Best Rivalry Ever?

In midst of the Penguins/Flyers game tonight, which is also a home and home series, one starts to wonder if this is the best rivalry not only in hockey, but in sports.

Where else can you find two major cities in the same state who despise each other. Let's be honest, there is no brotherly love in this series. These teams have met in the playoffs the last two years and have supplied some of the most intense games in sports.

It's not like this is a recently renewed rivalry either. Just look back to the beginning of the decade with the 5 overtime game when Ron Tugnutt made 70 saves against Philly before the Flyers netted the game winner and eventually the series.

You could argue the Red Sox/Yankees, but that has only been serious since 2004. Remember that was when Boston came back and beat the Yankees in seven games and Curt Schilling's bloody sock became the most famous sock ever. Sure the two teams hate each other, but it doesn't seem like in a pointless game in the middle of July, these fans really get into it.

Where do you want to go in the NFL? Bears/Packers? Neither team has been overly successful as of late. Is it great to watch these two teams play a game in December with the weather being frigid? Absolutely, but the intensity of the rivalry amongst the fans just is not there.

Colts/Patriots? Nah. That is just Manning vs. Brady and lets see who can score more points. Was it cool when Manning finally beat the Pats to get to the Super Bowl...I guess, but is it a rivalry? Hardly.

How about the NBA? Lakers and Celtics. Nope. Why? The Celtics essentially went George Stienbrenner to get their 'ship in 08.

These players haven't gone through seasons playing against each other. The fans, while they might not like the other team and could be impartial to the other teams' fans, they don't HATE the opponent.

This is what Pittsburgh/Philly gives you. These teams, because of their successes, mainly stay intact. Players learn to have a disliking for the other team. The fans in both situations are ridiculous. Packed arena's booing the opponents star players every time they touch the puck. Not just for the first five minutes of the game, not when the player scores a goal, or commits a penalty, but from the second they get on the ice and touch the puck in the first period, all the way through the third period.

These arenas aren't for the faint hearted. The language gets rough. Pittsburgh HATES Philly and Philly HATES Pittsburgh and that is what makes this rivalry easily the best in hockey, and one of the best in all sports.