One of the oldest and best
Posted on 11/25/2009 6:11:57 PM PST by bobjam
Ten Rivalries to Witness
College football passion covers the width and breadth of the many social, economic, racial, regional and religious subcultures in America. From Boston Brahmins (Harvard) to Hollywood fashion (USC), from Southern tradition (Alabama) to California progressives (Stanford), from Catholics (Notre Dame) to Mormons (BYU) to hippies (Cal), everyone has a team to cheer for. Below are 10 games that highlight that spectrum of passion, pageantry and pride (listed in approximate order of occurance during the season):
Texas vs Oklahoma: The Longhorns, the Sooners and the Texas State Fair recall how so much of our culture is derived from agricultural society.
Florida vs Georgia: Football should be celebrated, and nowhere is it celebrated more than at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.
Michigan vs Ohio State: two industrial belt universities fight it out- just like their state militias once did.
Notre Dame vs BYU: this game is not played every year, but it is not infrequent. No universities mix religion and football more than these two.
Harvard vs Yale: Tailgating with wine, cheese, gin, caviar and all of the trappings of northeastern high society.
California vs Stanford: Tree huggers, hippies, techno geeks, peaceniks- even they love football. And who can forget Cal’s famous kickoff return against both Stanford and its band?
USC vs UCLA: The home of a famous film school and the alma mater of George Lucas vs everyone else in southern California.
Southern vs Grambling: The football teams work just as hard as any other; the marching bands work harder. Bands are as much a part of college football as cheerleaders and boosters, and these two universities have two of the best.
Alabama vs Auburn: beneath the polite society, manners, hospitality and accents lurks a hatred that divides a state more than any Jim Crow law ever could.
Army vs Navy: Not just Cadets vs Midshipmen, but anyone even remotely associated with the Army vs anyone even remotely associated with the Navy- officers, enlisted, civil service, relative in the service, or even people who simply live near a base.
These games are not necessarily the ten biggest, oldest, most passionate or most important rivalries in America. They are, however, an attempt to cover the grandeur and glory of an institution that brings so many different groups together in one passion.
Pitt vs. Penn State .... oh wait ....
Went to a couple of these in high school. The most boring football you could imagine. The final score usually looks something like 6-3.
Roll Tide!
War Eagle! Beat Bama!
I despise Notre Dame.
I like a good rivalry but some of them have turned into hatred. Florida/Georgia is a good example. Others which seem to have gotten out of hand are Alabama/Auburn, South Carolina/Clemson, Oklahoma/Okie State, and I am sure there are a lot more.
Missouri/Kansas BORDER WAR.
Civil War is for the Pac Championship
DUCKS!!
You just do not understand.
The Toledo War ain't over yet, not by a long shot, baby!
(I'm a Michigan State fan, so during this game I say Go Buckeyes!)
“The Toledo War ain’t over yet, not by a long shot, baby!”
Didn’t Ohio lose the war over Toledo?
The second shot is the UT crowd at an away game at Baylor.
Since A&M has been down for the last few years this game doesn't get the national spotlight like it used to, but here in Texas, it's a BIG DEAL! I went to UT but know a couple of the A&M players and have a nephew in the corps. While these teams hate each other, they also respect each other. Here's the Longhorn band tribute to the students killed in the bonfire collapse:
The memorial to the students killed in the bonfire collapse is a circle with twelve arches, one for each student killed. If you stand inside the arch, you are facing the student's home town.
College football PING?
Even though I’m not a huge fan of either team, Texas-OU is pretty cool. The half and half orange and crimson stadium and all. Now if only we could figure out a way for both of them to lose.
Well, they’re just dodging the University of Tulsa Hurricanes is the only reason the Longhorns are undefeated.
I’ve always like neutral site rivalries- the Cocktail Party, UT-OU, Army/Navy. They’re like bowl games during the regular season.
I agree, this is one of the best.
Indeed! Bitter rivalry between respected foes. Unlike the UT/OU rivalry .... no love lost in that one.
On, man .... just the look of that crowd at Kyle can make a UT fan worry. Anything can happen there. I hope UT can play as expected there and then again against Nebraska for the Big 12 title.
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