The Worst "Rivalries" in Sports Today

Rivalries are one of the many things that make sports so great. From the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball to the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels in NCAA college basketball, every single sport in the country—and, hell, every single sport in the world—has at least one or two major rivalries that make things interesting every time two teams play. But these days, there are also a number of rivalries that have become embarrassingly one-sided. That is to say that the teams involved in the rivalry are only rivals because history says they are. But their recent match-ups suggest otherwise.

The Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, who are set to play at Lambeau Field today, are a good example of this. They have been divisional rivals since 1933 and have the longest-running rivalry in the NFL. But since the 2000-01 NFL season, the Packers are 22-4—yes, 22-4!—against the Lions. Green Bay has been so dominant that their rivalry with the Lions has suffered and people don't really even consider them rivals anymore. But the Packers and Lions aren't the only two teams who have a bad rivalry right now. So as they prepare to take the field in an attempt to rekindle their rivalry, we've put together a list of The Worst "Rivalries" in Sports Today.

15. Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears

History of the rivalry: This is the oldest rivalry in the NFL (it's not the longest-running, though, as the two teams didn't meet in the strike-shortened 1982 season). It started all the way back in 1921 and includes 186 regular-season and playoff games between the two teams.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 18 wins for the Packers versus just 9 for the Bears

Much like they've done to the Lions in recent years, the Packers have dominated the Bears. Outside of winning 18 of 27 games since 2000, Green Bay has also won six games in a row against Chicago leading up to this season. They have won the NFC North division six times since 2000 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, and 2012) and captured a Super Bowl in 2010. Chicago has had some success in the NFC North with division titles in 2005, 2006, and 2010. But they don't have a Super Bowl ring like Green Bay does. Advantage Packers.

14. Tennessee and Vanderbilt

History of the rivalry: The Volunteers and Commodores are both founding members of the SEC. So they've been playing against one another since 1892.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 11 wins for Tennessee versus just two for Vanderbilt

Any rivalry featuring Tennessee—including Tennessee/Alabama's "Third Sunday in October," Tennessee/Florida, and Tennessee/Kentucky—sucks today. The Volunteers have gone from one of the best teams in the SEC to one of the worst. But somehow, they haven't lost their stranglehold on Vanderbilt, who lost six straight games to the Volunteers before finally winning one last year. We're all for SEC football. But when this matchup airs in November, count us out.

13. Texas Rangers and Houston Astros

History of the rivalry: The "Lone Star Series," or the "Silver Boot Series," was conceived back in 2001, four years after the start of interleague play in Major League Baseball. The winner of the series was given a size-15 cowboy boot every year.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 59 wins for the Rangers versus just 32 for the Astros

One day, this series might get good again, especially since the Rangers and Astros play in the same division now. But at the present moment, the Astros are absolutely awful. So we don't expect the "Lone Star Series" to have any impact for many, many years.

12. Georgia and Georgia Tech

History of the rivalry: Located only 70 miles apart, the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets have been rivals since 1893 when they squared off for the first time. Their rivalry has been nicknamed "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate."
Head-to-head record since 2000: 11 wins for Georgia versus just two for Georgia Tech

To Georgia Tech's credit, they have actually played Georgia pretty tough in the last decade or so. Sure, they lost 42-10 last year and got drubbed 51-7 in 2002. But all of their other losses have been by 17 points or less with a number of them being single-digit losses. However, at this point in time, the Yellow Jackets simply can't keep up with their SEC counterparts. And that has routinely turned "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" into a good, old-fashioned ass kicking year in and year out.

11. Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers

History of the rivalry: Back in 1978, the Clippers—then called the San Diego Clippers—and the Lakers played for the first time ever. The Clippers won, and Clippers owner Irv Levin infamously remarked, "This is a good way to start off a rivalry." They moved to L.A. six years later and a true rivalry was born.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 34 wins for the Lakers versus just 17 for the Clippers

In the last year, this rivalry has actually turned into a pretty decent one. But you can't erase history in one year. Over the course of the last 35 years, the Clippers have beaten the Lakers in their season series just twice. They've also only put together better seasons than the Lakers five times. And, of course, the Lakers have won 10 NBA championships since this rivalry began, while the Clippers have only managed to win one measly division title—and that was last year. One day these two might be on somewhat equal footing. But for now, the Lakers continue to reign supreme, and it's hard to even call this a true "rivalry." Although, the Clippers have a chance at changing that this season. Have you seen the Lakers team picture?

10. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State

History of the rivalry: The Sooners and the Cowboys have been playing the "Bedlam Series" since 1904. The football teams have played more than 100 games total now.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 10 wins for Oklahoma versus just three for Oklahoma State

This rivalry has never really been a rivalry at all. To date, the Sooners have an amazing 83-17-7 record in the "Bedlam Series" and have only suffered back-to-back defeats to the Cowboys on three occasions since World War II. Oddly enough, Oklahoma State did beat Oklahoma in 2001 and 2002 when they were unranked and Oklahoma was ranked in the top five in the country. But outside of that, they haven't enjoyed any success against Oklahoma in a long, long time.

9. England and Scotland

History of the rivalry: England and Scotland have been playing soccer against one another for a looooooong time now. Way back in 1872, they played their first match, which makes their rivalry one of the oldest in the world. Scotland has traditionally put a lot of stock into their ability—or inability—to beat England on the pitch.
Head-to-head record since 2000: One win for England versus 0 for Scotland

To be fair to Scotland, the win-loss record listed above is actually pretty deceiving. After playing annual matches for years, England and Scotland abruptly stopped playing every year in 1989. There has been a lot of talk about bringing the annual match back, though, and the two countries just played a friendly in August. But Scotland might want to think twice before they agree to that. Since World War II, Scotland has only won 12 matches against England. Also, England now considers countries like Germany to be bigger rivals than Scotland. So while this was once one of the most heated rivalries in soccer—the teams played 111 times between 1872 and the present day—it's pretty much fizzled out at this point.

8. Harvard and Yale

History of the rivalry: The Crimson and the Bulldogs—who call their annual match-up "The Game" just like Ohio State and Michigan—have been playing since 1945. But their rivalry actually goes all the way back to 1875 when they played their first game against one another back when the sport of football was still being developed.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 11 wins for Harvard versus just two for Yale

Although the Harvard/Yale game is one of the most intense college football rivalries in the country, it gets very little love nationally. Part of that is because of how lopsided the rivalry has been in recent years. They've played a few close games since 2000. But for the most part, Harvard has dominated the annual game and won the last six games against Yale. What's up, Bulldogs?!

7. Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals

History of the rivalry: These two NHL teams haven't always been rivals. But over the last 25 years, they have met in the playoffs on eight separate occasions, including their epic 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals series that went to seven games, which has resulted in a pretty intense rivalry. We expect it to pick up even more now that they're both playing in the Metropolitan Division.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 51 wins for the Penguins versus just 34 for the Capitals (the teams have also played to a tie twice)

While the Penguins and Capitals have played one another in the playoffs eight times since the early 1990s, the Capitals have been victorious just once. During their 2009 playoff series against Pittsburgh, they were actually up 2-0 in the series before eventually losing 6-2 in Game 7. Additionally, the Penguins have won one Stanley Cup and two conference championships since 2000, while the Capitals have never won a Cup and have only won one conference championship back during the 1997-98 NHL season. So before we can cement this as a true rivalry, the Caps need to show and prove that they can keep pace with the Penguins.

6. St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs

History of the rivalry: St. Louis and Chicago have been rivals on the baseball field since 1875 when the St. Louis Brown Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings used to do battle. The rivalry is often referred to as the "Route 66 rivalry."
Head-to-head record since 2000: 123 wins for the Cardinals versus 109 for the Cubs

Did you even realize that this was a rivalry before we brought it up? Probably not. That's because the Cubs have been so bad in recent years that no one even cares who their biggest rival is. The Cubs haven't been anywhere near as successful as the Cards in recent years. While the Cubs have finished below .500 in eight of the last 13 years and made the MLB Playoffs just three times, the Cardinals have missed the postseason just four times and won the World Series twice. Not much of a rivalry these days, is it?

