KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Some rivals eternal, others shift over time
IF ONLY it were as easy as it used to be. Back in the day, year after year, the Giants and the Dodgers would play each other 22 times a year, 11 times at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan and 11 times at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and there was little doubt about this: They were each other’s greatest rivals. Period. That’s how it was in 1903 and 1923 and 1953. Hell, it’s that way today, in California.
It’s not like that anymore. I thought of that as I spent three days in Kansas City this week. We think of the Red Sox as the Yankees’ eternal rivals, and they are in a sense. But even as ridiculously intense as the Boston-New York think got a decade ago, you could make an argument it never reached the kind of blind hatred the Yankees and Royals shared from 1976-80.
I remember asking Willie Randolph a question about that rivalry a few years ago. Willie is about at affable as they come. By the time he was done talking about Hal McRae, he was spitting fire. That’s a rivalry.
It’s part of what makes hockey so cool now, because no matter who the Rangers, Islanders and Devils dislike in the moment, they always despise each other even more. So they belong to the Dodgers-Giants category.
Who are our other teams’ real rivals? I think this merits a team-by-team breakdown.
YANKEES
Current rival: The Red Sox, though it’s a fraction of what it used to be. Nowadays it’s mostly muscle memory and geography. Though if we ever got a wild-card game involving these two this year,
that would be something to talk about. Past rivals: Royals (1976-85), two great teams who detested each other. Dodgers (1941-56; 1977-81), postseason familiarity bred contempt; Giants (1920-23), the McGraw men were what the Yankees became: New York’s top dogs.
METS
Current rival: The Nationals, though in recent years (excepting last year) this has been something of a hammer-and-nail relationship. The presence of Daniel Murphy (and their residence atop the NL East) probably ensures it’ll stay like this a while.
Past rivals: Braves (1998-2001), though the Braves usually prevailed in the end; Cardinals (1985-89, 2000, 2006), who were the primary reason there was no ’80s dynasty; Phillies (2005-08), who became what the ’06 Mets thought they would be.
GIANTS
Current rival: The Cowboys, though the unique thing about the Giants is they essentially have a permanent three-team rotation among their NFC East rivals. Dallas just happens to be the fury of the moment, and also the Opening Night foe.
Past rivals: Eagles (any given year) and Washington (any given year) be- cause every now and then they’re more hate-able even than the Cowboys; Patriots (2007-2011), because what’s more fun than beating Bradylichick when it matters most?
JETS
Current rival: The Patriots, though for years and years the teams met twice a year and hardly anyone noticed. Then Bill Parcells moved here and Bill Belichick moved there and Tom Brady arrived and Spygate and ... well, this defines hatred. Past rivals: Bills (right now) again, mostly a benign relationship for a half century until Rex Ryan showed up; Colts (1969-84), because Baltimore never forgot Super Bowl III; Raiders (1967-70), because they were the co-kings of the AFL.
KNICKS
Current rival: LeBron James, since the team has been so bad for so long and finds itself in spasms of prosperity comparing itself to whichever team the King happens to be playing for, whether Cavaliers or Heat or Cavs again.
Past rivals: Bulls (19921996), maybe the best non-intramural rivalry of all in any sport; Heat (19952000), because there was such disdain on both sides and nobody was shy about showing it; Celtics (1967-74), but fewer and fewer remember that.
NETS
Current rival: The Knicks, because is there really any team in the NBA that thinks enough about the Nets to consider them a rival? The Knicks are still the kings of Brooklyn, and until that changes the Nets will be fighting an uphill battle.
Past rivals: Pistons (2003-05), who engaged the Nets in some amazing postseason confrontations; Celtics (2003), whom the Nets had to beat in order to qualify for their first NBA Finals; Pacers (1967-75), because they were the cokings of the ABA.