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Old 06-14-2009, 12:01 AM   #1
SirFozzie
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(Sports Discussion) Biggest rivalries?

SackAttack and I were volleying back forth tonight on the greatest rivalries in sports.

He's convinced that Red Sox-Yankees is at best, the third greatest rivalry in major league baseball. He's convinced that Dodgers/Giants is ahead of it and also Cubs/Cardinals.

I disagreed virulently. I can see saying that Dodgers/Giants is a close second to Yankees/Sox (Thinks like Marichal hitting Roseboro over the head with a bat, Jackie Robinson retiring rather than accepting a trade to the Giants). But I really found it laughable that the Cubs/Cardinals are even CLOSE to either of them.

I'll fully admit that I have an east coast bias, having lived here all my life, just as Sack has a west coast bias having lived there a while.. but here's what I would use as a barometer.

Let's say all three rivalries were playing on the same night.. which would ESPN or FOX or etcetera air? There's no question on that one. Yanks-Sox. Up till the 2000 area, it was one-sided yes, but it still held interest. The Sox turning the tables after 2003 have brought things to the point where the Yanks fans obsess as much about the Sox as the Sox fans used to obsess about the Yanks.

It's to the point where a Yankee fan, desperate to reverse the hoodoo that the Sox have had on the Yankees, brought Yankee Stadium grass seeds and water to a Phish concert held at Fenway park, and threw it on the field, hoping to jinx the Sox. (It didn't work, they were swept)

So.. Since Sack and I have bounced this discussion off each other, I'm opening it up to all. What do you think?
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:03 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by SirFozzie View Post
SackAttack and I were volleying back forth tonight on the greatest rivalries in sports.

He's convinced that Red Sox-Yankees is at best, the third greatest rivalry in major league baseball. He's convinced that Dodgers/Giants is ahead of it and also Cubs/Cardinals.

I disagreed virulently. I can see saying that Dodgers/Giants is a close second to Yankees/Sox (Thinks like Marichal hitting Roseboro over the head with a bat, Jackie Robinson retiring rather than accepting a trade to the Giants). But I really found it laughable that the Cubs/Cardinals are even CLOSE to either of them.

I'll fully admit that I have an east coast bias, having lived here all my life, just as Sack has a west coast bias having lived there a while.. but here's what I would use as a barometer.

Let's say all three rivalries were playing on the same night.. which would ESPN or FOX or etcetera air? There's no question on that one. Yanks-Sox. Up till the 2000 area, it was one-sided yes, but it still held interest. The Sox turning the tables after 2003 have brought things to the point where the Yanks fans obsess as much about the Sox as the Sox fans used to obsess about the Yanks.

It's to the point where a Yankee fan, desperate to reverse the hoodoo that the Sox have had on the Yankees, brought Yankee Stadium grass seeds and water to a Phish concert held at Fenway park, and threw it on the field, hoping to jinx the Sox. (It didn't work, they were swept)

So.. Since Sack and I have bounced this discussion off each other, I'm opening it up to all. What do you think?

I think you're misrepresenting my position. You're referring to fan antics, while I'm referring to love lost, or lack thereof, between the teams themselves.

For context's sake, the discussion sprang up over a line I heard on sports radio the other night, positing that "The Yankees wake up every morning with one goal in mind: beat the Red Sox," and I told Foz I just don't think the Yankees have that kind of a hate-on for Boston.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:04 AM   #3
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Is it such a big deal when someone goes from one team to the other in those other two cases? No. Case in Point: "Johnny Damon"
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:06 AM   #4
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Michigan - Ohio State.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:09 AM   #5
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1. Yankees/Red Sox
2. Cardinals/Cubs
3. Giants/Dodgers
4. Mets/Phillies
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:11 AM   #6
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As far as Yanks/Sox, I think rivalries are fueled by how often a big game is played between the teams. More often then not the Yanks and Sox has more riding on it then most games. It's been like that for a long, long time and I don't see it ever changing. I think it's the best pro sports rivalry, let alone best baseball.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:12 AM   #7
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I grew up a Giants fan in Eagles country, so you can imagine in my world, Eagles-Giants is the biggest rivalry.

Are we talking "of all time" or currently? Lakers-Celtics for basketball (if we are talking all-time) has got to be up there.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:13 AM   #8
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actually, I should say that in all of the cases above (other then Michigan-Ohio State one), it's no longer about the players having such a personal hate on for each other.

They're all playing for a paycheck primarily. the laundry they wear is secondary to the amount on the paystub.

