Rivals

During last two weekends, the Atlanta Braves played their biggest rival team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

There's something extra special about playing your rivals. There is a little extra electricity in the air. Players, coaches and fans are pumped up. 

And when the Braves play the Phillies, you know you are always going to get their best. And it always seems like the Phillies' Big Three - Turner, Schwarber and Harper - come up in a big spot when the game is on the line. 

Sometimes it goes your way; sometimes it doesn't. The last two weekends went well for the Braves.

During the most recent weekend series, I thought back to my coaching days and remembered how it felt to face off with our rival teams. 

The team I coached, the Concord Choppers. basically had three main rival teams (and honestly it was two because the third team was a subset of the first). 

The nights we played those teams were extra special. Our boys were fired up and so were the rivals. I'm sure there was a lot of jibber-jabber between the players at school, on the bus, on the playground and certainly when we got to the ballpark.

And, on a smaller scale, like it is with the Braves and their rivals, these teams had some really good players that always seemed to come to the plate in a key moment. Part of building the rivalry is knowing the regular participants.

It has been nearly 16 years since the Choppers last played and I can still remember the intensity of those nights. 

Think of your own favorite sports team (college or pro). Who is its biggest rival? Do you feel the intensity of the competition when they face off?

What are some of the great rivalries of all-time? 

• Duke vs. Carolina college basketball
• Yankees vs. Red Sox in MLB 
• Celtics vs. Lakers in the NBA

When I was a kid growing up, rooting for the Oakland Raiders, it was the Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. But that rivalry petered out when the Raiders moved and then fell on hard times. 

Later, the Cowboys vs. the 49ers was the big game. Later still, it was the Patriots vs. the Colts during the Brady vs. Manning era. What would be the big match-up now? It's hard for me to identify. 

Golf and tennis have featured some great head-to-head match-ups over the years. 

College football used to have some great traditional rivalries, too, but I fear many of those were lost in the re-shuffling of conferences. There are still some good ones, however. 

Winning is good, of course. Nothing compares to getting a win over your rival. It just counts as a win like others in the standings. But, you put a little mental star next to it. 

JG