5. D.C. United and New York Red Bulls

History of the rivalry: Since 2002, United and the Red Bulls have played at least three times every year in what is called the Atlantic Cup. They have also played numerous times in the U.S. Open Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 26 wins for United versus 16 for the Red Bulls (the teams have also played to a draw on 10 occasions).

The rivalry between these two teams is something that's great for Major League Soccer. But unfortunately, it's been pretty lopsided when you consider how much D.C. United has accomplished versus how much the Red Bulls have not accomplished. Since 2000, D.C. United has won nine Atlantic Cups to just five for the Red Bulls. D.C. United has also won four MLS Cups, four Supporters' Shields, and three U.S. Open Cups. The Red Bulls have won none of those.

4. Ohio State and Michigan

History of the rivalry: The Buckeyes and Wolverines football teams have taken part in "The Game"—the nickname given to the annual match-up between the two teams—108 times.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 10 wins for Ohio State versus just three for Michigan

Off the field, the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is just as alive as ever. In fact, back in 2011, a 10-year-old Ohio State fan who was battling cancer started calling his disease "Michigan" and, after beating cancer, started telling people that he "beat Michigan." So it's clear that people still take the Ohio State/Michigan match-up very seriously. But on the field, the last decade-plus has been kind of a bummer.

Outside of the 2011 game that saw the Wolverines win 40-34, Ohio State has won eight of the last nine in the series and looks poised to win another one this year. Michigan does lead the overall series 58-44-6 right now. But Ohio State's dominance in recent years—and their national championship in 2002—have put them well ahead of Michigan at the moment.

3. New York Yankees and New York Mets

History of the rivalry: The term "Subway Series" actually dates all the way back to the early 1900s when the New York Yankees, New York Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers used to play each other. But in more recent years, the Yankees and Mets have routinely played between four and six games every year since 1997 as a part of MLB's interleague play. They also met once in the World Series back in 2000.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 51 wins for the Yankees versus 36 for the Mets

To be honest, we could have put a number of "rivalries" involving the Mets here (the Mets have also had pretty one-sided "rivalries" with the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies in recent years). But we chose the Yankees because they are obviously the Mets biggest rival. However, over the years, the Mets have struggled to keep pace with their crosstown foes (they've won just three season series against them in 17 years). While the Mets have limped to eight sub-.500 seasons since 2000, the Yankees have won two World Series titles, four AL pennants, and 10 AL East division titles.

Does that mean people don't still enjoy seeing the Yankees and Mets play? No. But it does mean that this rivalry isn't anywhere near as awesome as it could be if the Mets could ever get their act together and put a quality team out on the field.

2. Army and Navy

History of the rivalry: The Army and Navy football teams have played each other every single year since 1930. But their rivalry actually extends back to 1890, and they have met 113 times on the football field. The winner of the game is awarded the Thompson Cup.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 12 wins for Navy versus just one for Army

The last two match-ups between Army and Navy have actually been relatively entertaining. In 2011, Navy won by six, and last year they won by just four. But since 2000, the Midshipmen have routinely won the Army-Navy game by an average of about 18 points with a handful of the games being blowouts (Navy won 34-0 in 2008, which was the first shutout in the Army-Navy series since 1978). Obviously, the one-sidedness of the last 10 Army-Navy games doesn't make the rivalry any less intense, and we don't expect these two teams to stop playing anytime soon. But when is this going to be an actual rivalry again as opposed to a game that's played solely because of tradition?

1. Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns

History of the rivalry: The two teams have met more than 120 times since they first played back in 1950. They have the oldest rivalry in the AFC, and it's sometimes referred to as the "Turnpike Rivalry" because of how close the Steelers and Browns are located to one another.
Head-to-head record since 2000: 23 wins for the Steelers versus just four for the Browns

Since the 2000-01 NFL season, the Browns have finished above .500 just twice (2002 and 2007). Meanwhile, the Steelers have finished below .500 just once in 2003. They've also won two Super Bowls in that time span and won 12 playoff games. So it should come as no surprise to hear that the Steelers/Browns rivalry has suffered over the course of the last decade.