Why I Like Sports - Rivalries

On the heels of last night’s fantastic game between the Patriots and the Jets and the equally entertaining hockey game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, today seems like a good time to take a look at rivalries in sports and how it impacts the game.

The best thing about a rivalry is the passion that it brings out of people. When your team is hosting its rival, the air just feels different before a game. The atmosphere in the building before the game is that much more amped up. You feel as if you are living and dying with every shot, hit, point or out. Bragging rights are at stake for the winner and the loser is left feeling as if they got kicked in the groin. There is nothing worse than losing to your rival. I sat in my basement in 2003 after Aaron F’n Boone hit a knuckleball into the Bronx night shocked and on the verge of tears. It wasn’t just that the Sox had come so close and yet were still so far away. It was seeing Marian Rivera bawling like a baby on the mound and Derek Jeter jumping up and down that made it all the much worse. I can honestly say that if it was Vlad Guerrero and the Los Angeles Anaheim Orange County Angels of California doing the celebrating I wouldn’t have hurt as much.

At the same time, a win over your hated rival is sweeter than a normal victory. I was excited on Wednesday when the Bruins beat Chicago. It was a nice win and two points are two points no matter who you beat. But, watching the Black and Gold destroy Les Habitants on Boston ice last night was much more rewarding. The B’s had lost 12 games in a row to the Canadiens. The Blue Blanc et Rouge had knocked out the Bruins in seven games in the first round of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. Don’t get me started on the 2002 and 2004 playoff losses. So to watch my all-time favorite sports team come out and out-everything their rival and put and end to the misery was better than just about anything. The icing on the cake was Milan Lucic’s manhandling of Mike Komisarek in the third period. The emotion the young power forward in training showed on his way to the sin bin after a well-earned five minute fighting major is contagious. If you don’t think the team and the city will feed off that, then you don’t know your hockey or hockey fans.

Anyways, last night’s games got me thinking about my five favorite rivalries in sports. This is just one man’s list. I would be interested to see what other people think.

Boston Bruins/Montreal Canadiens, NHL – Like I said, this is my list. I am a hockey guy so this is number one. The fans hate each other. Ever since the Montreal fans booed the Star Spangled Banner before a playoff game in 2004, it has been amped to another level. Throw in the “Too Many Men on the Ice Game” in 1979 as well as Montreal’s 22 Stanley Cups and you have a ready-made rivalry. One of my favorite sports memories is when the Bruins beat Montreal, four games to one in the Adams Division final in 1988 to exorcise the demons.

Red Sox/Yankees, MLB – This one has been overcommercialized in the last five years, but it still packs a punch – sometimes literally. The number of brawls between these teams is incredible for baseball. From Varitek/A-Rod to Bill Lee and Lou Pinella in the seventies, these teams actually don’t like each other, nevermind the “Yankees Suck” and the now defunct “1918” chants. It would be nice to see then Bombers become relevant again and make this a rivalry once more.

Army/Navy, NCAA – I am not going to limit this one to just football, even though it is the one everyone knows. Anytime these two schools face-off, it is about much more than a game.This isn’t a rivalry based on hatred like a lot of sports rivalries, but it is just as intense. Watching the Cadets and Midshipmen march into the stadium, hearing the national anthem and watching two teams of actual soliders – sorry Kellen Winslow – battle is something I never miss. I am actually very upset that I have a chance to go this year and will miss it because I am in Las Vegas.

Phillies/Mets, MLB – I am new to this one, but man is it intense. I went to a Phillies/Mets game at Citizens Bank Park this year and actually was more fearful for my safety than I was at Yankees Stadium wearing a Nomar jersey. Philadelphia fans are some of the most insane people I know, and I mean that in a good way for the most part. And boy do they hate the Mets. Throw in two consecutive late-season collapses by the Mets that helped propel the Phills to two division titles and the 2008 World Series championship and you have a great rivalry. I can’t wait to see what it will be like the first time the Amazins come to the Bank in ’09. It’s a shame they won’t be there when the Phillies receive their rings in April.

Boston University/Boston College, NCAA Hockey – This isn’t a very sexy rivalry, but to any kid who grew up in Boston playing hockey, the Beanpot, Hockey East and the battle of Commonwealth Avenue between these two schools is as good as college hockey gets. I had season tickets to BU and those teams were my heroes. I hated BC – which is ironic since I went to B.C. High. Nevertheless, going to BU-BC games, especially at Walter Brown Arena at BU or at the Beanpot were events. From the BU students chanting “Beanpot U.” in regards to their run of titles at Boston’s annual battle of its four college teams to B.C.’s kids coming back with “Sucks to B.U.” the passion was undeniable. The number of future NHL players who played in those games is long – including Chris Drury, Joe Mullen, Bill Guerin, Mike Grier, Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, and many others. I got to see them before they were stars and when they absolutely wanted to destroy the team across the rink from them.

Bonus picks – Michigan/Ohio State, Jack Nicklaus/Arnold Palmer, Hulk Hogan/Iron Sheik, Amherst/Williams, Georgetown/Syracuse, Texas/Oklahoma, Detroit Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche, USA/Russia.