# Biggest sports rivalry? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519 "2004-06-09T20:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/1 "2004-06-09T20:08:32Z")
Yankees - Red Sox (Baseball) Bears - Packers (Football) Cubs - Cardinals (Baseball) Broncos - Raiders (Football) Dodgers - Giants (Baseball) Michigan - Ohio State (Football) Duke - North Carolina (Basketball) Florida - Florida State (Football) Georgia - Georgia Tech (Basketball, Football) Others??? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/2 "2004-06-09T20:11:37Z")
Army - Navy (football) ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/3 "2004-06-09T20:19:58Z")
Football – Cowboys – Redskins Cowboys – Eagles Cowboys – Giants ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/4 "2004-06-09T20:23:13Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Football – > > Cowboys – Redskins > Cowboys – Eagles > Cowboys – Giants Heh…you sorta took my idea ahead of me: Giants – Eagles Giants – Cowboys Giants – Redskins And for bonus points, Giants – Jets ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/5 "2004-06-09T20:24:43Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > Bears - Packers (Football) Au contraire. It’s Vikings - Packers 😉 ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/6 "2004-06-09T20:29:12Z")
ALABAMA v. auburn all sports… life… everything ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/7 "2004-06-09T20:36:53Z")
How could I have missed: :smack: Texas - Oklahoma (All sports and life in general) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/8 "2004-06-09T20:40:05Z")
Hockey: I love the Devils. I also love anyone who is playing against the Flyers, Rangers, or Islanders. However, if the Islanders or Flyers are playing the Rangers, I root for them to beat the Rangers. Some Venn-diagrammable permutation of this exists among every fan swearing allegiance to any of these teams. A smart man roots in this order (his own team excepted, of course): 1. An Original Six team 2. A Canadian team 3. Any other team except 4. An expansion team 5. A team that moved from a hockey city to a tourist city. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/9 "2004-06-09T21:03:56Z")
Umm … and the cup belongs to? … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Notorious\_Nik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Notorious\_Nik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notorious_Nik)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/10 "2004-06-09T21:09:58Z")
Chiefs vs. Raiders from the NFL. And of course, we can’t forget to mention the legendary NHL rivalry, the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Nashville Predators. Man, that one has some history. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/11 "2004-06-09T21:42:20Z")
Arsenal - Tottenham ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/12 "2004-06-09T21:50:35Z")
Everton vs. Liverpool (England) Boca vs. River (Argentina) Celtic vs. Rangers (Scotland) Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (Spain) I’m sure there are some good national rivalries in soccer as well, but i’m not well-versed enough to know what the best one might be. In rugby union, i think Australia vs. New Zealand is the big one, although i’m sure some British Dopers would argue with that. England vs. France? Ireland vs. England? 🙂 In rugby league, there’s nothing to compare with the NSW vs. Queensland “State of Origin” clashes. Cricket is a tougher one. England vs. Australia has plenty of history, but geo-politics probably makes India vs. Pakistan the most interesting right now. I think it’s worth distinguishing between different types of rivalry. Some rivalries are have extremely bitter origins and can cause lots of real anger (and even violence) among fans. I guess Celtic vs. Rangers might be an example. Others are rivalries of respect and toughness, and are more concerned with tradition than actual animosity. I think Australia vs. New Zealand in rugby might be a good example of that. I know that, as an Aussie, i love to see the Wallabies beat the All-Blacks, but there’s no hatred or anything. The Springboks, on the other hand… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/13 "2004-06-09T21:55:04Z")
Good ones all. I add: Miami-FSU (college football) Harvard-Yale (everything) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/14 "2004-06-09T22:11:05Z")
The local ones may be givens, but what the hell… Giants/A’s 49ers/Raiders 49ers/Cowboys ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/15 "2004-06-09T22:21:03Z")
And i forgot Aussie Rules: Carlton vs. Collingwood ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/16 "2004-06-09T22:22:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I’m sure there are some good national rivalries in soccer as well, but i’m not well-versed enough to know what the best one might be. At least for me, national footy rivalries are England - Germany England - Argentina (arrgghhhhh!!!) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/17 "2004-06-09T22:27:04Z")
USC beating notre dame USC beating ucla Ferrari vs. everyone else Rossi vs. Biaggi (a classic!) Honda vs. Yamaha Player vs. The House :rolleyes: Good vs. Evil (I always bet on Evil) ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/18 "2004-06-09T22:29:30Z")
> [@gatopescado](#): > > Good vs. Evil (I always bet on Evil) [Dark Helmet] Evil will always triumph over good, because good…is dumb. [/Dark Helmet] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/19 "2004-06-09T22:33:13Z")
Second vote for Celtic - Rangers. I can’t think of any rivalry that could match it. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519/20 "2004-06-09T22:51:33Z")
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-sports-rivalry/249519.md?page=2)