What's the greatest sports rivalry you remember?

[maflynn]

RedSox vs. Yankees

This one fight litterly turned the season around and lit a fire under the RedSox. They went on to finally win a World Series in 2004

 

[Loge]

Coe vs Ovett

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Coe vs Ovett

Yes, I remember that one clearly.

 

[Mousse]

I had to laugh seeing Serena Williams vs Venus Williams. That not a rivalry; that's playground hand slapping compared to the Chris Evert-Lloyd vs Martina Navratilova rivalry. Even that rivalry pales compared to Jimmy Connors vs John McEnroe vs Ivan Lendl (yeah, it's a 3-way rivalry). 20+ years of I can't stand that guy rivalry. Now I feel old.

 

[chown33]

Geraldo Rivera and Shepard Smith.

Weird, I was going to say Geraldo Rivera and Wanyá Morris.

 

[JamesMike]

RedSox vs. Yankees

This one fight litterly turned the season around and lit a fire under the RedSox. They went on to finally win a World Series in 2004

View attachment 624946

Although a Yankee fan since I was 5 y/o, I agree with you.

 

[Strider64]

Having also lived in England, I didn't know at all what fan rivalry was until I saw riots in the tube. Wow, talk about soccer hooliganism. I don't know if it was a real fan reaction to wins and losses or an excuse to loot. I thought about putting some of those up there but being a Yankee I would probably put a couple up but leave out the big ones.

But we have that too and had a few choice moments of stores being liberated of their goods most notably when the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. Over here in San Francisco, both times had a few issues after the series and the damage was substantial. I don't know if winning the World Series twice in three years, and after not winning since 1954 has something to do with it but I think it was still more an excuse to loot and break things.

I've lived in Metro Detroit Area for all my time on this earth and I don't remember 1984 having any major rioting other than a police car being torched that all the National News had to make it their "big" story. The 1968 World Series from what I have heard from my parents and relatives (I was only 4 years old) was more of healing for the area, for it brought everyone together in a positive way. Other major cities had riots as well during the late 60s and it had to do with MLK being assassinated than any sporting event(s). Sorry, I defend Detroit all the time and I not naive to think Detroit doesn't have problems, but it's slowly getting better in certain areas. It's just a shame that there are knuckleheads that keep Detroit in the news in a negative light.

 

[ejb190]

Agassi v Sampras?
McEnroe v Conner?

 

[lobeyonekenobi]

England vs Australia in any sport is the biggest I've known
England Vs Ireland, Scotland & Wales
Or England vs The Whole World
US vs USSR

 

[es5694]

England vs Australia in any sport is the biggest I've known
England Vs Ireland, Scotland & Wales
Or England vs The Whole World
US vs USSR

England vs The Whole world.. Yeah

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Or England vs The Whole World
US vs USSR

England versus the Whole World is funny.

Actually, I remember the intensity of some of the US versus USSR contests - does the defeat of the 'Dream Team' in the 1988 Olympics (by the USSR) bring back any memories?

 

[es5694]

Russia vs USA vs China for Olympics medals.

 

[rhett7660]

From a pure hate standpoint it's hard to find one more brutal than Bama/Auburn.

Heck, you know it is is bad when the trees at Auburn are not even safe!!!

 

[63dot]

I've lived in Metro Detroit Area for all my time on this earth and I don't remember 1984 having any major rioting other than a police car being torched that all the National News had to make it their "big" story. The 1968 World Series from what I have heard from my parents and relatives (I was only 4 years old) was more of healing for the area, for it brought everyone together in a positive way. Other major cities had riots as well during the late 60s and it had to do with MLK being assassinated than any sporting event(s). Sorry, I defend Detroit all the time and I not naive to think Detroit doesn't have problems, but it's slowly getting better in certain areas. It's just a shame that there are knuckleheads that keep Detroit in the news in a negative light.

LOL. My buddy from Detroit explained it to me when he used to laugh about our "violence" in Oakland or Los Angeles.

What may make the news in those two newsworthy California cities would not dent Detroit, Chicago, DC, or NYC. It's all relative.

The really bad stuff he saw growing up amazed me and he made me feel very lucky to be in Northern California. I don't think he was trying to scare me or shock me and it was very matter of fact the way he talked about his streets versus what we considered the streets over here.

His recollections of Detroit reminded me very much of this movie (below) when I saw it and what he saw and said was basically a lot of the plot of this movie:

 

[lobeyonekenobi]

England versus the Whole World is funny.

Actually, I remember the intensity of some of the US versus USSR contests - does the defeat of the 'Dream Team' in the 1988 Olympics (by the USSR) bring back any memories?

Since leaving the Motherland I have come to realise everyone seems to love beating England, especially Australia, must be why we do so crap in sport, everyone raises their game 110% against us.

The Dream Team, that's the basketball or is it Ice Hockey, can't remember which one??

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Dream Team, that's the basketball or is it Ice Hockey, can't remember which one??

There were a number of teams which this term supposedly described.

However, the one I had in mind was the basketball team sent to the Seoul Olympics in 1988 by the US.

 

[JamesMike]

England versus the Whole World is funny.

Actually, I remember the intensity of some of the US versus USSR contests - does the defeat of the 'Dream Team' in the 1988 Olympics (by the USSR) bring back any memories?

I remember watching that live, I was screaming my lungs out!

 

[AustinIllini]

Cubs-Cardinals
Duke-North Carolina
Bulls-Pistons

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I remember watching that live, I was screaming my lungs out!

