Every superstar also wants to shine when they play at Madison Square Garden. Does that mean the Knicks rivalries with everybody is huge?
And I don't what you want to do with the websters definition. With that everybody competes with each other for the same goal so no rivalry can be bigger than any other.

To think that the Lakers-Celtics comes close to the Yankees-Red Sox is ridiculous.

you can thank the media for that, particularly from the year 2000+

well we all have our own opinion, and theres NO better championship rivalry in all of american professional sports than Lakers/Celtics
and with that being said, how can any rivalry rival a championship bout lol?

This post was edited by macfinn on Feb 19 2011 11:24pm

This doesn't include soccer rivalries because I don't know enough about soccer...

1) USA vs Russia (during the Cold War, these countries competed over everything and sports was no different. Every meeting between American and Soviet athletes, primarily in the Olympics, was highly anticipated and had real political relevance. This rivalry has carried on in the post-soviet era)

2) Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics (all the factors are there: the history, the dominance of both teams in basketball and the hate between the players and fans)

3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens (neither team is dominant today, but the history is overwhelming. This rivalry used to be all about English vs French Canada, giving it a political relevance. This rivalry goes back nearly a century)

3) NY Yankees vs Boston Red Sox (the most intense rivalry in baseball. Both teams are competitive and since they play in the same division they see a lot of each other and compete for playoff spots)

4) Canada vs USA hockey (two gold medal showdowns in the last 3 Olympic Games, not to mention the big games in other international tournaments)

5) New England Patriots vs Indianapolis Colts (the two best QB's in the nfl going at it always attracts a big audience and lots of hype, making for the best modern football rivalry)

This post was edited by Paran0id on Feb 20 2011 12:09am

Might not even be top 5 in the sport..

Bears Packers,
the NFC east teams with each other,
etc.

West Ham - Millwall ofc
it's very lucky if only 100 people die when those 2 meet
usually its 300+

perhaps.. but nfl isn't great for rivalries, there are probably lots of college football rivalries that are more significant than any nfl rivalry.

that's because college teams and fans take it too personally.

NFL teams have to act on a professional level.

World Football:

Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona Biggest, most historical, most watched, oldest, and most beautiful rivalry of all times

Inter Vs. Milan, Inter Vs Juventus

EPL The Big Four vs. Each other

Mexico Vs. USA

Messi Vs. CR7

Basketball:

Lakers Vs Boston

Kobe Vs Lebron

Baseball:

Angels Vs. Dodgers

Dodgers vs. Yankees

Yankees Vs Boston

Old rivalry: Whitesox vs. Blacksox

Tennis:

Pete Sampras Vs Andres Agassi

Serena Williams Vs. Venus Williams

Nadal Vs. Federer

Rap:

Tupac Vs Biggie

This post was edited by ZK9GT on Feb 22 2011 09:10am

respekt

I seriously lol'd