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
Since before 1820
Since about 1890
American Football
- Philadelphia Eagles v. Dallas Cowboys
- Dallas Cowboys v. Washington Redskins
- Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers
- San Francisco 49ers v. Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants v. Philadelphia Eagles
- Cleveland Browns v. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Indianapolis Colts v. New England Patriots
- San Diego Chargers v. Oakland Raiders
- Tennessee Titans v. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Buffalo Bills v. Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets v. Miami Dolphins (see Dolphins-Jets rivalry)
Arena football
- Orlando Predators vs. Tampa Bay Storm, the War On I-4
- San Jose Sabercats vs. Arizona Rattlers
- Dallas Desperados vs. Austin Wranglers,
- New York Dragons vs. Philadelphia Soul
Association football (soccer)
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
Basketball
National Basketball Association
Rest of the World
- Fortitudo vs. Virtus — The "Bologna Derby"
- Efes Pilsen vs. Fenerbahçe Ülker — The most prominent of many "Istanbul Derbies"
- 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 Olympiakos - The Athens Derby
- Aris vs PAOK - The Thessaloniki Derby
- Corinthians vs Palmeiras
- Flamengo vs Vasco
International
- Soviet Union vs United States (Defunct)
- China vs Korea
- Brazil vs United States
- Brazil vs Argentina
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
- University of Texas vs. University of Oklahoma
- University of Florida vs. University of Georgia
- Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Wisconsin Badgers
- University of North Carolina vs. Duke University
- 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
Curling
Club rivalries
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".
- 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 [1]
- Australia vs. South Africa
- Victoria v New South Wales
- Victoria v Queensland
- Victoria v South Australia
Formula 1
- Ferrari vs. McLaren
- Ferrari vs. Alfa Romeo defunct
- Williams vs. McLaren
- Niki Lauda vs. Jackie Stewart defunct
- Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna defunct
- Michael Schumacher vs. Mika Häkkinen defunct
- Lewis Hamilton vs. Fernando Alonso
Gaelic Sports
Irish
Gaelic Football
Hurling
Scottish
Shinty
Ice hockey
National Hockey League
European leagues
- See also: List of ice hockey leagues and City rivalry in Finland
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
- Hendrick Motorsports vs. Roush Fenway Racing
- Dale Earnhardt vs Darrell Waltrip
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
- 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
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
- New Zealand (All Blacks) vs. Australia (Wallabies) - The Bledisloe Cup
- England vs. Scotland - The Calcutta 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
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
Top 14
- Bayonne vs Biarritz — the "Basque Derby"
- Stade Français vs Toulouse
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
24 Hours of Le Mans / Sports car racing
Australian Football League
Traditional Rivals
- Carlton v Collingwood
- Melbourne v Collingwood
- Essendon v Collingwood
- Essendon v Carlton
- Collingwood v Richmond
- Richmond v Carlton
- Essendon v Richmond
Local Derbies
More Recent Rivals
- West Coast v Sydney
- Brisbane v Sydney
- Melbourne v Geelong
- Essendon v Hawthorn
- Brisbane v Essendon
- Brisbane v Collingwood
- Kangaroos v Essendon
- Brisbane v Port Adelaide
- West Coast v Essendon
- St Kilda v Geelong
State Of Origin
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)
Tennis
- Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer
- 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
