Smack Zone — Sports Rivalries

[caption id="attachment_973" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Illustration: Steve Hill[/caption] For better or worse, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will be linked throughout their NFL careers. It’s an amazing quirk of the schedule that the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks from the most recent draft will make their professional debuts together Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Are we witnessing the birth of the next great NFL quarterback rivalry? Hard to predict. After all, the anticipated long-time rivalry between Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb (No. 1 and 2, Class of 1999) never quite materialized, did it? And the potential RGIII-Andrew Luck rivalry hasn’t exactly emerged, even though their careers began with such promise in 2012 and both are still young. What makes a great NFL QB rivalry? It requires individual greatness and superior achievement, certainly. It also requires something more. In order for a rivalry to develop, they must face each other frequently over the years, and the stakes must be high. People have to care. There has to be a buzz all week long. We all know it’s not really QB vs. QB in an NFL game. Intellectually, we know that the true competition is between the defensive coordinators and the great QBs. But history says something else. History says quarterbacks are measured not only by their team and individual achievements. They are measured by their success against one another. Fair or not, that’s how Winston and Mariota will ultimately be measured, too. And it all starts this weekend. Here is a quick look at some of the top QB rivalries in NFL history. Perhaps Winston-Mariota will join them one day: Tom Brady (Patriots)-Peyton Manning (Colts, Broncos) New England fans can argue that the 16 regular-season meetings between two of the game’s four or five all-time greatest passers have not constituted a rivalry. That’s because Brady’s teams have defeated Manning’s teams 11 of those 16 times. However, they are 2-2 in four postseason matchups, and Manning’s teams actually are 2-1 against Brady’s teams in AFC Championship Games. Still, Brady’s four championship rings trump Manning’s one pretty easily. The rivalry was stirred a bit this offseason when a less-than-complimentary email written by Brady about Manning surfaced during the Deflategate investigation. Brady apologized and Manning took the high road. They meet again Nov. 29 in Denver. Joe Namath (Jets)-Johnny Unitas (Colts) Their teams met in Super Bowl III (Unitas was sort of a bit player because of injury), then met again in 1972 when the Jets beat the Colts, 44-34. Namath passed for 496 yards and six TDs that day, which marked the official changing of the guard from the short-cropped Unitas Era to the shaggy-haired Namath Era in the NFL. Roger Staubach (Cowboys)-Terry Bradshaw (Steelers) A lot of NFL fans who grew up in the 1970s wanted to be Staubach, and just as many wanted to be Bradshaw. They both embodied bravado and charisma as much as any athletes of their generation. They met twice in the Super Bowl. Bradshaw won them both, but Staubach got two rings of his own against other teams. Dan Marino (Dolphins)-Joe Montana (49ers) They met in Super Bowl XIX, but not often after that. Still, their rivalry was more about historic production and statistics (Marino had the clear edge) versus simply winning (Montana might have been the best of all time at that). Troy Aikman (Cowboys)-Steve Young (49ers) They met three consecutive seasons (1992-94) in the NFC Championship Game. Aikman won the first two and Young won the third. Brett Favre was in the mix here, too, but Aikman-Young was the premier QB rivalry in the league for nearly half a decade. Andrew Luck (Colts)-Russell Wilson (Seahawks) This is one for the future. Both have out-shone fellow 2012 draftee RGIII, and Wilson has clearly staked his claim as the best young QB of this era. Luck, however, is poised to make a move this year and it would surprise no one if they led their teams to the Super Bowl. Sure, we know. We’ve left off a bunch. Otto Graham-Bobby Layne, John Elway-Jim Kelly, Marino-Kelly, Bradshaw-Ken Stabler, Dan Fouts-Jim Plunkett, and so many others. Where will Winston-Mariota end up on the list? It starts Sunday.