Yes, and what was interesting was the fact that the USSR ended up with the gold medal, a gold medal that the US had viewed perhaps proprietorially prior to then.

 

[sliceoftoast]

WWF/E Stone Cold Steve Austin / Vince McMahon in the late 90's early 00's

 

[bunnspecial]

University of Kentucky vs. Duke(I still hate Christian Laetner)
University of Kentucky vs. University of Louisville(ebbs and flows)
University of Kentucky vs. Indiana University(not as strong since Bob Knight retired)
Everyone not Duke vs. Duke


I think that these fall under the category of "you have to have some connection" but the strong dislike of Duke has been pounded into me since birth

BTW, how many rivalries have had a movie made about them?

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Over here in the UK and also in Europe I would say theirs a lot of rivalries within football (soccer) that would out do the rivalries listed there. I'm from Newcastle and a Newcastle United fan, so for me the Tyne and Wear Derby is a big one for me. People have mentioned tha Old firm Derby, theirs a whole list in the UK that are massive, in Europe theirs some big ones as well. The Classico, Barcelona vs Real Madrid is massive, so too would be Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon, and Fenerbache vs Galatasaray.

The focus on American rivalries are daft, over there the distances between cities means that for the most part you won't come across many other fans in day to day life. Not only that but your seasons are short and people tend to be fans of more than one sport, meaning people invest less emotions than those who literally live or die by their team (not saying you don't have you fair share of fans like that though). On top of this with cities elsewhere in the world being closer and in a lot of cases multiple teams in the same sport in the same city then theirs a lot more at risk for fans of teams over here. Some rivalries also go beyond the sport, the old from Derby is a big example of this, the same for the Classico, and you could also say the same for Oxford and Cambridge in the boat race.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Over here in the UK and also in Europe I would say theirs a lot of rivalries within football (soccer) that would out do the rivalries listed there. I'm from Newcastle and a Newcastle United fan, so for me the Tyne and Wear Derby is a big one for me. People have mentioned tha Old firm Derby, theirs a whole list in the UK that are massive, in Europe theirs some big ones as well. The Classico, Barcelona vs Real Madrid is massive, so too would be Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon, and Fenerbache vs Galatasaray.

The focus on American rivalries are daft, over there the distances between cities means that for the most part you won't come across many other fans in day to day life. Not only that but your seasons are short and people tend to be fans of more than one sport, meaning people invest less emotions than those who literally live or die by their team (not saying you don't have you fair share of fans like that though). On top of this with cities elsewhere in the world being closer and in a lot of cases multiple teams in the same sport in the same city then theirs a lot more at risk for fans of teams over here. Some rivalries also go beyond the sport, the old from Derby is a big example of this, the same for the Classico, and you could also say the same for Oxford and Cambridge in the boat race.

Yes, the Tyne-and-Wear football rivalry is a bitter sweet - and occasionally funny - expression of that, agreed.

Over a decade and half ago, I once spent a year in the northeast, teaching in one of the universities. Actually, I have to say that I really liked the people, and was appalled and horrified at the economic devastation that had been wrought on the region, and the deprivation that resulted from that.

However, the almost ludicrously intense footballing rivalry astounded me, given that the deprivation was so intense, and support for Labour very strong in both cities.

Actually, I would have thought that they had far more in common than they had to differentiate between them. For that matter, I used to ask colleagues at the university (people from both Sunderland and Newcastle taught and studied there), the basis of the ''hatred" - one or two tried - a somewhat unconvincingly - to argue that it went back to the English Civil War and the days of the New Model Army. Some of the students would mumble, "I dunno. I just hate them," when I'd press them for a reason for the intensity of their feelings on the subject.

While in footballing terms, both teams fully deserve to relegate (based on performance this year), I have to say that I'm sorry to see this happen, and sorrier still that the north east will be deprived of having a presence in the Premiership next season.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Yes, the Tyne-and-Wear football rivalry is a bitter sweet - and occasionally funny - expression of that, agreed.

Over a decade and half ago, I once spent a year in the northeast, teaching in one of the universities. Actually, I have to say that I really liked the people, and was appalled and horrified at the economic devastation that had been wrought on the region, and the deprivation that resulted from that.

However, the almost ludicrously intense footballing rivalry astounded me, given that the deprivation was so intense, and support for Labour very strong in both cities.

Actually, I would have thought that they had far more in common than they had to differentiate between them. Fir that matter, I used to ask colleagues at the university (people from both Sunderland and Newcastle taught and studied there), the basis of the ''hatred" - one or two tried - a somewhat unconvincingly - to argue that it went back to the English Civil War and the days of the New Model Army. Some of the students would mumble, "I dunno. I just hate them," when I'd press them for a reason for the intensity of their feelings on the subject.

While in footballing terms, both teams fully deserve to relegate (based on performance this year), I have to say that I'm sorry to see this happen, and sorrier still that the north east will be deprived of having a presence in the Premiership next season.

Yeah, lots of rivalry between the cities, reasons that it goes back to the civil war, industrial times when each set of pits used different lamps (one which was created by a Geordie), to rivalries between shipyards. At the moment there is possibly hatred, or envy from Sunderland with Newcastle being the economic capital of the North East. Some people take rivalry too far and turn it into hatred, others see it for what it should be, pub banter.

 

[BenTrovato]

1987 Canada Cup. The two greatest players who ever played the game on the same roster for the first time versus the Red Machine full of unknown talented players living on another continent. Gretzky to Lemieux in the final minute to win 6-5 and clinch the best of 3 series. Still known as the best hockey ever played.