Great Sports Rivalries
The Greatest Rivalries in American Sports - By the Numbers
Rivals
This is a site dedicated to a statistical look at the greatest rivalries in sports. Or at least those in North America. Nothing really compares to the passion of various soccer (football, futbol) rivalries around the globe. Much has been written about the great moments in these match-ups, so I am focusing more on an empirical look at the rivalries.
I first created Dodgers-Giants.com but decided to expand the scope and start this site.
Dodgers vs. Giants is, in my opinion, the greatest rivalry. It is not the most passionate but is the most balanced in terms of competitiveness and greatness. There is also a comparison with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.
Red Sox vs. Yankees has been the greatest rivalry of the new century and one of the better ones of the last century. What it lacks in competitive balance it makes up for in passion. There is also a comparison with the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.
Michigan vs. Ohio State is hands-down the best rivalry in a sport that provides many great rivalries. Almost every year The Game determines the Big Ten champion and often the National Champion.
UCLA vs. USC is the greatest collegiate rivalry matching the top two athletic departments in the country. The various teams at these schools annually rank among the best in nearly every NCAA sport.
Celtics vs. Lakers is the NBA's best rivalry and also the best championship rivalry in sports. But the rivalry's three phases alone (the '60s, '80s, and late 2000s) would not qualify as truly great. I am using the Celtics-Lakers stage to also include the two greatest one-on-one rivalries in team sports history: Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson and Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain.
I first created Dodgers-Giants.com but decided to expand the scope and start this site.
Dodgers vs. Giants is, in my opinion, the greatest rivalry. It is not the most passionate but is the most balanced in terms of competitiveness and greatness. There is also a comparison with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.
Red Sox vs. Yankees has been the greatest rivalry of the new century and one of the better ones of the last century. What it lacks in competitive balance it makes up for in passion. There is also a comparison with the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.
Michigan vs. Ohio State is hands-down the best rivalry in a sport that provides many great rivalries. Almost every year The Game determines the Big Ten champion and often the National Champion.
UCLA vs. USC is the greatest collegiate rivalry matching the top two athletic departments in the country. The various teams at these schools annually rank among the best in nearly every NCAA sport.
Celtics vs. Lakers is the NBA's best rivalry and also the best championship rivalry in sports. But the rivalry's three phases alone (the '60s, '80s, and late 2000s) would not qualify as truly great. I am using the Celtics-Lakers stage to also include the two greatest one-on-one rivalries in team sports history: Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson and Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain.
Duke vs. North Carolina in college basketball is perhaps the only rivalry that has no competition for the best in its sport.
USA vs. USSR dominated every Olympic Games between 1952 and 1988. Cold War tensions and superior athleticism made for unparalleled competition on the world stage.
