Michigan hosted hated adversary Ohio State this past weekend for the opportunity to represent the Big Ten conference in the Rose Bowl in January. This rivalry doesn’t need anything to make it a great match-up. It has been for years. It's not the only good rivalry out there though.
We have plenty of rivalry games lined up for our viewing pleasure this weekend as well. That got me to thinking about some of the great rivalries of all-time: Ali-Frazier, Yankees-Red Sox, Donald Trump-Rosie O’Donnell.
Some of my personal favorite rivalries are taking place this week. What do I like about these games? Everything. They have emotion. Fans would sometimes toss out an entire season as long as they could have their team win this one game. They have great names like “The Duel in the Desert,” “The Red River Shootout,” and “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” They even have great names for their trophies like Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk and the Beehive Boot.
There are so many great games to choose from but here are a couple of my favorites:
Best Name: The Backyard Brawl (West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh). It was tough for me not to pick The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for this one but I decided to go with The Brawl. This one isn’t this weekend…it’s next, but it’s still a great name. Frankly, this game just sounds cool – The Backyard Brawl – you pretty much have to be the toughest teams in the area to call your game this. West Virginia and Pittsburgh first locked up for The Brawl in 1895.
Best Trophy: The Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa vs. Minnesota). The Big Ten has a bunch of great trophies but this is my favorite for a couple reasons. First, it’s a trophy with a 21-inch bronze pig on the top of it. I mean, come on! It’s a giant pig-trophy. The other thing that makes this trophy great is that in its first year, in 1935, the governors of the two states actually bet their state’s prize-winning hog on this game. This was in the north, people!
(The more that I think about this topic the more I think this could take over its own blog entry. We may have to devote an entire day to talking about the great trophies of college football.)
Best overall game: The Iron Bowl. It’s the annual grudge match between Auburn and Alabama (okay, I’m a little biased because I’m from the South). The Crimson Tide own a 38-32 advantage in the series with the lone tie coming in 1907. Auburn has won the last five contests though. This is one of my favorites because there is such a passionate hatred between these two teams. In the state of Alabama, you grow up cheering for either Alabama or Auburn. Cheering for both is completely unheard of.
Thanksgiving night there is also a great game – with possible Rose Bowl implications: Southern Cal vs. Arizona State. I’ll be tuning in with the best part of Thanksgiving with me…no, not friends and family…a big sandwich filled with leftover turkey!
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
Showing posts with label Rivalry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rivalry. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Originally posted at AtlantaMagazine.com on November 22, 2006
I know that we are overdue for some “Tidbits” but there are more important things at hand – namely, the livelihood of the great state of Georgia. We are embarking on one of the most important days of the year in our state. A day when we find out who will lead and who will follow in the wake. A day where we draw a line in the sand and everyone chooses a side.
Georigia vs. Georgia Tech.
Yellow Jacket players, Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson will be trying to win the first Georgia game of their careers. If they want to live in Georgia after their NFL careers, they have got to win this game. Little Reggie Ball Jr. won't stand a chance when he takes on Little Johnny Georgia-Fan in the playground kickball game. Mentally, he'll know he's going to lose.
I've heard a lot of debate over the past couple days about how this game will turn out. Some people say that the Bulldogs have set themselves up for a let down (coming off a huge win at a then-ranked #5 Auburn). Others say that the Jackets may be focusing too much on their ACC-title berth (which will be played in Jacksonville on December 2nd). I say that you can throw all that stuff out the window at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Those players will be playing for pride. Records don’t matter. Polls don’t matter. Only one thing matters: The score at the end of 60 minutes.
But don't think for a second that the fans are going to wait until 3:30 to start their "game." Starting Saturday morning, fans from around the state will flood the Athens area in anticipation of the two teams teeing it up between the hedges. The Bulldogs are 23-13-1 all-time when playing the Yellow Jackets in the Classic City but that won’t stop the Tech-faithful from hurling out their insults. They’ll yell at the “rednecks” at Georgia about their “backwoods ways” and poor academics.
Georgia fans will simply brush off those insults and hurl their taunts back about how “unattractive” the women of Georgia Tech are and then the chant will start…it will start of low and then it will grow… “Nerds…Nerds…Nerds…NERDS…NERDS…NERDS!!!”
My buddy Hilley even told me about how his own family members wouldn't even share tickets to this weekend's game because some were Georgia fans and others were Tech fans.
There’s just no better way to describe it. Clean, old-fashioned hate. That’s what this game is.
So choose your side. But choose wisely. Odds are it will determine how well the next year of your life goes.
I know that we are overdue for some “Tidbits” but there are more important things at hand – namely, the livelihood of the great state of Georgia. We are embarking on one of the most important days of the year in our state. A day when we find out who will lead and who will follow in the wake. A day where we draw a line in the sand and everyone chooses a side.
Georigia vs. Georgia Tech.
Yellow Jacket players, Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson will be trying to win the first Georgia game of their careers. If they want to live in Georgia after their NFL careers, they have got to win this game. Little Reggie Ball Jr. won't stand a chance when he takes on Little Johnny Georgia-Fan in the playground kickball game. Mentally, he'll know he's going to lose.
I've heard a lot of debate over the past couple days about how this game will turn out. Some people say that the Bulldogs have set themselves up for a let down (coming off a huge win at a then-ranked #5 Auburn). Others say that the Jackets may be focusing too much on their ACC-title berth (which will be played in Jacksonville on December 2nd). I say that you can throw all that stuff out the window at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Those players will be playing for pride. Records don’t matter. Polls don’t matter. Only one thing matters: The score at the end of 60 minutes.
But don't think for a second that the fans are going to wait until 3:30 to start their "game." Starting Saturday morning, fans from around the state will flood the Athens area in anticipation of the two teams teeing it up between the hedges. The Bulldogs are 23-13-1 all-time when playing the Yellow Jackets in the Classic City but that won’t stop the Tech-faithful from hurling out their insults. They’ll yell at the “rednecks” at Georgia about their “backwoods ways” and poor academics.
Georgia fans will simply brush off those insults and hurl their taunts back about how “unattractive” the women of Georgia Tech are and then the chant will start…it will start of low and then it will grow… “Nerds…Nerds…Nerds…NERDS…NERDS…NERDS!!!”
My buddy Hilley even told me about how his own family members wouldn't even share tickets to this weekend's game because some were Georgia fans and others were Tech fans.
There’s just no better way to describe it. Clean, old-fashioned hate. That’s what this game is.
So choose your side. But choose wisely. Odds are it will determine how well the next year of your life goes.
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