Great Rivalries

Im sure this has been posted before but what do you think really constitutes a "Great" rivalry? IMO i think there has to be some balance between the 2 teams...take for instance Wins, i wouldnt consider something a Great Rivalry if 1 team has overpowered another team every season ( Steelers owning the Ravens 22-12 in overall meetings) or the Colts having a 16-2 record against the Texans because the losing team has not beaten the winning team enough thruout the course of thier All-Time series meetings...I think something like Chicago leading the Packers 92-84-6 in all thier meetings ever is a very good Rivalry...but in ALL of the NFL there isnt a closer, more hated Rivalry than the Jets vs the Patriots, year after year no matter how bad or how good one of these teams is, the other team always finds a way to beat them consistently as evidenced by the 52-51-1 series lead currently held by the Jets...as you can see, my All Time Best Rivalry in the NFL is the Jets vs Pats....post yours

A great rivalry has history.
A great rivalry has memorable moments
A great rivalry has great players who are the best in their positions
A great rivalry has a big build up in the media with everyone talking about it
A great rivalry does not contain two shit teams or two teams who haven't been relevant for years (Niners vs Cowboys for example, once upon a time that was a great rivalry, maybe it will be again).
Also, a bit of hatred for the other team doesn't go amiss either.

Rivalry's don't have to contain teams in the same division. Magic's Lakers vs. Bird's Celtics is a good example of this. Patriots and Colts are another just for the Brady vs. Manning battle.

Mutant wrote:A great rivalry has history.
A great rivalry has memorable moments
A great rivalry has great players who are the best in their positions
A great rivalry has a big build up in the media with everyone talking about it
A great rivalry does not contain two shit teams or two teams who haven't been relevant for years (Niners vs Cowboys for example, once upon a time that was a great rivalry, maybe it will be again).
Also, a bit of hatred for the other team doesn't go amiss either.

Rivalry's don't have to contain teams in the same division. Magic's Lakers vs. Bird's Celtics is a good example of this. Patriots and Colts are another just for the Brady vs. Manning battle.

Colts-Pats is really not a rivalry, its a good game as of lately but the Pats dominate this All Time 45-29

MASTRxOFxPUPPETZ wrote:

Mutant wrote:A great rivalry has history.
A great rivalry has memorable moments
A great rivalry has great players who are the best in their positions
A great rivalry has a big build up in the media with everyone talking about it
A great rivalry does not contain two shit teams or two teams who haven't been relevant for years (Niners vs Cowboys for example, once upon a time that was a great rivalry, maybe it will be again).
Also, a bit of hatred for the other team doesn't go amiss either.

Rivalry's don't have to contain teams in the same division. Magic's Lakers vs. Bird's Celtics is a good example of this. Patriots and Colts are another just for the Brady vs. Manning battle.

Colts-Pats is really not a rivalry, its a good game as of lately but the Pats dominate this All Time 45-29

Manning vs Brady makes it a rivalry I think. Two of the best QBs in the league battling it out over the other for domination. It has memorable moments too, like when Bellichick went for it on 4th-and-2 on his own 30 with like 2 mins to go and the Pats were leading...and failed to convert it so that Manning drove down and scored and won the game for the Colts.

Sure, it won't always be a rivalry. Once both QBs retire and the Colts start going 4-12 again (as I'm positive will happen when Manning retires) then it won't be. Just like the great Niner-Cowboy rivalry from the late 80s and early 90s isn't a rivalry any more because the teams aren't great now.

A rivalry begins when something happens that fucks over one team.

Lions vs Bears could be a rivalry due to the "Process"

But Detroit-Chicago has always had a rivalry. I believe they are the only two cities that are in the same division in every major sport.

Wings-Blackhawks
Lions-Bears
Tigers-White Sox
Pistons- Bulls

But whenever I think of rivalries I always think Detroit-Colorado.