Sports rivalry

A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the other that, in one case (the Football War), was suggested to have led to military conflict. Team owners typically encourage rivialries as they tend to improve game attendance and television ratings for rivalry matches, but a rivalry that gets out of control can lead to fighting, hooliganism, and rioting.

Many factors can lead to a rivalry developing. Simple geographic proximity as well as frequent meetings in important games can lead to rivalries. Social and political tensions can also be played out by proxy in a sports rivalry, such as when Glasgow's sectarian differences are expressed in the Celtic-Rangers derby (known as the Old Firm derby), or when the Spanish-Catalan political conflict spills over to a Real Madrid-FC Barcelona football match (also known as El Clasico). Rivalries of the friendlier sort are common between college athletic programs in the United States and often involve pranks that rival student bodies play on each other such as by stealing the other school's mascot or painting school colors somewhere on the opposing school's campus.

In some leagues rivalries are officially regarded as important games and the winner gets an unusual prize (i.e. grill, trophy, high-definition television, El Capitan, etc.)

Famous sports rivalries

Original

*Oxford University vs. Cambridge University (The Oxbridge Rivalry)
*United States Military Academy vs. United States Naval Academy (Army-Navy)Since before 1820
*Harvard University vs. Yale University (The Game)Since before 1890
*Queen's University vs. McGill University (Queen's-McGill rivalry)
*Celtic F.C. vs. Rangers F.C. (The Old Firm)

=Australian Rules Football Rivalries=

Traditional Rivals

* Carlton v Collingwood

* Melbourne v Collingwood

* Essendon v Collingwood

* Essendon v Carlton
* Collingwood v Richmond
* Richmond v Carlton
* Hawthorn v North Melbourne
* Essendon v Richmond
* Hawthorn v Essendon
* North Melbourne v Essendon

Local Derbies

* Adelaide v Port Adelaide

* West Coast v Fremantle

More Recent Rivals

* West Coast v Sydney

* Brisbane v Sydney

* Melbourne v Geelong

* Essendon v Hawthorn

* Brisbane v Essendon

* Brisbane v Collingwood

* Brisbane v Port Adelaide

* West Coast v Essendon

* St Kilda v Geelong

tate Of Origin

* Victoria v South Australia

* Victoria v Western Australia

Past Rivals

* St Kilda v South Melbourne (South Melbourne now Sydney Swans.)

* Collingwood v Fitzroy (Fitzroy Merged with Brisbane Bears to from Brisbane Lions in 1996)

American Football

National Football League

*Philadelphia Eagles v. Dallas Cowboys
*Dallas Cowboys v. Washington Redskins (seeCowboys-Redskins rivalry)
*Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers (see Bears-Packers rivalry)
*Chicago Bears v. Minnesota Vikings
*Minnesota Vikings v. Green Bay Packers
*San Francisco 49ers v. St. Louis Rams
*San Francisco 49ers v. Dallas Cowboys
*New York Giants v. Philadelphia Eagles (see Eagles-Giants rivalry)
*Oakland Raiders v. Denver Broncos [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/12/15/gallery.oldrivals/content.5.html - Photo Gallery - Top 10 NFL Rivalries Of All Time ] ]
*Cincinnati Bengals v. Pittsburgh Steelers
*Indianapolis Colts v. New England Patriots
*San Diego Chargers v. Oakland Raiders
*Buffalo Bills v. Miami Dolphins
*New York Jets v. Miami Dolphins (see Dolphins-Jets rivalry)
*New York Jets v. New England Patriots
*Denver Broncos v. Cleveland Browns [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSHuHykh5mM YouTube - I Remember When - The Drive (Browns vs. Broncos) ] ] (see The Drive and The Fumble)
*Cleveland Browns v. Cincinnati Bengals (see Battle of Ohio (NFL))
*Kansas City Chiefs v. Oakland Raiders (see Chiefs-Raiders rivalry)
*Cleveland Browns v. Pittsburgh Steelers (see Browns-Steelers rivalry)
*Baltimore Ravens v. Pittsburgh Steelers

College Football

See list of NCAA college football rivalry games. The most famous are the Army-Navy Game, the Red River Rivalry, The Game (Harvard-Yale), and the Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry.

Arena Football

*Orlando Predators vs. Tampa Bay Storm, the War On I-4
*San Jose Sabercats vs. Arizona Rattlers
*Dallas Desperados vs. Philadelphia Soul, Broadstreet Brawl
*New York Dragons vs. Philadelphia Soul
*Chicago Rush vs. Grand Rapids Rampage,
*Cleveland Gladiators vs. Columbus Destroyers, Battle of the Buckeye State
*Cleveland Gladiators vs. Philadelphia Soul
*Dallas Desperados vs. New York Dragons

Association football (soccer)

:"See List of Association Football (soccer) Rivalries."

