Soccer : UK national team tends to regard Germany as a big rival. Probably 'cause they always win when it matters apart from that one tournament in 1966 where we rigged the draw so all of our games were at Wembley and got that goal given which wasn’t really a goal as it never crossed the line.
Cricket : We lose to pretty much everyone most of the time but Australia are probably the biggest foe. Not really sure why though but I’d guess it has to do with the importance we place on getting whitewashed in the ashes series.
Rugby : Last time I watched Rugby was a while ago and we also lost to pretty much everyone in that too. Not sure who the big rival is these days, or why.
Local Football. Support Tottenham, big rival Arsenal. Because they are a mile or so along the road and better than we are
Basketball : Lakers fan checking in and looking down my nose at San Antonio 'cause they beat the Lakers in a playoff which was the first game I ever went to see
Football : Another 49’ers fan checking in to loathe the cowboys. I’m not really sure why, but for some reason they just annoyed the hell out of me.
College football: I went to Virginia Tech so it’s UVa and Miami.
Pro football: I’m a Redskins fan so I hate the Cowboys.
Hockey: Flyers and either New York team.
League soccer: New York just because Washington sports fans automatically hate New York teams.
International soccer: Mexico. They’ve always been the power in CONCACAF (for what that’s worth) and have always delighted in beating the US. Now we’re on their level and beat them in the World Cup. Since a World Cup loss can only be avenged by a World Cup victory, we might own Mexico for years depending on future World Cup draws.
As an Oldham fan, Wigan Athletic, mainly, plus Cardiff City, Crewe Alexandra (well, their fans anyway), Manchester United (ditto, and their manager, but not the players or the way they play), Rangers (dunno, something that I developed at school in Hampshire, where there seemed to be an inordinate number of Rangers and Man Utd fans for some unfathomable reason), Leicester City (I just don’t like 'em). As a part-time supporter of Farnborough Town I also have a healthy dislike for Aldershot Town and Woking.
Other sports:
I really don’t care, although having been on the receiving end of some rough abuse at uni in Edinburgh I find it hard to shed a tear when Scotland lose at any sport. Ditto with Australia using, having been on the receiving end of similar mickey-taking in Australia. Mind you, when Scotland or Australia deserve to win I won’t begrudge that one bit (e.g. Australia vs England at football recently).
Here in Northeast PA, we have one of the strangest rivalries ever: Penn State vs. Notre Dame football. Penn State and Notre Dame themselves couldn’t care less about each other. Yet their fans here have this blood feud going on. When they announced plans to play each other again in a few years, this place went nuts.
Personally, I’d say its Georgetown. My dad went to Villanova and I went to Syracuse, and both schools have a healthy hatred for the Hoyas.
I grew up on Long Island, so these should come as no surprise:
Hockey- Rangers. If the Broadway Bluebells never win the Cup again, then I can die in peace. Flyers are a close second.
Baseball- As a life long Met fan, this one’s easy… Atlanta.
Football- My 2 favorite football teams are the Jets and whoever’s playing Miami. And I like to see Dallas lose just on principle, tho with Tuna at the helm now I may have to alter that somewhat.
College- I’ll have to go with Oklahoma on this one over A&M. If it can’t be the 'Horns winning a championship, let it be the Ags. And I like to see Notre Dame lose just on principle as well.
I would replace the phrase “jealous of” with the phrase “annoyed by” and “greatness” with “cheating.” That '99 SEC Championship was a bunch of crap, the best team money could buy. And I hope Justin Smiley drove the pick-up truck they gave him to watch a real team play in a bowl game last year.
Anyway, as Florida fan, there are really a few definitions of a “rival.” If by rival, you mean a school we enjoy competing with while having a vested interest in maintaining bragging rights and overall supremacy against, then I’d say our rivals are teams like Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU, in that order (even though Auburn’s off the every-year schedule now.)
If by rival, you mean a team who we have had fun humiliating for 12 out of the last 13 years, although there is no real competition there, then it’s definitely Georgia.
And if you consider a rival to be a team with whom competition is no longer fun because of the intentional injuries inflicted on our players, and who’s dirty program, dirty coaches, dirty players, and dirty fans can all go straight to hell, well then, it’s gonna be Florida State.
As for basketball, its Kentucky, as they are the only team on our schedule who is consistently good.
Rugby Union: Australia (won)
Rugby League: Australia (lost)
Rubgy Sevens: Fiji (I think we won)
Netball: Australia (won)
Basketball: Australia (lost, got dumped on recently)
I have no idea why we hate QLD so much? But it’s in our blood isn’t it? Even though they are a good team, and beat us 50% of the time, we hate them.
I don’t even care about footy but I know that I am meant to hate QLD whenever State Of Origin begins…???
I think It’s because my Old Man played at the top level for Easts?
It has been drummed into me…
Baseball: I am a Giants fan, and I have a strong dislike of the Dodgers and the Yankees, probably descended from whn all three of those teams played in NYC.
Basketball: The Lakers are the enemy, and anything bad that happens to that team is something to be praised.
