What Is The Greatest Rivalry In Sports?

Beginning this Friday night, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will meet for the second time this season.  One of the greatest rivalries in sports will be the focus of national television broadcasts for three straight days.  Many people seem to be upset or annoyed with this, but I'm not one of those people.  New York leads the American League East by only one game, but stand ahead of the Red Sox by four and a half games.  Even if Boston were 10 games behind the Yankees, this series carries more weight than a lot of people realize.

Having been fortunate enough to attend a Red Sox/Yankees game in both Fenway Park and (old) Yankee Stadium, I can tell you this:  There is a completely different atmosphere to these games than anything you've ever experienced.  Once the game begins, you would think that a game in late April were an October playoff game.  The fans remain on edge throughout, and are heartbroken when they lose.  In some cases, it's more important to beat that rival than it is to successfully navigate yourself to the playoffs.

So, what is the greatest rivalry in sports?  I've had a chance to witness the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, but can honestly say I've never been to any others like it.  I guess, in order to answer the question, I need to figure out what they are.

One rivalry that has been around for many, many years is that of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.  This is a rivalry that, upon being hired by the Chicago Bears as Head Coach, Lovie Smith addressed immediately, saying that his number one goal was to beat Green Bay.  For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, having your number one goal be to beat your biggest rival tells you how important this rivalry actually is to the sports landscape.

Another rivalry I would love to be in attendance for is to see the North Carolina Tar Heels take on the Duke Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Duke's home court of Cameron Indoor offers a buzz like no other, an impression I can only gather by watching these games on TV.  There is something about this rivalry between collegiate counterparts that makes this non-professional rivalry as great, if not greater, than most at the professional level.  The "Cameron Crazies" bouncing and chanting throughout the game keep the excitement level high, and the play between both powerhouse programs is at a season high.  It never seems to matter what the records are here.  When these two teams play, you'd think they were playing for the NCAA Championship.

There is also another collegiate rivalry that could easily get confused with a professional sports rivalry.  That rivalry is between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines.  More so than any other rivalry mentioned thus far, there is a legitimate hatred between these two schools.  The professional nature of both programs makes this game seem more like an NFL contest than a Big Ten contest.  The rivalry often extends to the NFL draft, as both schools seem to compete to see who can send the most top-notch talent to the next level.  Sometimes, it just doesn't stop on the field.

So, what is the greatest rivalry in sports?  Let me hear from some of you and get the debate going.