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Question of the Month - October 2024By Cameron Moore (7th)

Happy October! One month into the new school year, here is the first Question of the Month of 2024-25.

My question is: what is the biggest sports rivalry in the world?

Yeah. I said it because I love rivalries. You can probably name some of the rivals to Philly sports teams. Cowboys, Giants, Mets, (NY) Rangers (yeah, we really hate New York), Celtics, Braves, etc. A Philly sports fan like me hates these teams because of proximity or just a storied rivalry.

In my opinion, there are a couple of things that make a good rivalry:

 

  • Proximity. These teams are competing for the same market.

  • Divisions. This really only applies in the US, though (Europe doesn’t like divisions for some reason).

  • Being polar opposites. A fancy community vs a blue-collar community, for example.

  • Story. A rivalry will diffuse if there are no moments to back it up.

  • Longevity. This goes hand in hand with story. Longevity is a supporting pillar to a rivalry’s story. Long time rivals naturally hate each other more.

 

Now that you know what I consider a good rivalry, let’s go through a couple.
 

Celtics vs Lakers

A true classic. Both of these teams were at the top of the NBA in the 80s and 2000s. Many great players have faced one another in what is probably the NBA’s top rivalry.

Yankees vs Red Sox

It started with a single trade. The Red Sox sold the legendary Babe Ruth to New York in 1919, a deal that changed the game. Ruth won 4 World Series with the Yankees en route to an MLB record 27 titles for New York. The Red Sox, in the meantime, entered 84 years of misery, known as the Curse of the Bambino, that included four game 7 losses in the World Series, the most infamous of which occurred in game 6 of the 1984 series, when Boston had a chance to win it all, before a wild pitch tied the game and a ball past 1st baseman Bill Buckner won game 6 and eventually game 7 for the Mets. The curse was broken in 2004. There were actually some pretty crazy brawls in the 2000s between these teams. That’s a recommended watch.

 

Promissory note from sale of Babe Ruth (credit: Nat’l Baseball Hall of Fame)

Ohio State vs Michigan (The Game)

There are lots of great college rivalries, but I don’t think any of them beat this one. This one college football game at the end of the season basically determines the Big 10 East division every year. Only one of them can go to the Big 10 Championship Game, and will have better odds of getting a higher spot in the playoff. So many incredible games and incredible moments. So many good players out of these schools (example: Tom Brady…okay that’s all the examples we need).

Army vs Navy

I was lying. THIS is the best college rivalry. Some years it is ugly, some years it is intense and exciting, and we always get to see Army and Naval officers stand out like crazy in their uniforms. This is more than a football game. This is a battle of the literal armed forces in our nation. That settles it.

These are some of the best rivalries in America (key word: America). The world has some crazy rivalries, mainly in soccer.

AC Milan vs Inter Milan (Derby della Madonnina)

They play in the same stadium. Now, I know American teams do that sometimes. But rivals? That’s nuts. It started with the Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club in 1899, founded by some Englishmen (of course) and they were successful. However, conflict arose, and the rise of nationalism in Italy founded the Federal Championship (all players) and the Italian Championship (Italians only). This caused a new team, Internazionale (Int’l players) to split from AC Milan (then occupied by all Italians). The rivalry slowly but surely developed into the rivalry we know today. (Also, AC Milan has had international players for a long time now. Merger, anyone?)

River Plate vs Boca Juniors (Superclasico)

Let’s go to Argentina, shall we? The Superclasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors is one of South America’s best. Both teams were founded in the early 1900s, both in the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital. River Plate moved to Nuñez in 1925, a much higher-class area of Buenos Aires. They are known as “Los Millionaires”. Boca is seen as working class and a large part of their fanbase is Italian immigrants. They have completely different mindsets, and are the most successful clubs in Argentina’s history. However, this is truly a rivalry run by the fans (the fanbases hate each other and call them names), which has caused some unfortunate tragedies. In 1968, there was a crush (a group of people pressed into one group) at a Superclasico that killed 71 and injured 150 more. It is the worst incident in Argentina’s soccer history. On the more positive side (for Boca, at least), in 2011, River Plate were relegated for the first time in 110 years and Boca threw parties in the streets, strengthening the hatred of the fans.

Manchester City vs Manchester United (Manchester Derby)

England has many greats, but they don’t beat this. The teams also started off as “friends” occasionally facing each other in the 1800s and early 1900s. The first big moment was when United’s George Best committed a horrific foul in 1970, breaking Glyn Pardoe’s leg. But, the rivalry truly started in the 2000s, when United’s reign of dominance started. There would be many memorable moments, including what many call the peak of the rivalry in 2011-12. Both City and United had title hopes. On the last matchday, United won, and City were down against QPR with seconds to play. That is when Sergio Aguero scored, and the rest is history. City won the title that year.

