They're the joys of watching sports.
You don't have to be a fan of either team to be awestruck by your television. Nor do you have to know a fan of either team. These are the things that make sports great.
These things are rivalries.
Here are the top 11 current rivalries across the sporting world.
No. 11 - College basketball: Kansas vs. Oklahoma vs. Texas
The Big 12 looks as if it will have three top-10 teams for years to come. These three not only beef up the conference, but all three were Final Four threats last season.
No. 10 - Hockey: Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Wings are aging, the Avs lost one of the best goalies of all time to retirement, but the fire of this clash will forever burn. Since Claude Lemieux smashed Chris Draper's face into the boards during the Wings' 1996-97 championship season, hockey fans across the globe have been tuning in to this battle.
No. 9 - Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings
The Lakers always win while the Kings seemingly always have the best team. But time after time, the Kings fall to the Lakers in a seven-game thriller. The quotes before this game usually produce a textbook of bulletin-board material.
No. 8 - Football: Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders
The Monday night game two weeks ago was a joke, but both teams have been in the AFC's elite for the past five seasons. This game always brings out the dirtiness of both teams.
No. 7 - Football: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Green Bay Packers
The young vs. the old - that best describes this rivalry. If there is one team that stands in the Packers' way to an NFC championship, it's the Bucs. The Bucs run into the same problem with the Pack attack.
No. 6 - College basketball: Duke vs. Maryland
Name two teams you normally slate into the Final Four before even seeing the bracket. Despite "down" years for both squads in 2003, the tension between the schools made all three of their games great.
No. 5 - College football: Miami (Fla.) vs. Florida State
Wide left. If you didn't think the clash was big before last season's missed field goal, you were wrong. The teams are consistently in the top 10, and each time they square off (this weekend provides the matchup), ESPN Classic is bound to pick up the game.
No. 4 - Soccer: Rangers vs. Celtic
Yes, soccer does feature hatred on the field. Religion fuels this one (Protestants vs. Catholics). Typical contests, better known as the "Old Firm," have diehard fans separated by armed guards and barbed wire. Who knows if the guards follow fans home as both teams are based in Glasgow, Scotland?
No. 3 - College basketball: North Carolina vs. Duke
It's college hoops' biggest rivalry. Dick Vitale, college basketball's most heralded announcer, never misses this contest. Regardless of team records, either team's season will be a "failure" with a loss in one of the season's two games.
No. 2 - College football: Michigan vs. Ohio State
Bo vs. Woody to Lloyd vs. John, similar to the UNC-Duke contest, the loser in this game's season has been tarnished. Former OSU coach Woody Hayes once went for a two-point conversion with his team up by several touchdowns in the closing minutes of a game. His response as to why? "Because I couldn't go for three."
No. 1 - Baseball: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
It's been called the war on the diamond. Not for one season has this rivalry died down. Babe Ruth was sold from Boston to New York for money early in his career. Since then, Boston has not won the World Series. They blame the Yankees, who haven't stopped winning fall classics.
Christopher M. Mackinder is The State News sports editor. If you think he missed a rivalry, e-mail him at mackind8@msu.edu.