Baseball

Major League Baseball

"See List of Major League Baseball rivalries"

Rest of the world

*Yomiuri Giants vs. Hanshin Tigers - National Japanese derby
*Leones del Caracas vs. Navegantes del Magallanes - Venezuelan Classic Rivals
*Tigres del Licey vs. Águilas Cibaeñas - Dominican Rivalry
*Tigres del Licey vs. Leones del Escogido - Dominican Capital City "Eternal" Rivalry
*Diablos Rojos del México vs. Tigres de Quintana Roo - Mexico

Basketball

National Basketball Association

:"See Rivalries of the NBA"

*Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
*Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
*Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons
*Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons
*Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks
*Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs
*New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers
*New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat

Rest of the World

*Fortitudo vs. Virtus — The "Bologna Derby"
*Real Madrid vs. Barcelona — Basketball version of the greatest football (soccer) rivalry in Spain
* Crispa vs. Toyota - This rivalry in the Philippine Basketball Association even led to the players being sent to jail after a brawl
* Mohan Bagan vs East Bengal
* Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos - The Athens Derby ("Derby of the eternal enemies (basketball)")
* Aris vs PAOK - The Thessaloniki Derby
* Corinthians vs Palmeiras
* Flamengo vs Vasco
* Franca vs Brasilia
* BC Lietuvos Rytas vs BC Žalgiris

International

* Soviet Union vs United States (Defunct)
* China vs Korea
* Brazil vs United States
* Brazil vs Argentina
* Korea vs Japan

College athletics

:"See College rivalry."
*University of Michigan vs. The Ohio State University- Ranked by ESPN in 2000 as the greatest rivalry in North America during the 20th Century
* Lafayette College vs. Lehigh University - Longest continuously played rivalry in college football [ [http://espn.go.com/endofcentury/s/other/bestrivalries.html ESPN.com - ENDOFCENTURY - ESPN.com's 10 greatest rivalries ] ]
*Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Pitt Panthers
*University of Texas at Austin vs. University of Oklahoma
*University of Texas at Austin vs. Texas A&M University
*Syracuse University vs. Georgetown
*University of Florida vs. University of Georgia
*Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Wisconsin Badgers
*Indiana Hoosiers vs. Purdue Boilermakers
*Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
*Army vs. Navy
*University of Alabama vs. Auburn University
*University of Kansas vs. University of Missouri
*Brigham Young University vs. University of Utah
*Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Western Michigan Broncos
*University of California at Los Angeles vs. University of Southern California
*Iowa State Cyclones vs. University of Iowa Hawkeyes
*University of Notre Dame vs. University of Southern California

Curling

Club rivalries

*Ottawa Curling Club vs. Rideau Curling Club

Team rivalries

*Randy Ferbey vs. Kevin Martin - Both these curlers have been considered the best in the world, and are from the same city (Edmonton)

Canadian football

*Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Labour Day Classic & QEW Showdown
*Calgary Stampeders vs. Edmonton Eskimos - Labour Day Classic & Battle of Alberta
*Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Labour Day Classic & Banjo Bowl
*Montreal Alouettes vs. Toronto Argonauts
*Montreal Alouettes vs. Ottawa Rough Riders (Defunct)
*Toronto Argonauts vs. Ottawa Rough Riders (Defunct)
*Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders - Battle of the Prairies
*British Columbia Lions vs. Montreal Alouettes

Cricket

*England vs. Australia - The Ashes series
*India vs. Pakistan - Considered the most intense rivalry in all of sports, people even call it the "battle on the pitch". main|India versus Pakistan cricket rivalry
*Australia vs. New Zealand - The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy ODI series
*Canada vs. United States of America - Associate Members Rivalry, USA v Canada at cricket is believed to be the oldest international sporting fixture [http://www.canadiancricket.org/index.jsp?page_id=HISTORY1]
*Australia vs. South Africa
*Australia vs. India
* Victoria v New South Wales
* Victoria v Queensland
* Victoria v South Australia
* Yorkshire v Lancashire
* Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Night Riders

Formula 1

*Brabham vs. Lotus
*Ferrari vs. Alfa Romeo
*Ferrari vs. McLaren
*McLaren vs. Williams
*Fernando Alonso vs. Lewis Hamilton
*Fernando Alonso vs. Michael Schumacher
*Mika Häkkinen vs. Michael Schumacher
*Niki Lauda vs. Jackie Stewart
*Didier Pironi vs. Gilles Villeneuve
*Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna

Gaelic games

Gaelic football

* Cork v Kerry
* Dublin v Meath
* Galway v Mayo
* Laois v Offaly

Hurling

*Clare v Tipperary
*Clare v Waterford
*Galway v Offaly
*Wexford v Kilkenny

Shinty

* Newtonmore v Kingussie

Ice hockey

National Hockey League

:"See National Hockey League rivalries".