So it may be that there's NO such cases of things like the Roseboro incident these days. There are still some verbal spats (look at Girardi going after Penny for throwing at A-Rod, Red Sox owner John Henry twitteringn about Yankees slugger Mark Teixiera (and Tex's angry response back to Henry)..
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:16 AM   #9
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As far as the other sports, it's hard because right now some rivalries are hot, but that doesn't mean they will be.

I'd say in the NFL right now Colts vs Pats, Giants vs Eagles and Steelers vs Ravens are the best rivalries, but all time it has to be something out of the NFC East. I'd be inclined to say the Giants and Eagles but I am not sure how strongly I'd feel about it tomorrow.

In the NHL right now it's Wings/Ducks, then probably Wings/Pens only because there is a good chance we could see a third SCF next year between them, and then Pens/Caps. But look at the Wings/Avs, it was the best rivalry in pro sports for 5 years then totally died so it doesn't have the longevity a Bruins/Habs has.

NBA, I don't even know. It seems to switch every year.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:17 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by SirFozzie View Post
actually, I should say that in all of the cases above (other then Michigan-Ohio State one), it's no longer about the players having such a personal hate on for each other.

They're all playing for a paycheck primarily. the laundry they wear is secondary to the amount on the paystub.

So it may be that there's NO such cases of things like the Roseboro incident these days. There are still some verbal spats (look at Girardi going after Penny for throwing at A-Rod, Red Sox owner John Henry twitteringn about Yankees slugger Mark Teixiera (and Tex's angry response back to Henry)..

Pro and college rivalries are different so it's probably not the same to compare both together. College rivalries are way more heated for the most part. A lot more live and die stuff. Pro rivalries get that but it's not always ingrained like a college rivalry.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:41 AM   #11
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Is it such a big deal when someone goes from one team to the other in those other two cases? No. Case in Point: "Johnny Damon"

But two things.

1) How often has a player gone directly from one of the teams in question to the other without a trade having been involved? I think Damon might be the only example, and the Dodgers and Giants generally just do not trade with one another. It's happened exactly twice in my lifetime.

Even Juan Marichal spent time in Boston in between his Giants and Dodgers stints.

2) How much do you think Johnny Damon signing with the Red Sox would have mattered without the 2004 World Series - the Red Sox's first title in 86 years?

Red Sox players who also played for the New York Yankees - SoSH | Boston Red Sox | Red Sox Rumors | Spring Training | Pawtucket Red Sox

Almost nobody of note went from the Yankees to the Red Sox any way other than via trade. Boggs and Damon signed directly with the Yankees, while Clemens got there via Toronto. You don't get the shockers like a Derek Jeter deciding "Screw you, Boss. I'm going to Boston." There have been, on the other hand, at least three high-profile guys who have made the switch going the other way. So how does that damage my assertion that the Yankees simply do not wake up with "beat the Red Sox" as their prime mover?

By contrast:

Dodgers–Giants rivalry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Much shorter list. Before the Sweeney trade, it had been 20+ years since those two teams traded with one another, and Jeff Kent is probably the highest profile guy to start with one team and go to the other, in terms of sustained performance for both teams. Orel Hershiser, I hated to see him play for the Giants, but he wasn't the pitcher in San Francisco that he was in Los Angeles. Duke Snider was in his final season when he played for San Francisco. Juan Marichal pitched in two games for the Dodgers, in his final season.

Players changing sides? It doesn't happen between LA and SF. Not by trade, not by free agent signing, not when the player is still a force in the league.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:44 AM   #12
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Yanks-Sox has had a weird dichotomy since the Wild Card was introduced. I think the regular season has generally declined in importance in terms of the head-to-head, but the playoffs have really ratcheted things up now that they've both got good chances of getting in and they've gone at it for the AL title a few times, something they couldn't do before 1995. No doubt, the teams are interested in taking skins off each other, but it's all geared now towards that potential ALCS matchup rather than trying to chase each other through 162 games. What I think really launched the rivalry into the stratosphere it's in now were those two ALCSs in 2003 and 2004 and how they played out (one apparently solidifying The Curse, the other obliterating it). I don't think this rivalry would have nearly the push it has if they didn't meet for those titles and play all those games with all of the storylines that unfolded as they did.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that the single most important sports network is headquartered smack in between the two teams and that one of them occupies the single-biggest market in the United States. People end up caring largely because they're told to because the Yankees and Red Sox fill up the airwaves as much as they do.

