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.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Happy Thanksgiving Greetings To You Man50D.:)=^..^=
Got an invite with a ticket a friend of a friend could not use, so I am planning to go to the game on Saturday.:)=^..^=
I’ll tell you what: on game day, I’m screaming to BTHOtu just like every good Ag, but the display of class and respect by the Longhorns after Bonfire was enough to make me actually call them Longhorns when I talk about it. (Thereafter, they’re just ‘sips again). Ags’ll get back on top...we never lose, we just run out of time.
Yes!
Michigan got the U.P. and Ohio got Toledo so obviously Ohio lost.
BTW Both Militias got lost in a swamp and never fired at each other.
Just West of Toledo you still see a road named Old State Line road which represents the previous State line
My favorite rivalry is, of course, the Florida-Georgia Cocktail Party. Anyone who has been to Jacksonville that weekend understands the reason for that nickname. Of course the term “cocktail party” makes it sound too sophisticated. As one local writer put it, how often do you see a sorority girl drop trau and pee a sixer of Mike’s Hard Lemonade at a cocktail party?
Agreed!
Go Blue!
As a Michigan Alumnus it has been a bad decade, but this too shall pass.
Alabama/Auburn. Administrator, you can lock the thread now.
Roll 100 Tide.
Enjoy the day but FLORIDA is going to kick your butt!
Chomp, Chomp!!!!!!!
I’m actually an alumnus of Illinois and Northwestern but I’ve been a Michigan fan since the Bo days. I married a girl from Ohio - Miami University fortunately - and by mother-in-law graduated from Ohio State. Both my in-laws were big Buckeye fans. And my proudest moment as a father is still the time I taught my 5 year old daughter how to pick out the opening to “Hail to the Victors” on the piano and the next time her grandparents came over I suggested she play her new song for them.
“Notre Dame vs BYU”
I’ve never heard of this rivalry perhaps it was one in the past. At present they think their rivals are Michigan and USC, at least that’s the story from the Domers I know.
What do USC and UCLA stand for?
Unbelievably Spoiled Children and Undocumented Chicano Lost among Asians.
Why does UT wear orange?
They can play football on Saturday, go deer hunting on Sunday, and pick up trash by the highway on Monday.
How do you get a Texas Tech graduate off your front porch?
Pay him for the pizza.
Why do the Georgia cheerleaders wear those little bibs on their uniforms?
To keep the tobacco juice off.
How do you get a Baylor coed into your dorm room?
Butter her hips and push as hard as you can.
You may be right. Stanford is USC's oldest rival. USC played its first game outside of the Southland at Stanford in 1905--and came away with a 16-0 defeat. For the next several years, USC, then known as the Methodists, played only local Southland teams and for a while even gave up football. However, on, a rainy day in November 1918, USC, now known as the Trojans, trounced Stanford 25-8 at the start of a five-game winning streak over the Farm. USC now leads in the series 59-26-3, so the Indians will have a lot of catching up to do.
USC--University of Super Champions
UCLA--U Clowns Lost Again
I have the same Bama shirt for my Jake and a cheerleaders outfit for Maggie. They will both be properly dressed tomorrow with their matching Bama collars to watch my beloved Tide kick the crap out of Awburn! ROLL TIDE!
Yep, you said it a LOT better then I can. Coach Charlie Weis’s salary is SO OUTRAGEOUS, and in a special way after my UConn Huskies took the WHOLE ND team down. That SEALED Coach Weis’s fate. He will BE GONE AFTER THE ND SEASON IS DONE.
Add to that now, Connecticut, after the Huskies CLEANED the clocks of the Gold Domers this past Saturday.:)
I think the Orange men are going to be sweating bigtime because UConn Huskies are going to be on FIRE after their big win against ND.
And the Kyle bug has bit early!! Darn those Aggies!!!!
Horns will get rolling.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.