Packer Gold? Bear Navy Blue? Or even Viking Purple? Whichever rivalry you think is top dog in sports is totally in the eye of the beholder. A good strong rivalry has to have some important ingredients. History. Bad Blood. Hall of Fame coaches. Hall of Fame Players.
Most of all, Die hard fans. All that is the recipe for fierce rivalries. Sports rivalries make sports a must see each night. You always circle that calendar for when your faithful plays the hated rival.
Here is a countdown of the 5 top notch rivalries in the NFL
5. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders: This longtime rivalry started in the old AFL which led to the NFL. The pure hatred of these teams go on and on and on. Arrowhead fans in KC tying up a Raider doll and burning it on national TV is only the beginning. Black hole fans in Oakland love to make fans of KC wish they took a ride in a boat on the bay instead of dealing with the fan base.
All I can say, is whether your Marcus. Allen or Rich Gannon, hatred for the other side is evident.
4. Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: The AFC North Rivalry has turned into the AFC’s version of the black and blue division. The hard hitting foes have entertained football fans throughout the years.
Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, bleed Raven black and Purple compared to James Harrison, Troy Polumalu, Ben Roethlisberger is something football fans will always remember. Whether it’s Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, or M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, you can bet you’ll see hard hitting and a big cloud of dust.
3. San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams: From the days of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott to Eric Dickerson , Jim Everett, and Henry Ellard, this rivalry is an under the radar West Coast rivalry that many fans learned to appreciate.
Two of the most prolific offenses took stage with these teams, whether it was the West Offense the Niners ran in the 80’s, or the Greatest Show on Turf in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. You can bet you’ll get the old candlestick Park, Anaheim stadium old-school feel when these two teams tangle.
2. Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins: The NFC East rivalry dates back to the days of old. If you were a fan of the Tom Landry driven Cowboy teams, or a fan of the Joe Gibbs’ Skins, this good old fashioned matchup was something to see. John Riggins blasting through the Cowboy Defensive line for 60 yard scampers or Aikman to Irvin creating air assaults in the Nations capital, the Cowboys vs Redskins rivalry didn’t disappoint. These two teams have combined for a total of 7 Super Bowls.
1. Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: The best and most fierce rivalry of all time (Football wise). These two teams have been squaring up with each other since 1921. With names like Starr, Butkus, Favre, Ditka, Nitscke, and even Reggie White, the NFC North rivals have put the blackest and bluest in the NFL for decades.
Title Town vs. the Monsters of the Midway. Vince Lombardi vs. George Halas. The Cheeseheads vs. “Da Bears”. Either way you roll, you better bundle up during the winter to watch these two battle.
Kudos to the fans that have made this rivalry top dog as well as players that have walked the sidelines.
Obviously, these are my top 5 NFL rivalries of all time. Tune in tomorrow as I’ll bust out the top 5 baseball rivalries of all time.