I think Dodgers-Giants is pretty solid, though, if only because the hate survived the transplant to California and neatly fit the geography and culture of the state. It's not the cross-city rivalry it used to be, but as big as California is now, it really doesn't matter. It just doesn't get much play because of the time difference and generally because in the last decade or so, neither team has been consistently great. The NL West is also much more balanced than the AL East over time (even if mediocre) as evidenced by the fact that every team in the West since realignment to the six-division format has made the World Series except, oddly, LA, which hasn't been since 1988 (though they've had their share of playoff appearances). Such parity dampens the importance of the Giants-Dodgers games a little since it also typically means that when one team has been good, the other hasn't been. The matchup has been more notable for one team ruining the other as a spoiler late in the season.

As for Cards-Cubs, yes, it's a long-standing historical rivalry, but in terms of impact on the season, until recently it hasn't really had that kind of juice due to one or both teams being non-contenders (particularly the Cubs). However, the Cubs have really pushed hard for that brass ring the last several years and the Cards have been to two World Series and won one, so this rivalry I think is picking up steam now. I think it really needs maybe an NLCS battle or even a last-week meeting over a couple of consecutive years to settle the NL Central or Wild Card to really get the fires going, though. Right now, that rivalry is more known for the home run derby from 1998 than anything else.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:51 AM   #13
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Yankees-Red Sox is #1 hands down.

For the NFL, Packers-Bears is #1 but Packers-Vikings will get a lot more interesting when Favre signs with the Vikings. Then you'll have a better test case than Johnny Damon, although Favre wouldn't have gone directly to the rival and he's way past his prime to be effective.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:56 AM   #14
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I'm mostly joking here, but I'll go with Rangers and Devils. Ever since the Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils in 1982, these two teams have never traded with one another. I don't live in the area, but I get the feeling the rivalry means more to Devils fans than Rangers fans, but it's still pretty significant.

I am mostly joking, though.
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:58 AM   #15
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Dola

Actually, the greatest rivalry in pro sports was the "War on I-4" between the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.
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Old 06-14-2009, 01:48 AM   #16
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I think if ESPN didn't exist, the Yankees-BoSox rivalry wouldn't even be a top 5 in baseball, but that could just be me.

As far as the Giants-Dodgers series go, I think Sack is dead on (Naturally). I can't speak to what it's like between the Yankees-BoSox, but to me, it always seemed like Boston was the one who was much more invested into the rivalry. As far as the Dodgers-Giants series, I don't think there was much more of a polarizing figure then all of sports other then Barry Bonds. I don't think a city could hate one person more then LA hated Barry Bonds. It's always a sight to behold. I also did wonder how well the Dodgers would have embraced Bonds had he ever made it over to our side via FA? Karl Malone was probably the previous hated figure in all of sports, but he assimilated into the second greatest sports franchise, quite easily
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Old 06-14-2009, 01:52 AM   #17
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I think if ESPN didn't exist, the Yankees-BoSox rivalry wouldn't even be a top 5 in baseball, but that could just be me.

As far as the Giants-Dodgers series go, I think Sack is dead on (Naturally). I can't speak to what it's like between the Yankees-BoSox, but to me, it always seemed like Boston was the one who was much more invested into the rivalry. As far as the Dodgers-Giants series, I don't think there was much more of a polarizing figure then all of sports other then Barry Bonds. I don't think a city could hate one person more then LA hated Barry Bonds. It's always a sight to behold. I also did wonder how well the Dodgers would have embraced Bonds had he ever made it over to our side via FA? Karl Malone was probably the previous hated figure in all of sports, but he assimilated into the second greatest sports franchise, quite easily


The rivalry was pretty huge prior to 1979 so I dont think we can blame ESPN for deciding this should be the most heavily promoted rivalry in baseball athough Id love to agree with you
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Old 06-14-2009, 01:56 AM   #18
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The rivalry was pretty huge prior to 1979 so I dont think we can blame ESPN for deciding this should be the most heavily promoted rivalry in baseball athough Id love to agree with you

According to my USC friends, one side has to actually do something for it to be considered a rivalry
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Old 06-14-2009, 02:06 AM   #19
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I think if ESPN didn't exist, the Yankees-BoSox rivalry wouldn't even be a top 5 in baseball, but that could just be me.

yeah, its just you.
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Old 06-14-2009, 02:20 AM   #20
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Pro and college rivalries are different so it's probably not the same to compare both together. College rivalries are way more heated for the most part. A lot more live and die stuff. Pro rivalries get that but it's not always ingrained like a college rivalry.