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona (El Clasico)

One of the classics (“El Clasico” literally translates to “The Classic”) in the rivalry world--every sports fan knows what El Clasico is. It has some of the biggest political tensions out of any rivalry. Real Madrid is based in the capital and the historic home of the Spanish Royal Family (“Real” means “Royal” in Spanish, and is tied into their history). FC Barcelona is based in Barcelona, the biggest city in the Catalonia region, which is much more anti-royal (They have wanted independence for years). Not to mention the Messi vs Ronaldo era in Spain and many heated moments throughout the history of El Clasico.

But this isn’t the best. Yeah, El Clasico is great. But I think there is one rivalry that surpasses this in absolute hatred and competition.

Before that, though, I want to give a couple of honorable mentions to a few more rivalries that just missed out.

 

Arsenal vs Tottenham (North London Derby)

Real Madrid vs Athletico Madrid (Madrid Derby)

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund (Der Klassiker)

Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates (Soweto Derby)

Liverpool vs Everton (Liverpool Derby)

Corinthians vs Palmeiras (Derby Paulista)

 

Now, however, here is what I believe to be the biggest and best one of them all.

 

Celtic vs Rangers (Old Firm)

People who know, know. People who don’t just don’t truly understand rivalries. When I talked about El Clasico, I mentioned there was a political divide. This, however, may be even more important (to some). Religious divide. It is the battle between the Protestant population in Glasgow which is very pro-British (Rangers) and Irish immigrants who brought their Catholic ideas to the city and are very anti-British (Celtic). Because of these two opposing ideologies, their fans truly hate each other. Not to mention that the rest of the Scottish Premiership is a joke compared to Celtic and Rangers. Rangers has won the title 55 times, Celtic 54, and the other 19 titles went to the rest of the league combined. The two Glasgow-based teams truly dominate.

I also have to mention the UEFA Champions League; only one Scottish team gets in and gets to show themselves to the international world (Seriously, who watches the Scottish Premiership?). Unfortunately, there is some violence involved (Shocker, I know). The worst of it was the killing of a 15-year-old Celtic fan, named Mark Scott. His death, however, has become inspiration, and Celtic F.C. have made efforts to keep Old Firm as safe for fans as possible. As for on the field, the refs need to make sure they have a red card; they’ll need it. Unsurprisingly, the players do not like each other. So they do stuff on the field. It’s routine at this point. This is what makes it the greatest rivalry in the world.

Celtic and Rangers fans exchange words at an Old Firm Derby. Notice the different ideologies visible from only this photo. (The Guardian)

So, yeah. Rivalries are great, and I think Old Firm is the best one. Don’t believe me? That’s your opinion, and that’s fine. Believe what you want, as long as it’s not as stupid as the flat Earth theory. This is just me giving my opinions on rivalries, and maybe you learned something about them, too. Also, don’t go screaming at me that I missed Vikings-Packers or something like that. I just wanted to point out a few that I wanted to talk about. So, that’s it. Read my other stuff, I guess. I dunno.

Article Citations Here

Bonus Sports News:

MLB: On Friday, 9/27, the Chicago White Sox made history…for all the wrong reasons. They broke the 1962 New York Mets record of the most losses in a single season (in modern era, since founding of AL in 1901). Those expansion Mets had 120 losses. The White Sox? They went (60-121), which included a 21-game losing streak (tied 1988 Orioles).

More MLB: The playoffs are set after a crazy weekend and Braves-Mets doubleheader. Here are the wild card matchups.

AL: 3 Astros vs 6 Tigers, winner plays 1 Yankees

      4 Orioles vs 5 Royals, winner plays 2 Guardians

NL: 3 Brewers vs 6 Mets, winner plays 1 Dodgers

      4 Padres vs 5 Braves, winner plays 2 Phillies

NBA: Hall of Famer and 4x DPOY Dikembe Mutombo passed away on Monday at the age of 58 to brain cancer. 

MORE LAST MINUTE MLB NEWS: Pete Rose has passed away at the age of 83. The all-time hits leader was banned for life for gambling in 1989, ending his career in baseball. The 17x all-star, who was part of the Phillies 1980 World Series winning team, was confirmed dead by a spokesperson in Clark County, Nevada, on Monday.