody. It's not my nature but I HATE the Giants!

JD

MVALZ, there was a game in 99? I don't remember that at all. 2004 is quite fuzzy as well.

As long as you remember the Sox of '04

Bosox, Patriots, UCONN hoops, my baseball team...all Champs in '04. A very good year.

ebbets55 wrote:For me there are only two. The Dodgers/Giants rivalry and USC/UCLA. That is one fun football game, especially at the Coliseum and not the Rose Bowl. It's even more fun when the Trojans beat the hell out of the Bruins.

Yeah, 'SC/Fucla! As an 'SC grad (BA and JD) the seven years spent getting those degrees were the seven years that the bratty Bruins beat my Trojans. First year I left, we started to beat them.

I'm pulling hard for the Ducks against the Beavers so that 'SC can go to the Rose Bowl, but to be perfectly honest, any year we beat the Bruins and the Irish is a successful year to me.

For baseball, it doesn't get better than Sox/Yanks. I absolutely HATE the Yankees with a passion that knows no bounds. The Red Sox lose to the Yankees on a mid week game in April and I'm in a bad mood all day.

I'm also a Dodger fan, and I have to say that the Giants thing hasn't been the same since Bonds left. The old days with batteries thrown at Candlestick were vicious, but only at Dodger Stadium could you get killed for being the opposing team's fan (happened to a Giants fan a couple of years ago).

Cubsfaithful, I'll have to disagree with you. I don't consider the Cubs and Whitesox as a rivarly. They only play each other during inter-league. Don't get me wrong, I don't like and don't cheer for the Sox. Now that being said, Cubs-Cardinals. Now thats a rivarly. I have been to those games and the fans really get into it. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than beating the Redbirds and specially their manager.