I agree with this. The top college rivalries blow away anything we're discussing in this thread IMO, the great college rivalries have games nearly every year that are meaningful for 50+ years. Parity in the pros makes this nearly impossible.

To me Yankees/Sox has always seemed the top pro rivalry even before ESPN beat it into us.


As a kid growing up in a region with no pro teams, I was a huge Cubs fan in baseball and Cowboys fan in football. In the early-mid 1980s I wasn't even aware that the Cubs had a big rival. I've never hated the Cardinals, and I don't particularly ever remember Harry Caray or Steve Stone telling me why I should hate the Cardinals any more than any other team when I watched them play. They sure haven't played a lot of meaningful games against each other in my lifetime. But as a Dallas fan, oh boy did I hate the Redskins, and their fans. HATED. I stopped loving Dallas when Tom Landry was run out, and completely renounced them when the Panthers came into existence, but I still to this day cannot root for the Redskins.

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Old 06-14-2009, 04:21 AM   #21
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I grew up a big Yankee fan and I'll say that I hated the Red Sox with a passion. I no longer root for the Yankees, but I still HATE the Red Sox.

Jets fans really hate the Patriots, but hate the Dolphins even more.

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Old 06-14-2009, 07:07 AM   #22
Ronnie Dobbs2
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Only problem with Sox/Yankees is it seemed to take about two decades off.
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Old 06-14-2009, 07:31 AM   #23
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I agree with the assertion that ESPN plays the Yankees/Red Sox to be bigger than it is. I think there have been a lot of situations where they have pumped it up and a vast majority of MLB fans couldn't give 2 shits.

For me, the Duke/UNC rivalry is the biggest.
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Old 06-14-2009, 07:39 AM   #24
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On the other hand, spleen, the rest of MLB fans couldn't give two shits about Cards/Cubs or Giants/Dodgers.

Football and CBB are different matters.
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Old 06-14-2009, 07:40 AM   #25
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Iowa/Iowa State Wrestling is the biggest rivalry out there. No contest. Every year they battle for the national championship. 15000 people will fill the arenas to see this matchup. There is no comparison to it. Anywhere.
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Old 06-14-2009, 08:49 AM   #26
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Rangers-Celtic
Lazio-Roma
Fenerbahce-Galatasary
and so on and so forth.

None of the rivalries previously names can get you killed if you walk around in the wrong colours. European football rivalries make North American rivalries look like church picnics.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:21 AM   #27
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Iowa/Iowa State Wrestling is the biggest rivalry out there. No contest. Every year they battle for the national championship. 15000 people will fill the arenas to see this matchup. There is no comparison to it. Anywhere.

Lehigh - Lafayette for football is really big too.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:23 AM   #28
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Manchester United - Liverpool
Real Madrid - Barcelona
Orlando Magic - NBA refs

West coast people downplaying Yankees - Red Sox in relation to their own regional rivalry is always cute.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:25 AM   #29
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Iowa/Iowa State Wrestling is the biggest rivalry out there. No contest. Every year they battle for the national championship. 15000 people will fill the arenas to see this matchup. There is no comparison to it. Anywhere.

wow 15,000 people? that's unmatched. Anywhere.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:28 AM   #30
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Rangers-Celtic
Lazio-Roma
Fenerbahce-Galatasary
and so on and so forth.

None of the rivalries previously names can get you killed if you walk around in the wrong colours. European football rivalries make North American rivalries look like church picnics.

you have a good point. the biggest rivalry must be one of the major european soccer matchups. i don't follow european soccer, but Rangers/Celtic seems like a situation that is perfectly setup for a huge rivalry.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:32 AM   #31
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MU/KU. It's been discussed many times on this board, but the hatred in this rivalry dating back to the mid-1800s rivals anything you'll see in any rivalry.

On a sidenote, having lived on the East Coast, I'd note that the pro sports rivalries on the East Coast, having been around for so long and in such close proximity to each other, are huge. The college rivalries in the flyover country and on the West Coast are much more comparable given a similar proximity than the pro sports out here, which have a much shorter history.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:36 AM   #32
Ronnie Dobbs2
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I have never met anyone who gave a shit about MU/KU.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:40 AM   #33
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I guess it depends on what we're talking about, is the biggest rivalry the one that the most fans care about or one with the highest level of hatred without considering the popularity of the two teams and sport?

