Shelby Mustain

They are more than the boos of the crowd or even the cries of victory. Rivalries in sports go beyond even the game itself. It is the bitter fights between fans, the heated arguments. They can make enemies out of the closest friends and they never fade away. Rivalries exist in every sport.

But which one is the greatest?

Is it the Duke / North Carolina rivalry in college basketball? It could be. After all, it brings with it all the necessities of a great rivalry. The conference foes share the state of North Carolina, and some of the greatest players in the sport have attended one of the two schools: Phil Ford, James Worthy, and Michael Jordan at Carolina and Christian Laettner, Johnny Dawkins, and Shane Battier at Duke There is also that small detail that they are two of the winningest programs in NCAA history.

Some would consider Ohio State/ Michigan’s college football rivalry as the greatest and those people would have a great argument. The rivalry between the Buckeyes and Wolverines has been around since 1897. “The game” as it is simply called has featured the likes of Bo Schembecler and Woody Hayes, who would not even fill his car with gas in the state of Michigan. They have seen their fare share of great players too in Heisman winners Desmond Howard and Archie Griffin.

But does this make it the greatest rivalry in sports?

I think that honor goes to two of the powerhouses of Major League Baseball: the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. This rivalry has been around for over a hundred years and only escalated in 1919 when Boston sold Babe Ruth to New York. This was followed by the 86-year long “Curse of the Bambino” in which the Red Sox did not win a World Series title until beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. This is one rivalry that will never lose its passion. It has had its fair share of players playing for both sides: Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, and Johnny Damon, to name a few and those hall of famers who were only loyal to one side, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, and Carlton Fisk for the Sox and Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Yogi Berra for the Yanks. It is the history that makes this rivalry so special, a history as long and as great as baseball itself. It’s the hatred between the fans, the bitterness between the players, the eighteen games played each year. It is the hall of famers. It is Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. Most baseball fans would agree that the Yankees and Red Sox is the greatest rivalry of all time. Just pick a side and watch the drama unfold.

And decide for yourself, what is your favorite rivalry?