Sports Rivalries 101
by Chris Arlene, Sports Editor on December 7, 2009 in Sports
Courtesy of Christopher Arlene, MPP\'10
Last Saturday, Harvard and Yale met for the 126th edition of “The Game,” college football’s oldest rivalry. For most of us, the trip to New Haven was just an excuse to tailgate, but the rivalry between these two schools deserves respect. It’s the type of rivalry that sports are built on: the names and faces change, but the mutual institutional dislike only intensifies over the generations.
So it seems only right that I write a column about the best American sports rivalries. There are limitations, however, to doing this that I need to be up front about. First, rivalries play a much bigger part in college sports, but there are only so many college rivalries that transcend their respective fan bases and are generally “can’t miss” type of games.
Second, it’s almost impossible for professional teams to have long-term rivals. For many years, the L.A. Lakers and Boston Celtics was an unmatched rivalry full of future Hall of Fame players, but that rivalry laid dormant for more than a decade while the Celtics stunk and before Kobe and Shaq resurrected the Lakers. And third, I can’t comment on rivalries I haven’t witnessed, so some classic rivalries like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier or Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain don’t show up. So with these principles in mind, here is my list of the best five rivalries in sports:
1. Duke vs. North Carolina
There never has, and there never will be, a better rivalry than this classic matchup between two schools that are only about 10 miles apart. UNC is second all time in wins. Duke is fourth. UNC has 18 Final Four appearances and 5 National Championships. Duke has 14 trips to the Final Four and 3 titles of their own. UNC has Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Tyler Hansbrough. Duke has Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, and Elton Brand. This rivalry has unmatched history, intense fans, and a compelling public vs. private university undertone. If you are only going to watch one college basketball game this year, make sure it is one of their two annual slugfests.
2. Ohio State vs. Michigan
College football is full of great rivalries (Oklahoma vs. Texas, Miami vs. Florida State, USC vs. Notre Dame), but nothing tops this classic Big Ten battle. The matchup includes two of the top college football programs ever, with a combined 18 national championships, 10 Heisman Trophy winners, and 75 Big 10 Conference championships. Most years, the winner of this game wins the Big 10, and it often has national implications. After 106 meetings, this game is still very old school, played at noon the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Throw in its “origins” of the 1830s border war between these two states over which would claim the town of Toledo, and this rivalry is clearly one of the best.
3. Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez
OK, you’ve never heard of these guys, and I hadn’t until a few years ago. I can’t pretend to be a huge boxing fan, but the three fights these two warriors had in 2007 and 2008 were straight out of a movie. Though they fight in the bantamweight class (122 lbs), these two Mexican fighters fought with more heart and courage than any other fighters I have ever seen. Marquez won the first fight after injuring Vazquez’s nose, Vazquez won the second fight with a 6th round knock out, and Vazquez won the third fight with a split decision. So often in boxing, fights don’t live up to the hype, but these are three of the best fights you will ever see.
4. Army vs. Navy
A few years ago I had a part time job as a food runner at Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles played and was hosting the annual Army-Navy game. I was walking in the tunnel underneath the stands to make a drop when my path was blocked as the Brigade of Midshipmen was marching onto the field. I looked over and saw two Army Cadets in full uniform stuck at the gate as well. Over the next ten minutes, more Midshipmen than I can remember broke ranks, ran over to the Cadets, and blasted them with language and gestures that their mothers would not be proud of! The Cadets? They stood stoically through the whole thing. All parties involved earned my respect and proved why this is a great rivalry.
5. Yankees vs. Red Sox
I am expecting some flak for this, but baseball’s best rivalry does not deserve to be any higher. This low ranking has nothing to do with my dislike for either town’s teams, but instead a simple, objective observation: the Yankees have dominated this series. The numbers don’t lie: the Yankees have 27 World Series titles compared to 7 for the Red Sox, they’ve won 40 League Championships to the Sox’s 12, and 20 players have entered the Hall of Fame as Yankees while only 12 have gone in as Red Sox. Add in the Yankees advantage in celebrity fans (Spike Lee, Billy Crystal, Jay-Z vs. Ben Affleck and Jimmy Fallon) and it’s clear that in the last decade this rivalry has truly become great.
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Thanks for the nice comments on the Vazquez-Marquez fights. Israel Vazquez is our fighter.
I don’t see not one SEC rivalry on here… and we all know THAT’s a problem….