MU/KU could be considered for the latter but nobody would suggest that rivalry for the former.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:40 AM   #34
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I have never met anyone who gave a shit about MU/KU.

That's because you live in the insulated bubble otherwise known as New England.

It's regularly listed in the top 5 of college rivalries whenever a list is put out.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:41 AM   #35
Ronnie Dobbs2
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That's because you live in the insulated bubble otherwise known as New England.

It's regularly listed in the top 5 of college rivalries whenever a list is put out.

Well, I lived for 10 years in Chicago. I'd say the insulated bubble might be located in Missourah.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:42 AM   #36
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I have never met anyone who gave a shit about MU/KU.

Having lived in both NJ and KC, I would have to agree that the passion people in the respective area have for the KU/MU rivalry completely surpasses any fan passion for the NY/BOS rivalry. It's not even close.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:44 AM   #37
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I guess it depends on what we're talking about, is the biggest rivalry the one that the most fans care about or one with the highest level of hatred without considering the popularity of the two teams and sport?

MU/KU could be considered for the latter but nobody would suggest that rivalry for the former.

I'm not sure that 'the one that the most fans care about' is an accurate assessment given that it gives the nod to population centers rather than whether it's a good rivalry. A rivalry is made by the feelings of the fan base, not by how many there are. That method of assessment doesn't downgrade rivalries like a Red Sox/Yankees or UNC/Duke. They are top of the line.

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Old 06-14-2009, 09:46 AM   #38
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Having lived in both NJ and KC, I would have to agree that the passion people in the respective area have for the KU/MU rivalry completely surpasses any fan passion for the NY/BOS rivalry. It's not even close.

You'll get no argument from me there, college rivalries in general are much more heated than pro ones. I think the Yanks/Sox is a bit of a media fabrication as well.

I just think of plenty of other college rivalries before KU/MU even enters my mind.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:47 AM   #39
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Well, I lived for 10 years in Chicago. I'd say the insulated bubble might be located in Missourah.

I'm not the one saying no one gives a shit about the other's rivalry. Anyone who dismisses the MU/KU rivalry has obviously not experienced it. Anyone who has will tell you that it's easily one of the most intense, if not THE most intense rivalry in the nation.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:48 AM   #40
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Right, and my high school HATED our rival, but no one else in the country gave a shit.

Edit: I mean to say its a parochial rivalry.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:53 AM   #41
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I'm not sure that 'the one that the most fans care about' is an accurate assessment given that it gives the nod to population centers rather than whether it's a good rivalry. A rivalry is made by the feelings of the fan base, not by how many there are. That method of assessment downgrade rivalries like a Red Sox/Yankees or UNC/Duke. They are top of the line.

Well I think that, theoretically, if the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry had the same level of hatred as two rival high schools, that you would consider the Yanks/Sox rivalry bigger because of the number of fans involved despite equal hatred.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:01 AM   #42
rowech
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For my money, there's no more better rivalry than Army-Navy. Obviously, a lot more plays into it other than just the game.

As far as baseball goes, ESPN has made the Yankees-Red Sox bigger than what it is. It's become disgusting the way ESPN plays this out which is why I've pretty much switched over to Fox Sports entirely.

It probably is the #1 baseball rivalry with the Dodgers-Giants being #2.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:06 AM   #43
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Well I think that, theoretically, if the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry had the same level of hatred as two rival high schools, that you would consider the Yanks/Sox rivalry bigger because of the number of fans involved despite equal hatred.

I think you and Ronnie should create your own 'biggest HS rivalries' thread at this point. You're obviously taking the argument to a ridiculous extreme at this point. Ronnie's attempting to minimize the MU/KU rivalry as legitimate in this discussion as was obvious by his initial response.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:07 AM   #44
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For my money, there's no more better rivalry than Army-Navy. Obviously, a lot more plays into it other than just the game.

I'd argue that this rivalry is huge. It's another rivalry where the emotion far trumps anything that can be artificially trumped up by ESPN.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:17 AM   #45
Big Fo
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Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan View Post
I think you and Ronnie should create your own 'biggest HS rivalries' thread at this point. You're obviously taking the argument to a ridiculous extreme at this point. Ronnie's attempting to minimize the MU/KU rivalry as legitimate in this discussion as was obvious by his initial response.

lol

All I'm saying there is more than one way to judge what is the biggest rivalry. Just passion or passion/number of fans/how often titles are on the line in said rivalry. No need to be defensive, I didn't compare KU/MU to high school despite the level of defense often seen in Big 12 football games.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:21 AM   #46
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Originally Posted by Big Fo View Post
lol

All I'm saying there is more than one way to judge what is the biggest rivalry. Just passion or passion/number of fans/how often titles are on the line in said rivalry. No need to be defensive, I didn't compare KU/MU to high school despite the level of defense often seen in Big 12 football games.

