http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/daily_list/index.html I guess Mark Richt's desperate move to rally the Dawgs not only woke up Ga but maybe the rivalry as well.
Well it's just an opinion. But there is no way that UF/UGA is one of the top 5 rivalries in Sport...that is way out in left field. There are a lot of great rivalries in college athletics and if you took the whole of football/basketball/baseball/ I doubt that it would be in the top 5 in college much less in all of sport. But it is a great rivalry, but it really doesn't have anything to put it in the top 5. Terry
I am very familiar personally with what many say is indeed the greatest rivalry in CFB and that is OSU-Michigan. It is a great...great rivalry but if you ever were in Jacksonville for a game like what will transpire for next year's hotly anticipated war between Ga and Fla you would be more qualified to say it was not as great as OSU-Michigan. If you haven't seen it well.....you're not qualified to say it is not a great rivalry. I have seen both several times each in person and as I say....OSU-Mich is very, very close if not a tie. I have spent time also in Dallas in Sept. just before OU-Tex and The Red River rivalry is a great one to be sure.....in that region. In college BB I agree with the writer that Duke-UNC is huge....absolutely huge. I lived in Charlotte for a year back when both teams were in the thick of the NCAA title chase and it was a very heated rivalry. For the Gators you have to also list FSU and Tenn as huge rivals and sometimes lately when Ga has slipped those two have garnered more attention from Gator fans. Not next year.....I promise!
Alas, my favorite sports rivalry Wings-Avs had waned with the retirement of Lemieux and Roy. Those were great playoff series.
Biggest rivals for UF according to UF fans: http://www.gatorsportsforum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=206681 Noles win over Ga......
Looking at the writer's list of best teams I wonder about the '98 Yanks. The 84 Tigers were 30 games over .500 by the middle of May and were on cruise control the last 4 months of the season. They lost once in the post season.
Please, before even moving outside of college football there are much more heated rivalries than UF/UGA... Army vs. Navy...you can't argue with this one USC- ND (except this year) Texas-Oklahoma Alabama-Auburn Cal-Stanford USC-UCLA I could go on and on but the point is made... ...if they are looking for just some drama or brawl all they have to do is put the Hurricanes schedule on their because the Hurrithugs are always looking for a fight....
I think items like this are in the eyes of the beholder. A lot of folks from the midwest and west don't think Florida belongs on a list of great rivalries, I would submit that I doubt any of you have ever been to one of the games. Army - Navy, who says I can't take issue. Let me ask you a question Arizona, how many people around the country do you think would pay money to travel to that game these days? How many people do you think do not turn that game on these days. While Army - Navy is a great rivalry I for one would not include it in a list of 5 games I would want to travel and see in any given year.
I see what you are saying Bill <r>but that's suppose to be the 5 best rivalries in sport?<br/> <br/> No way, even that link that was provided to the Gator board showed that they considered FSU a bigger rival.<br/> <br/> Its not about 'best game' its about best rivalry. There's no way the Florida-Georgia game gets in the same building as some other rivalries, let alone the top 5 in all sports globally.<br/> <br/> This by no means belittles Florida or anything Gator, its just a bad list.<br/> <br/> For example (and removing Florida from the equation).. the #3 rivalry on that list Inter Milan vs AC Milan. I follow international soccer around the clock, 365 days a year.<br/> <br/> I'd submit for your consideration:<br/> <br/> -In Spain, Real Madrid vs Barcelona. This is a rivalry so heated that Generalissimo Franco had Barca's team president assassinated and fire bombed the team's headquarters. He banned the language of the Catalonians and totally repressed their entire culture. Barcelona's football club became the sole voice or form of expression for an entire provincial culture of people.. and they express it in a deep seeded hatred and anger for Real Madrid while blindly loving Barca. We <B><s></s>do not have a rivalry in all of American sport<e></e></B> that rivals Real v Barca, IMHO. The author of this article opined that the mere attempt at a flaming motorcycle (note attempt, it didn't happen) showed how heated this rivalry was??? Please........<br/> <br/> -In Scotland, Celtic vs Rangers. This is a literal war that pits two clubs dating back to 1888 who have come to symbolize much more than the teams on the field. This is a battle of religion, socio-economic class and politics...all rolled up in one nasty football game. Celtic is the Catholic, Republican and Rangers is the Protestant, Unionist/Loyalist club. Not only does this game lead to violence in Scotland, but often violence spills over into Northern Ireland as well.<br/> <br/> -In England, Manchester United vs Liverpool. A rivalry between the two most succesful historic English sides morphed from the natural city rivalries of the Industrial revolution. Manchester is the production capital of England while Liverpool is its industrious port. The rivalry is so intense that since 1964, there has been a 'trade blockade' between the two clubs. I'll spare you the details of violence but I will note that while England is famous for its soccer hooligans, these two sides are the KINGS of soccer holliganism in England...and nobody is worse than MANU when it comes to fans, NO BODY.