Rivalries, particularly in sports, are typically a hotly contested, deeply passionate and long standing conflict between two or more teams (and often, their fans). Baseball has its rivalries in the Yankees and Red Sox and the Giants and Dodgers. While in basketball we have the Lakers and the Celtics. But what fuels a rivalry? Are we just born with a competitive fire or is it accumulated through our experiences and those around us?
I grew up watching the Lakers and sadly, the Dodgers. I can vividly recall sitting in the den at my grandparent's house in Pasadena while the Lakers played and Chick Hearn announced the games. To say that I was born a Lakers fan would not be far from the truth. However, being raised by a single mom, who is far from the avid sports enthusiast, I developed a competitive nature on my own. I always want to win, no matter what my role is in the sport I'm playing or the sport I'm watching. Though it is perhaps unreasonable to expect your team to win each year, how can we as sports fans think any other way? How can we not demand excellence? I simply despise losing and I sometimes wonder how highly paid athletes seem to accept and tolerate mediocrity. When someone beats me, I challenge myself to take my effort up to the next level and if I'm going to lose, they are going to work for it.
Perhaps there are more eloquent ways to describe it, but without a great deal of sugarcoating, I simply dislike certain teams. That's what a rivalry is all about, passion. So to the Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Chargers, Los Angels Dodgers, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Broncos I don't like you, never have and never will. Rivalries never die!
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