re: Where do you rank the Iron Bowl among the greatest rivalries in sports?

quote:

---

It's easily one of the top 5-10. And as much as It completely defines the state if Alabama, and as much as ESPN tries to force feed it on the rest of the CFB world, I'm just not so sure how it really means that much to everyone outside those 2 schools. This year, yeah , clearly the biggest game so far. But not last year or the year before. ARMY-NAVY biggest rivalry by far and away, as it should be. But I think that most without ties to the schools think it's significant , but no more than the ones they hold as Important. If you look at certain games/ rivalries , there are ones that will always be on CBS, the priet game, IB, WLOCP, DSOR, TSIO, LSU-BAMA, this will never change( unless the conf does away with perm cross of course) but you get my point. The thing is , the IB, naturally is a meaningful yearly part of AU/UA life , but why is it important the it must be the biggest Rivaly , just as long as it means something to you should be enough, why do you care if someone in Kallamazoo MI thinks it's big, cause they probably don't.

---

Why should Army/Navy be the biggest rivalry? Why do our armed forces even have sports programs like this? That's a pretty big waste of taxpayer money.

Number 1. Such a rivalry that it had to be suspended for 40 yrs.

1- Michigan vs osu
2- army vs navy
3- iron bowl

so killings define the BEST rivalry now? holy cow

Lakers-Celtics is more of an "echo" of a rivalry from another era rather then an active one. Since the era of free agency in the 1980's, there's just not enough continuity of the teams anymore for this to resonate. The NBA is now more a league where players are the star rather then the teams per se. Fans follow players as much as teams.

Army-Navy is just too peripheral to major college sports to really be relevant as a rivalry. It's more a ode to when those teams were the best in college 75 years ago.

In general, none of American pro sports have intense rivalries anymore like they used to. All major leagues kind of promote the league brand and fan friendly imaging. It undermines the kind of bitter rivals of yesteryear.

Alabama-auburn is by far the most intense rivalry in American sports. It's the only thing that resembles the kind of animosity and passion you see in European soccer. It's different then OSU-UM, where the people aren't in proximity and there are competing college and pro sports and other teams for interest in the region. Literally you find the UA-AU rivalry discussed 365 days a year here, which just doesn't happen with any of these other games.