Ranking 6 Sports Rivalries That Always Deliver

With the college football season underway, passionate fan bases will be packing college stadiums wearing team colors. The buzz becomes even bigger if it’s a rivalry game like Ohio State vs. Michigan, Alabama vs. Auburn, or Army vs. Navy. 

Wondering what separates a good rivalry from being one of the greatest ever? 

These are the ones built from fan bases absolutely despising each other, decades' worth of history, or just bad blood. Any game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys or Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels always has that big game feel no matter what their records are. Checking out the sports betting odds is optional.

Here’s a look at the six iconic rivalries in sports and why they’re considered among the greatest ever. 

What Makes a Rivalry Great?

There are so many great rivalries that were seriously considered, but like with an NFL GM trimming a roster down to 53 players, there were some tough calls to make. We weighed several factors, including:

• Longevity of the rivalry
• High stakes
• Memorable moments
• Hatred between fan bases 
• National/international appeal

Ranking The Six Greatest Sports Rivalries

6. Jannik Sinner  vs. Carlos Alcaraz 

Whether we’re talking the US Open or Wimbledon, tennis has seen its share of epic rivalries. Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Connors, and Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal are just a few. However, we’re going with a more contemporary reference: 25-year-old Jannik Sinner vs. 23-year-old Carlos Alcaraz. We went with Sinner/Alcaraz due to the fact that their head-to-head showdowns are developing into something truly special. Sinner is currently ranked No. 1 on the ATP Tour, and Alcaraz is No. 3.

Last year, they went head-to-head in three out of the four Grand Slam finals with Alcaraz winning two of them. The French Open final is the one that stands out the most being that it took five hours, five sets, and included a fifth-set tiebreaker. The match ended up being a 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) Alcaraz victory.

5. Eagles vs. Cowboys 

How many sports rivalries do you know that include a Bounty Bowl as part of its history? When these NFC East rivals met on Thanksgiving Day in 1989, Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan supposedly offered “a bounty” to any player who took out Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas, who happened to be a former Eagle. It’s hard to forget about the “Spitgate” game that opened the 2025 season at Lincoln Financial Field. Before either team ran a play, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spit in the face of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and got ejected.    

The fans despise each other even more. It’s probably not a good idea to remind Eagles fans how the Cowboys hold the 75-59 series advantage. The 2026 schedule includes an Eagles vs. Cowboys Thanksgiving Day showdown in Big D.

4. Army vs. Navy 

When talking about the greatest college football rivalries, most would likely put Michigan vs. Ohio State or Texas vs. Oklahoma before the Army vs. Navy game that dates back to 1890. This annual December event between the American service academies is one of the most storied rivalries in sports. The game can also determine the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, awarded based on the season series among Army, Navy, and Air Force. Besides being nationally televised on CBS right before college bowl season begins, the President of the United States is occasionally among those in attendance. 

The  Army vs. Navy game is unique with many of its traditions, one of which is how both teams come together at the end of the game to sing each other’s anthem. Call it a friendly but highly competitive rivalry, with Navy holding a 64-55-7 advantage.

3. Celtics vs. Lakers

Forget about the regular season games dating back to the 1948-49 season when the Lakers called Minneapolis home. Add the NBA Playoffs to the conversation, and this is truly one of the NBA’s defining rivalries, as the Celtics and Lakers have met in the NBA Finals 12 times, dating back to 1959. 

There was the 1969 matchup in which Bill Russell’s Celtics defeated Wilt Chamberlain’s Lakers in seven games. It’s hard to forget about the 1980s when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird faced each other three times in the NBA Finals, with Magic’s Lakers winning twice. 

The two most recent NBA Finals between these franchises came during the 2008 and 2010 seasons when the Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles won the most recent one in seven games. 

The Celtics hold both the regular season (169-135) and postseason (43-31) edge.

2. Duke vs. North Carolina

When it comes to college basketball rivalries, it’s hard to top the Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels. This one has featured a who’s who of basketball stars that’s way too long to list, but you may have heard of Michael Jordan and Grant Hill. The campuses are 10 miles away from each other.

No matter which side of this ACC rivalry fence you’re on, Duke and UNC are college basketball blue bloods and are regularly included in the national championship conversation. Besides being absolute legends, former coaches Dean Smith (879) and Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) are two of the winningest college basketball coaches ever.

Even though the schools have been playing each other since 1920, they’ve only met in the NCAA Tournament once back in 2022. It was a Final Four game that UNC won 81-77. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 119-106. 

1. Yankees vs. Red Sox

This rivalry dates back to the days of the Boston Americans and New York Highlanders. Yankees Stadium and Fenway Park are about 200 miles apart. Since the early 1900s, the AL East teams have played 2,000-plus games, making it an American sports rivalry that’s hard to top.

The 2004 American League Championship Series was a high point for the Red Sox and a forgettable moment for the Yanks. New York held a commanding 3-0 series advantage over Boston, which included winning Game 3 19-8. At the time, no MLB team had come back to win a best-of-seven series after being on the brink of elimination. After losing a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, New York lost the series 4-3. 

The Red Sox went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series – the franchise’s first since 1918 – effectively lifting the Curse of the Bambino. In 1919, for some reason, the Red Sox decided to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Boston won three World Series with Ruth, including 1918. Ruth won four more World Series titles in the Bronx.   

Which Rivalry Has the Biggest Stakes?

It’s crystal clear that every rivalry listed above has huge stakes. Besides being played in front of sold-out crowds, the games are typically televised nationally. Duke vs. North Carolina games get the ESPN primetime window while the first Eagles-Cowboys game is on the Monday Night Football schedule. Both Lakers and Celtics regular season games are on the NBA’s national TV slate.

As far as the biggest stakes go, based on recent history, Sinner vs. Alcaraz matches have the biggest stakes being that they’re playing for tennis’ biggest prizes.   

Why Yankees vs. Red Sox Is Hard To Top

In reality, we could make a strong argument that all six rivalries highlighted above are deserving of the No. 1 spot. 

However, it’s hard to slide the Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry out of the top spot being that it dates back to the early 1900s, and stars like Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, and Aaron Judge have played significant roles. These days, every regular season game carries significant meaning as both teams are in the thick of the American League pennant chase. We’ll soon find out if a Boston vs. New York Wild Card showdown is going to be the next great chapter in this legendary rivalry.