This is a toughie, because being a fan or alumni of a particular program makes all the difference. I would say as a Cowboy fan that Washington Redskins are the team that is the most despised, and the one we most look forward to beating. Even managing to get our only win during the 1-15 season in their crib. That being said, I love to watch Duke Vs. North Carolina in basketball. Those are some rabid fans !
12-09-03, 04:08 PM Jelp01 I'd have to go with Ohio State-Michigan. The old joke about the Japanese soldier during WWII who ran, fully armed toward an American GI shouting "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'm from Ohio State!" only to have the American blow him away saying "Too bad, bud, I'm from Michigan!" says it all, in my opinion.
And ranked right up there has to the the monumental rivalry of Washington State vs. the University of Idaho. Big Grin
12-09-03, 08:52 PM MsSueM I voted for the Yankees Smile and that other team Mad.
12-10-03, 09:05 AM Kwll Yep like the dawg said, tough one. For historical purposes I would say Army-Navy. For the past 20 years none has decided more national titles than Miami - FSU and/or FSU/Florida. Hey so I'm a little biased but there is something to that isn't there?
12-10-03, 12:47 PM DorianGreyed It is very hard to compare individual rivalries with team rivalries. I think that the Army-Navy rivalry at least represents what college athletes are supposed to be, student athletes, not athletes hired for 4 years, or pro athletes-in-training. As far as individual rivalries, I can't see how any could beat Ali-Frazier. Almost everything about the two were so opposite of the other- Ali was raised in a relatively middle class family, Frazier in relative poverty. Ali was the untimate boxer, preferring to strike w/o being struck, Frazier accepted punishment as the cost of getting his left hook in. Ali had everything but a left hook, Frazier had only the left hook. Ali was tall, light-skinned, and handsome. Frazier, short, dark, and at best, plain. Ali was glib, and could trade verbal barbs with anyone. Frazier spoke poorly. Yet in there first and third fights, they were as equal as any two fighters could have been. Only Frazier, of all heavyweights, could have beaten Ali in the first fight, and only Ali, of all heavyweights, could have beaten Frazier in the third. Both men admitted to considering quitting during the fight that they won; both admitted that they could not understand how the other guy was still upright in the fight that they won. Ali, superior to Frazier in every boxing way except raw power, made Frazier's face almost unrecognizable in the first fight, and Frazier, slower, possessing only one punch that really mattered, reached the superior boxer time and time again with that left hook. Each brought out the worst in the other outside of the ring, and each brought out the best in the other inside the ring. The third fight was boxing at its most elemental form, its most brutal, and its best. Fought in Manilla, even seasoned boxers, writers, and fans left in awe of the ability of each administer punishment, and in the ability of each to withstand that punishment. Ali wanted to quit at the end, and only stayed at Angelo Dundee's insistence. Frazier, perhaps the only prouder man in boxing than Ali, almost refused Yank Duraham's instructions that he had enough, that it was time to let go. That fight, even more than the first, sealed both their fates as boxers. Neither were the same after, and yet, their stature as fighters grew because of that fight. I have seen several of the later heavyweights asked if they would have liked to been in that ring instead of either Frazier or Ali. The typical answer was just an amazed look at the interviewer, as if he were incredibly stupid.
12-10-03, 12:52 PM DorianGreyed Oh, yeah. I voted "Other."
01-24-04, 10:47 PM coldfuse "Other" ...
I concur with dogspit's suggestion of Duke - North Carolina in basketball.
The best rivalries seem to drive both teams towards excellence year after year, and I give Duke-Carolina the nod over OSU - Michigan.
The Yankees - Red Sox have managed to hold on to their rivalry for years, a tough feat in pro sports. I hate to see the Redskins - Cowboys lose some of the bite it had, especially during the '70s, and the Lakers - Celtics ain't nothing like it was in the '80s!
Rivalries are great for sports.
01-25-04, 04:48 PM Lydia I went with the Yankees/Red Sox - the Celtics and Lakers were once great rivals, but, alas, that has gone by the wayside...
The term "greatest" was what made me almost NOT pick the Yankees/Sox though...I think that it is a very unhealthy "rivalry"...it's not about the fun when these two teams play.
01-25-04, 07:59 PM Matiqua I will go for "Other" and pick the greatest NHL rivalry ever that started in year one and continues to the present day: The Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Montreal Canadians.
01-31-04, 03:53 AM Dwight I picked the Yankees/Red Sox. I was most impressed with DG's description of the Ali/Frazier fights. I've never been much of boxing fan, but that is a good read!
Dwight
01-31-04, 09:06 AM juanruiz One of the great individual rivalries in a team sport had to be Bill Russel/Wilt Chamberlain.
04-06-04, 12:40 AM DorianGreyed JR, I just saw a PBS special on Chamberlain, and it stated that Chamberlain had a more rebounds per game against Russell than he did against the rest of the league. That is certainly contrary to what I had always heard.
Thanks, Dwight. I do tend to go on about boxing.
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