Sports Rivalries That Have Lost Their Mojo
Legendary quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning used to have one of the hottest rivalries in sports. Yet, by the time their 17th meeting during the AFC Championship Game rolled around, it seemed to have lost a bit of that luster.
Rivalries and sports go hand in hand. Some are intensely felt by the players themselves, and others are certainly more fan- and media-created; but either way, rivalries are a natural part of competition and always will be.
Some rivalries burn brightly for a time and then go out forever, particularly individual ones like Brady vs. Manning. Others—usually longtime team rivalries like the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees—are unlikely to disappear but do experience ebbs and flows.
The following 15 rivalries have lost some of their mojo lately—some more than others. The games aren't as fun to watch, the teams aren't as good, the players are aging, the conference realignment gods frowned upon them—the casual possibilities are endless.
Whatever the reasons for the lulls, here's hoping some of the team rivalries reignite and the individual ones will live on in sports history.
Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers
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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are natural rivals—same state and all. Over the years, theirs has been one of the fiercest rivalries outside the Original Six.
Yet, for a period of time between 2015 and 2016, the two went 291 days without facing each other. It would appear, perhaps, absence does not actually make the heart grow fonder.
Besides the layoff, the Flyers have owned the regular-season series lately, winning eight consecutive games before Pittsburgh finally took the Jan. 21 matchup, 4-3.
According to Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News, the two teams seem more preoccupied with their own issues than hyped up for their rivalry—both went through coaching changes in the past year.
Donnellon wrote, "No, these are teams searching for new identities these days, their stars fighting themselves as much as they are battling any team, historic rivals included."
Oklahoma and Texas Football
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The football teams of Oklahoma and Texas have had a rivalry for over a century. The two first met in 1900, and the annual game—the Red River Showdown—at the State Fair of Texas has become one of sports' best rivalry events.
The game still gets big hype every year, and the 2015 rendition saw Texas upset Oklahoma, a team that would eventually go on to the College Football Playoff.
Still, Texas hasn't been in national contention since 2009, and an argument can be made that Baylor vs. TCU is now the biggest game in the Big 12.
David Ubben of Sports on Earth told Bleacher Report's Ben Kercheval, "Last year was emblematic of what this game has become. It was played in the morning, and it was the third-biggest game in the state behind Ole Miss at Texas A&M and TCU at Baylor."
Manchester United and Liverpool
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Premier League juggernauts Manchester United and Liverpool have had—and continue to have—one of the game's greatest rivalries. In January, Tony Evans of ESPNFC wrote, "Forget the Clasico [Real Madrid vs. Barcelona]. This is one of the greatest grudge matches in world football. It is a fixture as intense as any of the game's big rivalries."
However, as with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the rivalry will never fade, but it is experiencing a lull.
Barney Ronay of the Guardian wrote ahead of a December 2014 match:
"More so than at any time since 1971 this fixture takes place without United or Liverpool either entering it as champions or retaining any significant interest in the title race, a fraying of a golden thread of shared influence that stretches back through 43 years and at least three distinct eras in the rapacious development of English football's top tier.
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Both teams have huge international fanbases, and their matchups are heavily hyped. Still, neither team is in the top four of the Premier League standings (as of Feb. 3).
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Mike Trout and Bryce Harper
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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper are two of baseball's brightest young stars. As such, they are constantly compared to each other. Theirs is a largely fan-made rivalry, but it's there, just the same.
In 2012, Richard Justice of MLB.com wrote, "Bird and Magic? OK, it's probably a stretch to think Mike Trout and Bryce Harper will ever have that kind of rivalry. As comparisons go, it's a good place to start."
Both won the Rookie of the Year award of their respective leagues in 2012. And since then, they have each collected an MVP award and made multiple All-Star teams.
Still, without much direct on-field competition or any off-field animosity, the rivalry flames have been reduced to embers. In 2014, both expressed mutual admiration for each other to Paul White of USA Today and denied the existence of a rivalry.
Harper said, "If they like him, they like him. If they like me, they like me. If they like both of us, then they know the game. If they don't, they're crazy."
Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the NFL's fiercest rivalries, and there is certainly no love lost between them. Retired Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said, "It's just pure hatred—just like two old-fashioned bullies meeting in an alley," per Jim Corbett of USA Today.
Yet, with the emergence of the Cincinnati Bengals as a perennial contender in the AFC North, the rivalry has lost some steam. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco even said in December the team he most likes to beat is Cincy.
Shortly thereafter, John Eisenberg of baltimoreravens.com wrote, "The series has lost significant star power in recent years with the retirements of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and others who made it such a marquee event."
The rivalry is still there, but according to Eisenberg, diminished star power and several other factors—Cincinnati's success and the collective dislike of the New England Patriots, for example—have diluted the hatred, at least a little.
Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin were obvious candidates to be rivals. They came into the NHL in the same year (2005-06) and had immediate success.
Crosby was the ultra-hyped No. 1 draft pick, and Ovechkin scored 52 goals his rookie year. (Ovi was also a No. 1 pick, but the lockout delayed his entry into the league.)
Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports wrote, "You couldn't have cast two rivals better, from the personalities to the geography to the style to the fact that they were drafted to franchises that already didn't have any love lost between them."
The peak came in 2009, when each scored a hat trick in the same playoff game. In the years since, however, the rivalry has cooled. The two teams haven't met in the playoffs since then.
As for the individuals, they play different positions and have near-opposite personalities. Besides that, the emergence of younger superstars is poised to take over the rivalry spotlight. As rookies Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Jack Eichel (Buffalo Sabres) hit the ice in 2015-16, Crosby vs. Ovi felt like old news.
New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox
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The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox share one of sports' most enduring rivalries, and that doesn't seem likely to change. However, the intensity has experienced an undeniable slump over the past decade.
According to Boston slugger David Ortiz, the decreased likelihood of fights that made the rivalry famous has contributed to its decline.
Per Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe, Ortiz said, "The rivalry, I think the whole game in general has changed. But the motivation and the wanting to win the game [is the same]. We play with so many rules now, the rivalry that we used to see five, 10 years ago, it's not the one that we're going to see today, I think."
Other than the time Ryan Dempster hit A-Rod in 2013, the series has been relatively tame in terms of animosity. In fact, Derek Jeter's retirement actually turned a 2014 series into a temporary lovefest.
Add to that the fact that the two teams haven't met in the postseason since 2004, and the rivalry is squarely in a down period.
Michigan and Notre Dame Football
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Notre Dame vs. Michigan has never been college football's biggest rivalry, but it has been consistent. The Fighting Irish and Wolverines faced each other every season from 2002-2014 and almost every year since 1978.
In 2012, Notre Dame announced its sports, with the exceptions of football and hockey, would transition from the Big East to the ACC. The football program agreed to play five ACC teams each year, leaving less room for nonconference opponents like Michigan. (Or so it said—ND scheduled a home-and-home with Ohio State not long after breaking things off with Michigan.)
For the time being, Michigan and Notre Dame are in a serious lull. However, in September, ND head coach Brian Kelly said the series could make a comeback.
Per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press, Kelly said, "I think that's something that everybody wants to get going and get Michigan back on the schedule. ... I think that sentiment is coming back to the forefront of where college football needs to be. Some of those classic rivalries coming back together."
Novak Djokovic and, Well, Everyone
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Novak Djokovic has won four of the last five Grand Slams, bringing his career total to 11. He has been so dominant that most all his rivalries have seemed to melt away, at least for now.
Christopher Clarey of the New York Times wrote, "But Djokovic, 28, the clear No. 1, now holds a 23-22 lead over Federer and, for the first time, a career lead over all of his principal rivals: Federer, [Andy] Murray, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka."
Djokovic has won 11 of his past 12 matches against Murray, including the 2016 Australian Open final. He has outshined Federer on the big stage—his semifinal victory was the fourth consecutive time he beat the Swiss star in a Grand Slam tournament match. And he has outlasted Nadal in nine of their last 10 head-to-head matchups overall.
