Sports Talk: College Football Rivalries
[Guest post by DRJ]
My favorite college football team is playing one of its rivals this weekend and I’m conflicted. I think we will be trounced although the degree of trounce is up in the air. I hope the margin of defeat will be 21 points or less but I’m not optimistic. Still, like most fans, I hold out hope for victory.
It got me thinking about great college football rivalries. The service academies, especially Army vs Navy. The granddaddy of rivalries (if you don’t count Harvard-Yale): Michigan vs Ohio State. The in-state rivalries: Florida vs Florida State and USC vs UCLA. From the (now gone) SW Conference: UT vs A&M and, years ago, Arkansas. The SEC powerhouses: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU. From the old Big 8: Oklahoma vs Nebraska. Not to mention Notre Dame, Miami, and … I could go on but you get the idea.
I love the rivalries and classic moments from hard-fought games. Apart from my team, it’s hard to pick a favorite team but it’s easy to pick my favorite games. The most memorable games are the ones where the score is close and both teams execute well, fight their hardest, and never quit.
Win or lose, I hope tomorrow’s game is memorable.
— DRJ
GO SOONERS!
See Dubya (d4aa96) — 10/6/2007 @ 12:00 amAs a Buckeye fan living in Florida, imagine my chagrin after the results last year. I was roundly excoriated. I did take my 10 year old daughter to the OSU – Michigan game for her inaugural Buckeye experience. I don’t know how she is going to top #1 vs. #2 as her first game.
FLBuckeye (c7ed58) — 10/6/2007 @ 5:06 amGO BUCKEYES!!
The whole Texas thing is quite silly, really. As an A&M fan, I find it kind of humorous.
Texas’ biggest rival is Oklahoma, yet Texas A&M’s biggest rival is UT. But Texas Tech’s biggest rival is….Texas A&M.
So what this means, of course, is that Texas always gets up for OU, but they play down to A&M, allowing that game to be closer than it should…to the point that they lose when they shouldn’t. And A&M gets all worked up befor a game against t.u., and then there’s always a letdown when they play Tech. To the point that Tech seems to have our number.
As an Aggie fan, I really, and I mean REALLY, wish t.u. would hate us MORE. But the sad reality is, when they play OU, the attendance is always higher than when they play us. Well, when they play us at home, I mean (Kyle Field seats well more than the Cotton Bowl). The fact that some of the A&M-t.u. games have higher attendance than the t.u.-OU games is probably the reason why they want to move that game to a home-away format instead of the Cotton Bowl.
otcconan (8abd2e) — 10/6/2007 @ 5:59 amWhen I was going to Texas in the late 80s, the head coach could always count on keeping his job if he beat OU, A&M, and Arkansas. And they weren’t very good at that point. At that point I’d have said the rivalries were equal. Texas-OU on the first Saturday in October, the A&M game on Thanksgiving. I truly believe that moving the game to the Friday after Thanksgiving diminished it.
An the idea of moving it out of the Cotton Bowl, it’s pure greed. But I hope they never do it, it will kill the game. Oh, it’ll still be a sellout, but it will no longer be a tradition. I remember my freshman year at UT, playing football in the dorm parking lots on OU weekend, because it was empty. In lots you normally couldn’t get spots in.
Skip (b45646) — 10/6/2007 @ 6:17 amOtcconan,
Rivalries are fun but, to me, hating your opponent isn’t that great. However, maybe you’re right that mutual antagonism is needed for a real rivalry.
Still, Michigan-Ohio State has a great rivalry and, while there’s no love lost between their fans, I always thought it was a one-sided hatefest.
DRJ (d0ada6) — 10/6/2007 @ 11:45 ammy family moved to dallas in 1982 when i was 13. that october a friends family took me w/ them downtown to commerce st. for the pep rally. it was incredible! some real excitement for a kid from small town tenn. a real shame that dallas has messed up that part of the event.
chas (1e9beb) — 10/6/2007 @ 2:29 pmCongratulations, See Dubya. It was memorable.
DRJ (d0ada6) — 10/6/2007 @ 3:11 pmCollege Rivalries!
Sounds like most here are midwesterners…WVU-Pitt, the “Backyard Brawl”..now THAT’s a hate-fest!
At full-throated, double-fisted All-American 24-hour HateFest!
Muslim rage can’t compare…
mondoreb (5e8d51) — 10/6/2007 @ 3:34 pm[…] Comment on Sports Talk: College Football Rivalries by otcconan Well, when they play us at home, I mean (Kyle Field seats well more than the Cotton Bowl). The fact that some of the A&M-tu games have higher attendance than the tu-OU games is probably the reason why they want to move that game to a … […]
» Cotton Bowl Discussed: Cotton Bowl trying to lure.. Cotton Bowl:.. (8d2c3e) — 10/6/2007 @ 4:18 pmWe do have some big rivalries down south, and they make no sense sometimes. I went to FSU, which saw its main rival as Florida; Florida, while not underrating FSU, picked its main rival as UGa; and the Hurricanes created another rivalry for FSU. (Remember those years of Wide Rights?) This got really interesting in those years when all three Florida teams were major contenders for the national championship, and the season always seemed to come down to FSU-Miami and then FSU-Florida (which is always played as the last game of the regular season).
When I was there, I did know a middle aged couple who graduated from FSU and UF, and faithfully attended The Game every year, whether it was in Tallahassee or Gainesville. Neither one particularly looked forward to the drive home in those years when the game was played at Gainesville, since one or the other was bound to be in a bad mood. (But they were, the other 364 days of the year, one of the nicest couples I’ve ever known.)
kishnevi (72879a) — 10/6/2007 @ 5:45 pmstanford 24, usc 23, hahahahahaha. as a ucla fan, i salute anyone who beats those hated, no-good trojans.
assistant devil's advocate (ed804d) — 10/6/2007 @ 9:46 pmLSU over Florida. Things are looking good for the Tigers.
DRJ (d0ada6) — 10/6/2007 @ 10:48 pmDRJ–not only that, but the Hurricanes lost, and of course FSU won. It’s a good week.
kishnevi (beeb61) — 10/7/2007 @ 6:02 pmAnd the Red Sox complete a sweep. ‘Tis a very good week indeed. Now if only the Yankees will get eliminated, it will be a heavenly week.
kishnevi (beeb61) — 10/7/2007 @ 6:20 pmI’m happy for you, K. I’m not quite as happy this week but I’ve lived through enough seasons to know there’s always next year. Plus, it’s fun seeing other people enjoy their seasons.
DRJ (d0ada6) — 10/7/2007 @ 6:22 pmSorry, ADA, but UCLA fans can’t celebrate USC’s humiliation. Notre Dame 20-6.
It looks to Cal fans that this will be our year. More and more it’s looking that way, but we always have had our hearts ripped out. Hopefully this season is different.
aunursa (f365f4) — 10/7/2007 @ 6:31 pmMIAMI HURRICANES all the way and the ARMY NAVY game has become a tradidtion
krazy kagu (f674df) — 10/9/2007 @ 6:47 amLSU, baby. All the way.
Leviticus (68eff1) — 10/9/2007 @ 6:51 am