Everyone has their opinions on what is the best rivalry in sports. Here is what we each believe is the best rivalry in sports.
Shawn: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers. The best rivalry in all of sports has to be the Celtics and the Lakers. The two have met in the in the NBA Finals Twelve times (Celtics have won 9, Lakers 3). They have a rivalry going back to the late 50’s and arguably the biggest player-player rivalry in all sports as well (Larry Bird-Magic Johnson). The Celtics and Lakers, unlike most rivalries, have been competitive in almost every decade since the beginning of it. Combined they have 33 championships, Celtics 17 and Lakers 16, and the rest of the NBA has 65, which means that just these two teams have over half of all the championships in the NBA. In closing these two teams represented more than just a sports rivalry, it is also blue-collar men (Bostonians) vs. the rich, upper-class (whatever you call people from Los Angeles).
Rob: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox. To me, the greatest sports rivalry is the Yankees and the Red Sox. Whenever you have a rivalry that is over a century long, you know it is something special. Of course, the rivalry really became something special on December 26th, 1919, on that date, Babe Ruth was officially sold from the Red Sox to the Yankees. That began what would be an 86 yearlong championship drought known as “The Curse of the Bambino.” This rivalry has had its share of heated moments. Like the Pedro Martinez/Don Zimmerman incident and, the A-Rod/Varitek fight. With 100 yearlong rivalries, comes the historical moments. One moment that the Yankees will always remember, and the Red Sox will want to always forget is Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Aaron Boone’s name will forever live in Yanks/Sox lore with his series winning homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning against Tim Wakefield. The main thing the Red Sox will always remember and the Yankees want to forget happened in the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox became the only team in sports history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series. As expected, their opponent was the Yankees. Now the Yanks and Sox are two of the highest spending teams in the MLB. Both teams are always in the running for a star player, and it is those star studded rosters that make each meeting something to see. Every time these 2 teams meet, you can expect some fireworks to ensue, nothing less should be expected in this classic rivalry this season, and for the years ahead. (more…)
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