The sixteen original essays in this collection cover influential and famous rivalries from a variety of sports, including track and field, golf, boxing, basketball, tennis, ice skating, baseball, football, soccer, and more. The essays are diverse, but together they illustrate what is common to any rivalry: equally matched opponents that often have decidedly different backgrounds, styles, and personalities. These differences may center on race and culture, political and societal ideologies, personality, geography, or religion—a mix intensified by fans and the media. From highly publicized and emotionally charged individual competitions to bitterly fought team contests, Rivals illuminates what one-of-a-kind opponents and the passion they inspire tell us about ourselves and our society.

Rivals! The Ten Greatest American Sports Rivalries of the 20th Century presents the most memorable rivalries in over a hundred years of American sports history. Examines ten of the greatest American sports rivalries of the past century, relating them to their broader historical context Includes the rivalries between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Duke and North Carolina, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, and more Draws upon the most recent works of sport historians, as well as hundreds of books, articles, and newspaper accounts Reveals a deep understanding of American sports history and American popular culture Features 30 images that bring the rivalries vividly to life

They excite and inspire us, frustrate and disappoint us - when great sporting rivals meet, we live each moment with them as their fortunes fluctuate. During the past few decades, we have witnessed many superbly matched opponents in a wide range of sports. Who can forget the marathon matches played by John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, the nail-biting ...

UCLA vs. USC covers the rivalry between the schools in all sports since their first competition in the late 1920s. The stories march through the decades telling the tales of great athletes and great achievements. Women's sports, too! Full color throughout with more than 400 photos, many rarely seen.

Any sport is at its most glorious when two fierce and equal rivals face off against each other. It is the never ending drive of two rivals to outdo each other that often helps raise the bar of excellence in that sport. There are some sports rivalries that everyone knows about, like the Federer Nadal rivalry or the Real Madrid Barcelona rivalry. Great rivalries in sports are not restricted to only tennis or football. Every sport has the story of a great rivalry to tell. Do you know what the greatest rivalry in Formula 1 is or Basketball? What about Rugby? Besides the aforementioned 'Fedal' and 'El Classico' rivalries, the book also tells the story of the greatest rivalry from each of the globally popular sports. How did these rivalries come into being? What are the high points of these rivalries, key matches and statistics? Read about how a dictator was responsible for the start of the 'El Classico' rivalry, how a rugby rivalry drove New Zealand to the brink of a civil war, a tennis rivalry as great as Federer-Nadal rivalry that tennis has almost forgotten, a cricket rivalry that predates even the Ashes, a chess world championship match between two of the greatest chess players that lasted 5 months and lots more.

Sports are unpredictable. They?re wacky. They can be totally off-the-wall! This title highlights some of the most memorable tales and traditions from sports history and is brought to life with exciting detail. Informative sidebars offer even more stories. You can also find a glossary, additional resources, and more! This title is a must-read for any sports fan. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.