Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

SportsLink

UO at WSU: Pregame No. 2

COUGARS

So what constitutes a rivalry?

Is it geographic? Is it historic? Is it something else?

A couple of notes on this on-line column the past couple days got me thinking about the nature of rivalries, and what part of our nature feeds them.

There's little doubt there are two rivalry games going on 8-miles apart today in the Palouse.

The four Pac-10 Northwest schools don't like each other much – that's partly geography, partly history – so each time they get together the games have special significance. But Oregon transcends that for Cougar fans – hell, the UO athletic director is a former Coug – and even more so for the Husky faithful.

Oregon reciprocates with UW – watch I-5 on game weekends – but not as much with WSU. Sure there's passion, just not as much.

So is it a rivalry? Let's call it a secondary one and leave it at that.

How about the game going on down the road in Moscow? I posted a link yesterday to a Boise State student paper story that basically said Idaho isn't BSU's rival anymore, the Vandals just are good enough to be a rival.

And that brings up an important part of some rivalries: The teams have to be competitive at least occasionally. If one team wins 9 of 10 games, and does it for a couple decades, many rivalries fade – I say many because some, like WSU-UW, will never be anything but white hot just because of their circumstances.

Boise State feels its rivals now are the other stars of the WAC, the Fresno State Bulldogs. But Fresno is down this year – losing in Logan, Utah is evidence of that – and the Vandals are up. So have the Vandals rekindled the rivalry? Today will tell. If they start fast, if the Kibbie Dome rocks, if they pull an upset – or even almost pull an upset – yes, it's back. But if it's a rout, the Dome crowd sleeps through the second half – or leaves – then the rivalry will have to wait until next year.

But there are other types of football rivalries, and I wrote about one this week. Conferences and regions have rivalries.

The football is better in the South, and the Southeast Conference. It's better in the Midwest and the Big Ten. It's better on the West Coast and the Pac-10.

They play football the right way in the Northeast. No, the South. No, Florida. Are you kidding, California.

These rivalries can be the most intense of them all, but not on the field. In the polls, on talk radio, on the Net.

So there are different levels of rivalries. UO vs. WSU is one, BSU vs. UI another. And the SEC vs. Pac-10 a completely different type.

And they all make watching sports more fun.



SportsLink is your portal into sports news around the Inland Northwest and beyond. You'll find updates, notes and opinions, and plenty of reader feedback.






Looking for a Grip on Sports?

Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.