When you're a on a run like Djokovic is, it's hard for anyone to rise to the level of rival.
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning
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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning have met 17 times. As two of the best ever at their position, their head-to-head matchups have always been hyped to the max.
Still, their meeting during the AFC Championship Game—even though it was possibly their last—seemed lacking in that same Brady/Manning excitement fans have been accustomed to.
Perhaps it was because of their ages (Brady is 38 and Manning 39), or perhaps it was simply because 17 is a lot of games.
Ahead of that AFC Championship Game, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press wrote, "Their legacies are cemented already, there's no denying that. But Sunday will look nothing like their shootouts of old." (The comment turned out to be true—Brady threw for 310 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions; Manning tallied 172 yards, two TDs and no INTs).
San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings
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Nothing squashes a rivalry like realignment.
For a time, the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks had one of the NHL's most exciting rivalries. Since the Sharks (at the time in their infancy) beat the Red Wings in the 1994 playoffs, the two teams have become a staple matchup on the big stage.
Great players on great teams, going up against each other with regularity—that's what rivalries are made of.
When the conferences realigned in 2013, however, it was only inevitable things would change. David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News wrote, "Familiarity breeds contempt—an essential element of any rivalry—and the teams will be squaring off only twice per season now that Detroit has moved to the Eastern Conference."
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
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The Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James rivalry has lost some hype over the years, largely because it never really hit its peak potential. Theirs is more of a climb that never reached the summit than one that did and promptly fell off.
Yes, James is 31 to Bryant's 37; and yes, they are different types of players. Still, as two all-time greats with overlapping primes, they have inevitably been the subject of much comparison. Yet, the duo never met in the NBA Finals, a fact James takes responsibility for and regrets.
Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, he said, "I didn't hold up my end of the bargain in 2009 for the fans, for us, to meet in the Finals. I know the world wanted to see it. I wanted it, we wanted it. He held up his end and I didn't hold up my end, and I hate that. I hate that that didn't happen."
Their on-court rivalry was never what it could have been, but the off-court version will live on through historical comparisons for years to come. In head-to-head matchups, James holds the clear advantage, yet Bryant has five rings to James' two.
Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers
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Conference rivalries just aren't as fun when they are one-sided. As recently as January 2014, the San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks was must-see television. The intrigue was abundant—the NFC West's top two teams battled in the NFC Championship Game, and the Jim Harbaugh vs. Pete Carroll coaching duel oozed entertainment value.
Two years later, Harbaugh is gone, and the once-hyped 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been relegated to the bench. The Arizona Cardinals took over as the division's top team, and the Niners posted a dismal 5-11 record during the 2015 season.
After a 20-3 Seattle victory in October, Eric Edholm of Shutdown Corner wrote, "Time to stop milking a dead cow. You can call it: Time of death was roughly 8 p.m. West Coast time when this awful game finished ever so mercifully. I'd rather sit through 11 more hours of Benghazi hearings than more of this."
Tell the people how you really feel.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson
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As two of the best golfers of their generations, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have had a natural rivalry.
Though Woods is five years Mickelson's junior, he beat him to a major victory when he took the 1997 Masters at 21 years old. At first it was a one-sided rivalry—Woods the young phenom and multi-major winner and Mickelson the second-place stalwart.
The two met in a major final for the first time in 2001, when Woods beat Mickelson at Augusta. Mickelson won his first major in 2004, and the rivalry continued for years.
However, with the decline of Woods due to injury has come the decline of the rivalry. He hasn't won a major since 2008, and young players like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have emerged to represent the rivalries of the future.
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova
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There was a time when the Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova rivalry looked like it might become one of the greats. Sharapova beat Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final at just 17 years of age and sparked an animosity that would last for years to come.
Little did many know at the time, it would be one of only two times Sharapova would beat Williams in 21 head-to-head meetings over 12 years.
This rivalry is more notable for its bad blood than on-court equality. It's still big news when the two match up because of their apparent dislike for each other, but even their quarterfinal matchup at the Australian Open was yet another predictable Williams win. Ho hum.
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