NFL Rivalry Week: Roll it Out Roger Goodell

Like the Beach Boys sang, wouldn't it be nice if the NFL had a natural rivalry week?

Instead of another silly, full-priced farce of an exhibition game, what if the league let the San Francisco 49ers fight a battle of the bay with the Oakland Raiders every year?

What Gotham football fan would not pay a premium price to watch the New York Jets battle the New York Giants in a real annual game instead of a meaningless exhibition match-up?

Pennsylvania loves its football and the Steagle Showdown, the Philadelphia Eagles against the Pittsburgh Steelers would be an easy sell out.

Imagine the price the politico types would pay to put their well padded butts in the stands for an annual Beltway Battle between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins?

Sure some teams say they have no natural rivals. But, like a radiated Spock once said, "the good of the many outweighs the good of the few."

In the days before the daze of big market teams battling small market teams in seasons sans a salary cap the NFL used to understand that motto.

So some teams will have to stretch the imagination to find a fiend, but after a few years surely fans will develop an animosity towards a new foe.

It's always easy to make enemies so lets look at the lineup for rivalry week.

First the easy ones, the games that sell themselves—Jets vs Giants, Raiders vs 49ers, Redskins vs Ravens, and Eagles vs Steelers.

The Show Me State would love a Battle for Missouri between the St Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Call it the Harry Truman Cup and hope the Rams do not run home to Los Angles.

How about a Texas Tango or the Sam Houston shoot out showcasing the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans? It would be an ode to oil Jerry Jones would love to sell.

Tune in to the Fading Florida Ball club bowl featuring the Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If its played in Jag land they might even draw twenty thousand or so sun bored souls.

And don't forget the John Dillinger Duel with the Chicago Bears vs Indianapolis Colts.  

Its gets a bit tougher after that but these games will do. 

Start with the Seattle Seahawks vs San Diego Chargers in an old AFC West show down and why not try some southern cooking with the Tennessee Titans vs the Carolina Panthers?

Two mega cities of the south, South Beach vs Hotlanta, would meet with the Miami Dolphins vs Atlanta Falcons.

The wild west would be showcased in with the Arizona Cardinals vs the Denver Broncos. Maybe make the referees dress in Wyatt Earp garb.

What about a Rust Belt Rumble between the Cincinnati Bengals vs Detroit Lions? It is Ohio vs Michigan anyway.

How about a Lake Mistakes Bowl featuring the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills? The tickets best be cheap for that shoot out.

The Mississippi is a mighty rolling river and it connects the New Orleans Saints to the Minnesota Vikings for the River Boat Bowl.

Maybe a Mark Twain reenactment could flip the coin for the Mississippi Melee.

Which leaves us with the lonely New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers playing in the Game of the Great North, the Cold Bowl, or the Clam Chowder Cheese Challenge.

Some of the teams have tough match ups, but the beauty of having natural rivalries playing annually would make for a wonderful week end of football.  

But even the Clam Chowder Cheese Challenge has a bit of a ring to it, no?