College sports: My favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines. Our closest local rival would be Michigan Agricultural College, oops I mean Michigan State University! Regional rivals include The Ohio State University and Notre Lame. As far as rivals outside the Midwest, the teams from the Pacific Ten conference have been the ones Michigan has tended to play most often, at least in football.
My other favorite college sports program is Central Michigan University, which has a three-way rivalry with two other “directional” schools, Eastern Michigan U and Western Michigan U.
NFL: Packers are my favorites. Local rivals are the other NFC North (formerly NFC Central) teams: Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota. Outside of the division, Dallas and San Francisco are probably Green Bay’s next biggest rivals due to frequent meetings in the playoffs.
MY two favorite teams are Auburn and whoever is playing against Alabama.
By gatopescado: "How about that spankin’ the Men of Troy gave Auburn last weekend? "
Indeed they did. I sat right there in the stands and watched it. USC has a fine team this year, and it ain’t like we lost to LSU or 'Bama or some dorky school like that.
Now, you say 'Bama cheats… well jump over to [url=www.ncaa.org]ncaa.org[/ur] and you’ll find Florida has 4 major infractions cases on their record. 'Bama? 2. You want to know about cheating at football, read a little bit about Charlie Pell’s tenure at Florida.
As far as greatness… Y’all had a good run… When ya get 21 SEC championships, come see me. We won’t even discuss National Championships… or all-time bowl appearances… or bowl wins… I don’t want to hurt your feelings.
oh… one more thing… you specifically mention the '99 SEC championship game (and I know that one tasted bitter… beaten twice by Alabama, humiliated in Atlanta) well… I believe you guys had a 'Bama transfer on that team. (remember Travis Carroll?) If 'Bama had the best team money could buy, how much did y’all have to pay to hire one of our boys?
Miami, FSU, Georgia, Auburn,* Tennessee. As a Florida Gator I have many enemies. Take your pick. FSU and Miami aren’t SEC games, but the emnity seems to simmer even greater within state. Auburn versus Alabama has sparked a murder, I understand. Florida versus Georgia has led to plenty of drunken brawls. “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” I watch that one on TV. Last on I went to was in 1995. Athens, GA I must admit is a much better place to watch a game than JAX. We should home-and-away that one. Anyway…
I don’t like the Facons or Saints of the NFL. This is due to the recent realignment. Up until fairly recently I rooted for them as they were the southern teams in the “West.” Which, really, made no sense. But, dammit, a nonsensical tradition is still tradition. See also, BCS.
I dislike the NY Knicks, Houston Rockets, Lakers, and Miami Heat of the NBA. This is all Orlando Magic releated.
In this part of the United States college football (our kind) is king of all sports. Some people don’t follow any other sports. They follow high school recruiting during the off season. Hey, wait a minute, I do that too. :o
*But, I guess the air is out of that one for a while. We lose Auburn this year and pick up some other West team, or something. What a friendly rivalry that was! :rolleyes: I loved watching Steve and the other SEC coaches shake hands. It was like dental work for some of them.
NFL: As a Steelers fan, 4 teams must be hated: The Browns and their disgusting uniforms, the “New Browns”(Ravens) and their disgusting Purple uniforms, the Raiders from our rivalry in the 70’s, and the so-called “America’s Team” who paid off Neil O’Donnell and broke my heart in '95. Fortunately, neither the Browns nor the Ravens have posed much threat to us recently and don’t look to do so in the near future, either. Also, the Bucs and those babbling fools Sapp and Keyshawn are quickly rising on my hate list. Fortunately, we kicked their butts the last couple times we’ve played them, so they aren’t much of a concern. Still, they’re Super Bowl made me vomit.
MLB: As a Pirate’s fan, the only team I have an undying hatred of is the Atlanta Braves and that ridiculous “Tomahawk Chop.” All I can say is that Francisco Cabrera is scum, and Sid Bream was OUT! Out, I tell you!
NHL: As a Penguin’s fan, the Rangers and Flyers are the most hated teams- The Rangers for ordering Adam Graves to take out Mario waayyy back in '92. (Of course even without him, we still beat the Rangers.) The Flyers for regularly employing their goon squads, including scum like Eric Lindros- who naturally now plays for the Rangers.
College: As a Penn State football fan, all Big 10 teams must be hated, especially Ohio State, but even more so than them is Nebraska- who benefited when PSU was robbed of the national championship in '94
In the Sydney-based Rugby League comp, it’s mandatory to hate the Sea Eagles (or their various incarnations), regardless of which of the many other teams you support. I don’t know why this is, it just is.
As far as interstate rivalries go, then it’s Queensland in Rugby League, and Victoria in everything else, though the Victorians take it a bit more personally than we do. Those guys poke pins into NSW voodoo dolls.
Internationally, there is a strange hierarchy. We hate New Zealand, but only if they are playing against us. If New Zealand is playing another nation, we’ll generally support them. Even when they beat us at something, there’s often an undercurrent of “good on 'em”, because they have a much smaller population, and can still manage to often kick our arses. We respect that. Still like beating 'em though…
