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Sports rivalry

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A sports rivalry is intense competition between two athletic teams. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the teams' fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the other that, in one case (the Football War), was suggested to have led to military conflict. Team owners typically encourage rivialries as they tend to improve game attendance and television ratings for rivalry matches, but a rivalry that gets out of control can lead to fighting, hooliganism, and rioting.

Many factors can lead to a rivalry developing. Simple geographic proximity is frequently sufficient to foster a rivalry. Frequent meetings in important games can also lead to a rivalry. Social and political tensions can also be played out by proxy in a sports rivalry, such as when Glasgow's sectarian differences are expressed in the Celtic-Rangers derby or when the Spanish-Catalan political conflict spills over to a Real Madrid-FC Barcelona soccer match. Rivalries of the friendlier sort are common between college athletic programs in the United States and often involve pranks that rival student bodies play on each other such as by stealing the other school's mascot or painting school colors somewhere on the opposing school's campus.

In some leagues rivalries are officially regarded as important games and the winner gets an unusual prize (i.e. grill, trophy, high-definition television, etc.)

Contents

Famous sports rivalries

Original

Since before 1820

Baseball

See List of Major League Baseball rivalries

Basketball

National Basketball Association

See Rivalries of the NBA

Rest of the World

Professional football (American)

See Rivalries in the National Football League

College athletics

See College rivalry.

Canadian football

Arena football

Association football (soccer)

See List of Association Football (soccer) Rivalries.

Curling

Club rivalries

Team rivalries

Ice hockey

National Hockey League

See National Hockey League rivalries.

International

Cricket

Test Matches

Traditional Rivals

Local Derbies

More Recent Rivals

Past Rivals

See also

 

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