Oh boy......

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Old 06-14-2009, 10:29 AM   #47
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At some point you probably have to decide how much "the biggest rivalry" is determined by level of hatred between those directly participating versus the same feelings in those with some rooting interest in the teams involved versus and the level of interest generated by the teams.

For pure hatred, I'm not sure anything comes close to any number of college football rivalries. As much as I'd like to say GT/UGA is as pronounced as any, I really think the pure unabashed hatred crown might still rest with Alabama/Auburn (although there might be something in Texas that could contend), it borders on psychotic how much seems to be defined by your allegiance to one or the other when those two are involved.

For increasing national level of interest, Yankees/Red Sox are at the top for sure (although for me personally for the pros it's any largely theoretical Dodgers/Yankees matchup followed by Dodgers/Giants).

And then you have to factor in the impact if the games aren't particularly meaningful vs cases when the two teams are playing for something at a higher level. To pick out an example, I don't think the Colts/Pats mentioned up the thread somewhere (and is one I take personal interest in) would have the same impact if they were both 3-5 for the third straight season when they met.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:48 AM   #48
Alan T
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Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA View Post
At some point you probably have to decide how much "the biggest rivalry" is determined by level of hatred between those directly participating versus the same feelings in those with some rooting interest in the teams involved versus and the level of interest generated by the teams.

For pure hatred, I'm not sure anything comes close to any number of college football rivalries. As much as I'd like to say GT/UGA is as pronounced as any, I really think the pure unabashed hatred crown might still rest with Alabama/Auburn (although there might be something in Texas that could contend), it borders on psychotic how much seems to be defined by your allegiance to one or the other when those two are involved.


I probably agree with these thoughts. Even though I always enjoy watching UGA lose, it never really was something I was passionate about. In general the "rivalry" between GT and UGA was simply limited to us making fun of their academic standards with various witty jokes, and I'm not sure what their jokes about us would be.. but that was about it. Auburn-Alabama definitely seemed the biggest passionate rivalry when it came to college sports in the area.

One thing I've noticed about rivalries and just basic sports fandom from living in different parts of the country now is different areas have their different levels they like to watch. In Texas you had pro-sports fans, you had college sports fans, but the level people watched HS ball, and the High school rivalries there were far bigger then some sports rivalries (I guarantee you there were more passionate fans at some Texas Football games in the 90s when I lived there, then fans at say a Falcons vs Saints game in the late 80s). In the Southeast where I grew up, seeing 70,000 - 100,000 raving fans at a football game was not unusual and that was all anyone talked about or cared about, thus the college rivalries always were the biggest. Now living in New England, it is like Highschool or college sports are an afterthought and all they care about here is pro rivalries (Red Sox - yankees, Celtics - Lakers, etc)...

So I guess in a way it makes sense to compare an Ohio State vs Michigan rivalry with a Red Sox - Yankees rivalry.. in those areas, that is the biggest rivalry which stirs up the most passion between fans. It is really really tough to have a national rivalry.. they really don't exist, so of course someone in the midwest will always feel their rivalry is bigger, better, badder than someone's rivalry in the Northwest, that is just how it goes.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:55 AM   #49
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I also have to go Yankees / Red Sox in terms of national interest media hype, which makes it suck all the more the Red Sox are owning the Yankees this year.

Tradition wise I have to go with Army / Navy or Harvard / Yale (The latter maybe not so much now, but in the first 50 years of the 20th century there was none better.

With all due respect to the SEC rivalries BYU / Utah rivals any for pure hatred, though it doesn't get the play that the BCS boys do. I know families that are on different sides that don't talk for weeks or even months after the game. The Godfather of my kids, who was a High School teammate of mine and one of the best friends I have ever had, lived across the street from me for 7 years before we left Utah was a Ute fan. I won't even go into the stuff we did to each other during rivalry week
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Old 06-14-2009, 11:01 AM   #50
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There definitely has to be national scope to this sort of discussion. Rutgers and Seton Hall basketball hate each other, we had a solid few years where fights during games were frequent, but no one outside of the immediate area gives a shit.

Put me in with others who say Yankees/Sox, UNC/Duke, Michigan/Ohio State...
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