European leagues

Elitserien

Timrå IK vs. Modo Hockey (The Battle of Västernorrland)

International

*Canada vs. Soviet Union - Most famous international ice hockey rivalry, defunct
*Canada vs. Russia
*Canada vs. USA, men
*Canada vs. USA, women
*Canada vs. Czech Republic
*Finland vs. Sweden
*Czech Republic vs. Slovakia
*USA vs. Soviet Union - defunct
*USA vs. Russia
*Czech Republic vs. Russia

NASCAR

*Chevrolet vs. Ford
*Jeff Gordon vs. Dale Earnhardt(defunct)
*Hendrick Motorsports vs. Roush Fenway Racing
*Dale Earnhardt vs Darrell Waltrip(defunct)
*Richard Petty vs David Pearson(defunct)
*Richard Petty vs Bobby Allison(defunct)
*Kyle Busch vs Carl Edwards

Netball

* Australia v New Zealand

Rugby league

National Rugby League

*South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St George Illawarra Dragons
*South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Sydney Roosters
*Parramatta Eels vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
*Parramatta Eels vs Canterbury Bulldogs
*St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks
*St George Illawarra Dragons vs Sydney Roosters
*Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters
*South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Wests Tigers
*Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys
*Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys (The Queensland Derby)
*Brisbane Broncos vs New Zealand Warriors
*Brisbane Broncos vs St George Illawarra Dragons
*Brisbane Broncos vs Sydney Roosters
*Western Suburbs Magpies vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (Fibros Versus Silvertails) (defunct)
* Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

=State of Origin=

*NSW Blues vs Queensland Maroons

=European Super League=

*St. Helens RFC vs Wigan Warriors
*Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls
*Castleford Tigers vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
*Hull FC vs. Hull Kingston Rovers
*Warrington Wolves vs Widnes Vikings

Rugby union

Test Matches

*England vs. Scotland - The Calcutta Cup
*New Zealand (All Blacks) vs. Australia (Wallabies) - The Bledisloe Cup
*England vs Australia (Wallabies) - The Cook Cup (nations were also the finalists of the 1991 and 2003 World Cups)
*New Zealand (All Blacks) vs. Wales
*New Zealand (All Blacks) vs. South Africa (Springboks) - The Freedom Cup
*Australia (Wallabies) vs. South Africa (Springboks) - The Mandela Challenge Plate
*Ireland vs South Africa
*Wales vs. England
*France vs. England - Popularly known as "Le Crunch"
*Ireland vs. England - Millennium Trophy

=Super Rugby=

*Brumbies vs Waratahs
*Brumbies vs Crusaders
*Waratahs vs Reds
*Crusaders vs Blues
*Crusaders vs Highlanders
*Bulls vs Lions (formerly the Cats)
*Bulls vs Stormers, an extension of the Blue Bulls-Western Province rivalry
*Blues vs Highlanders - The Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy

Guinness Premiership

*Bristol Rugby vs Bath Rugby
*Bristol Rugby vs Gloucester Rugby
*Bath Rugby vs Gloucester Rugby
*Newcastle Falcons vs Sale Sharks
*Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers

Top 14

*Bayonne vs Biarritz — the "Basque Derby"
*Stade Français vs Toulouse
*Stade Français vs Racing, the Paris Derby

Currie Cup

*Blue Bulls vs Free State Cheetahs
*Blue Bulls vs Western Province
*Natal Sharks (East) vs Western Province (West)

Air New Zealand Cup

*Canterbury vs Auckland
*Auckland vs North Harbour (Battle of the Bridge)
*Southland vs Otago
*Wellington vs Taranaki
*Waikato vs Auckland
*Bay of Plenty vs Waikato
*Manawatu vs Wellington (Roffe Challenge)

The Varsity Match

* Cambridge vs Oxford

24 Hours of Le Mans / Sports car racing

*Ford vs. Ferrari

Tennis

*Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal
*Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras Some promoters want the two on different brackets for the best possible match, while others want them in the same bracket, to ensure a match in a Champions Series (30-up, Grand Slam finalists or Davis Cup team members) tournament.
*John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg defunct
*Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert defunct
*Gustavo Kuerten vs. Pete Sampras defunct

V8 Supercars

*Holden vs. Ford

ee also

*Nationalism and sport
*Sociology of sport
*Nika riots

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/canadavsrussia Canada Versus the Soviet Union: The heyday of the battle for world hockey supremacy (1972-1987).]
* [http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9978844?dobrow020607 CBS Sports Line's "7 Seven Rules for the Rivalry-Challenged"]
* [http://redSoxvyankees.com RedSoxvYankees.com - Yankees-Red Sox Baseball Rivalry]