The ALCS in 2003 had some fireworks, such as a bench-clearing altercation that resulted in Yankee coach Don Zimmer charging Pedro Martinez and being thrown to the ground. This series was intense, and Boston actually led Game Seven 5-2 in the eighth inning—before Red Sox manager Grady Little decided to leave a tired Pedro Martinez in the game.
New York staged a one-out rally with three straight hits to make the lead 5-3, and after Little left Martinez out there, Jorge Posada doubled in the tying runs. The Yankees ended up winning on an Aaron Boone home run in the eleventh inning. This added to the feeling by the Red Sox nation that they were cursed.
Boston would turn things around, but the animosity between the teams would never wane. In 2004, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek got into a fight that resulted in another bench-clearing brawl. The teams would finish first and second in the division and meet for the second straight year in the ALCS—and it didn’t disappoint, so far as drama is concerned.
The Yankees led the series three games to none, and Mariano Rivera was on the mound in Game Four to save a 4-3 game. Boston came back to win this game, and begin what would go down as the biggest collapse in major league playoff history. The Red Sox would go on to win the World Series that year, and since then have not looked back.
In 2005, both teams lost in separate divisional series—but Boston, after not making the playoffs in 2006, would win their first American League East Championship in twelve years in 2007, and go on to win the World Series.
Red Sox and Yankee fans go further than having a healthy dislike for their counterparts. Boston fans won’t root for any New York team in any sport, and vice versa. Even at this years All-Star game, when Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon came in the game for the AL, he was booed mercilessly, because of perceived disrespect aimed at Mariano Rivera.
Someone actually went so far as to bury a Red Sox jersey in the foundation of the new Yankee Stadium, believing that would jinx them. The news about it became public, and the construction crew searched for it and subsequently found it and took it out. Enough said.
NFL Football has so many great rivalries it’s hard to center on one or two. The Bears and Packers had a great rivalry in the old NFL days, but in modern times this has been nothing special. Chiefs-Raiders, Steelers-Browns, and Giants-Cowboys have a lot of history, but we will choose another pair:
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders
This was a rivalry that could have been played out in a back alley, or a Mixed Martial Arts ring. From 1972 to 1977, these two viciously beat on each other and called it football. The Raiders specialized in intimidating their opponents, and Pittsburgh’s steel curtain backed down from no one.
Raider safety George Atkinson knocked Lynn Swann out with a forearm to the head after a play was over, on the other side of the field, that resulted in a lawsuit being filed by Chuck Noll. Atkinson countered by suing Noll for slander.
Keep in mind that a lot of the bitterness came from the fact that both teams had unbelievable talent. Nineteen players from the teams from this era have been inducted into the hall of fame, and they were constantly competing for the right to go to the Super Bowl. They met in three straight AFC championship games from 1974 to 1976.
The most famous moment was the immaculate reception game in 1972, where Franco Harris caught a deflected pass just before it hit the carpet, and scored the winning touchdown with little time left. To this day, former Raider players say they were cheated by the officials on the play. This rivalry was one of the nastiest in NFL history, if not the nastiest.
Honorable Mention: Redskins vs. Cowboys from 1970-1983, Colts vs Patriots (current), Steelers vs Cowboys.
Raphael Nadal vs. Roger Federer
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