<br/> <br/> -Back to Scotland, Hibernian vs Hearts. These two share the city of Edinburgh. Hibernian is the oldest club in Scotland and its following fiercely Roman Catholic while Hearts its a Protestant Union Loyalist side. Back in the 90s, Hibernian fell on hard times and Hearts owner thought a united Edinburgh would be the best shot at usurping Celtic or Rangers as the top dogs in Scotland. The opposition to this was fierce. A Catholic entrepreneur who wasn't even a soccer fan stepped in to save Hibernian from the disgrace while the Hearts fans wanted no part of a 'pity union' with Hibernian. When the owner of hearts passed away last year, their next match was with Hibernian. His moment of silence was interrupted by cheering fans of Hibernian who still resented the take over.<br/> <br/> -In Argentina, there is Boca Juniors vs River Plate. In a country famous for its class warfare struggles, the embodiment of that conflict is played out between these two clubs that hail from Buenos Aires. Boca Juniors is the team of the poor and working class, while River Plate is the wealthy, elite club supported by the nation's wealthy.<br/> <br/> -In Mexico, there is Chivas vs America. America contracts the best players they can buy from all over the country and have a massive TV contract (ala ND) that brings them a national fan base. Chivas is notoriously pro-Mexican and the club from Guadalajara ONLY signs Mexican born players. This is a huge game but we are finally getting into 'Yankees vs Red Sox' territory here.. The violence and animosity gives this a slight nod above..but a good case can be made that many American rivalries would fall right into this category.<br/> <br/> Other soccer rivalries that are in this league are Inter Milan and Juventus (also in Italy and called the "Battle of Italy" which sorta weakens this writers claim for Inter vs AC), Flamengo vs Vasco de Gama, Levski vs CSKA, the 'Derby of Eternal Enemies' between Olympiacos and Panathiniakos, Benefica vs Porto, Ajax vs Feyenoord Rotterdam, as well as Fenerbahce vs Galatasary. These are huge rivals that I'd put in the same league with Army vs Navy, Yankees vs Red Sox etc...<br/> <br/> So you can see why I scoff at this list... Even to assume that Florida vs Georgia is the top college football rivalry in America, this guy still ranked it behind AC vs Inter and I can make a case that AC vs Inter is BARELY in the top 5...if at all.<br/> <br/> the list blows..its nothing against the great rivalry between UGa and UF</r>
:lol: It is a joke intended to inflame the senses and generate page views and feedback....nothing more. Typical of much internet nonsense these days. Not to denigrate a fine ballgame, but I'd be curious as to the result of a poll asking the players on UF and UGA about their greatest rival....I would expect you'd see several other teams....FSU, Tech, maybe UT and others. Ask a middie or a cadet or a Stripehead or Buckeye, and I would expect a singular answer.... Bill, re: Army -v- Navy, for sure beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have always had an Army-Navy game on my lifetime list of sporting events to that I must attend and have never had the opportunity. This is one of rivalries that transcends sport. The spectacle and the pageantry of the middies and cadets taking the field before the game and the intensity of the competition as well as the game watches in every US military installation world-wide is unique in American sport.....if things work out as planned, I've been invited to attend the game next year. I can't wait...
On this particular issue, Bill, spare me the midwest/west vs. south argument. For me, traveling to a game is not at all a factor in considering great rivalries. With very few exceptions, no one but Florida and Georgia fans are interested in attending that game. The same situation exists with fans of other teams involved in great rivalries. I have no interest in attending games of any team but my own. Does that mean I don't consider FL-UGA a great rivalry? Heck no. Also, you certainly are entitled to your opinion, but I am perplexed by your "traveling to the game" rationale for excluding Army-Navy from the list. Regardless of the lesser accomplishments of both teams in the "big picture", it remains one of the historically great rivalries in college football. The issue raised by the list is not whether FL-GA is a great college football rivalry. I believe we all can agree that it is. The issue is whether it is one of 5 greatest rivalries in all of sports. IMO it is not, but that does not mean I don't respect the rivalry as one of the great ones in college football.
Bingo! For that reason though I will submit to Corey's assertion that the soccer rivalry listed is not one of the best because I do not follow soccer at all. I do follow college football intensely and no one can just summarily dismiss UF-UGA as not one of the best when they have never been a part of it or witnessed it. I grew up with it in my backyard as I am from Jacksonville. It is a tremendous rivalry and gameday in downtown Jax is a festive, colorful affair that is as intense an atmosphere as you will find in college football.....especially on the rare occasion that Georgia is actually competitive.... 8) :wink:
well <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> there is a BIG difference between being 'one of the best' in college football and one of the top 5 rivalries in all of sport around the world.<br/> <br/> no one is saying its not a good/great rivalry. from everything i've heard, its a blast and a whole lot of fun.<br/> <br/> However, facts remain that each team is at best the #2 rival on each other's list.. not the #1 rival..and it certainly isn't the bloody jihad for religious, regional, cultural or socio-economic dominance that some of these other rivalries are... ergo, the list is crap.</r>
I wonder who is first for Georgia....Fla or Aub and I think Fla is at the top with Tech and Aub right there also. Florida has probably risen up the ladder a little since 1990.