By Bob D'Angelo, Smack Zone Contributor Another NFL regular season kicks off tonight, rekindling some longtime clashes that bear watching this season. Pun intended. The Bears and Packers renew their feud Sunday at Soldier Field. So here’s a look at our top 10 NFL rivalries, past and present. Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers The two teams first met November 27, 1921, when Chicago blanked the Packers 20-0. Chicago leads the series 93–91–6. They have played each other twice in the postseason. A week after Pearl Harbor, the Bears won 33-14 in the 1941 semifinals to avenge their only loss of the season. The Packers prevailed 21-14 in the 2010 NFC title game to reach Super Bowl XLV. This is a quirky series. Remember defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry scoring a touchdown for the Bears on “Monday Night Football” in 1985? Then there was Green Bay kicker Chester Marcol in 1980, who tried a game-winning field goal attempt in overtime. The ball was blocked and bounced back to Marcol, who sprinted around the left side for the game-winning score in a 12-6 decision. Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins This rivalry began before the Cowboys were a gleam in original owner Clint Murchison Jr.’s eye. Murchison nearly had a deal to buy the Redskins from owner George Preston Marshall for $600,000 in the late 1950s, but Marshall wrecked the deal by changing the contract terms. Marshall also tried to block the formation of the Cowboys franchise when the NFL considered expanding to Dallas for the 1960 season. Oh, yeah. There were some contentious games, too. On Thanksgiving Day in 1974, Cowboys rookie quarterback Clint Longley replaced the injured Roger Staubach and threw two TD passes for an improbable 24-23 win. In 1991, Washington was 11-0 until losing 24-21 to Dallas, but the Redskins still won the Super Bowl that year. In 1989, the Cowboys went 1-15. Their lone victory? A 13-3 win against Washington. The Redskins reached their first two Super Bowls (after the 1972 and ’82 seasons) by defeating Dallas in the NFC Championship Game. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders This rivalry no longer has the intensity it did when both teams were powerhouses in the old AFL in the 1960s.  But boy, could these teams hit. Kansas City has won two of three postseason games against the Raiders. The most significant one was the final AFL Championship Game in January 1970, when the Chiefs intercepted four passes and engineered a 17-7 upset that sent K.C. into Super Bowl IV. What Chiefs quarterback threw for the most yards against the Raiders? Elvis Grbac, who passed for 504 yards at Oakland in 2000. It wasn’t enough: the Raiders won, 49-31. Steelers vs. Ravens This series defines toughness. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are AFC North rivals who have met four times in the postseason, with the Steelers winning three times. The Ravens finally broke through in January 2015, winning 30-17. Intense? Steelers coach Mike Timlin was fined $100,000 in 2013 for interference on Jacoby Jones’ kickoff return that had touchdown written all over it.  But the Ravens won 22-20, thwarting a Steelers’ two-point conversion in the final minute. Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings This series began in 1961 when the Vikings entered the league, but the rivalry heated up when former Packers quarterback Brett Favre joined Minnesota in 2009 — and beat Green Bay twice, including a four-touchdown torching in his return to Lambeau Field. They have met in the playoffs twice. The Vikings stunned the Packers 31-17 in a wild-card game at Lambeau during the 2004 postseason. Randy Moss “shined,” scoring two touchdowns and giving Packers fans a pantomime mooning after his second TD grab in the fourth quarter put the game away. The Packers won the other meeting 24-10 eight years later to the day in another wild-card game. San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks This is one of the NFL’s newer rivalries. Since the Seahawks joined the NFC West in 2002, Seattle has won 16 of 27 meetings. The signature game was the 2013 NFC Championship Game, when Seattle held off San Francisco 23-17. The game ended when Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman tipped away a pass in the end zone. Sherman then blasted 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree in a memorable postgame TV interview. New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles This rivalry began in 1933 and has featured big plays and miracle finishes. There’s “The Hit,” when Chuck Bednarik leveled Frank Gifford with a crunching tackle that forced a fumble. The Eagles recovered, taking another step toward the 1960 NFL title. Gifford was knocked out of action for 18 months. Then there was the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” in 1978, when quarterback Joe Pisarcik just needed to take a knee to run out the clock. The Giants led 17-12 with 31 seconds left when Pisarcik fumbled the snap. Herman Edwards picked up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown, helping the Eagles earn a wild-card berth. In 1988, the Eagles had forced overtime and had lined up for a game-winning field goal. Luis Zendejas’ kick was blocked, but he picked it up and lateraled to lineman Clyde Simmons, who scored a touchdown. Dolphins vs. Jets Miami and New York have played some classics. The greatest might have been Dan Marino’s fake spike in 1994 that capped Miami’s comeback from a 24-6 deficit. With Miami at the Jets’ 8, Marino signaled he would spike the ball to stop the clock. Instead, he threw a TD dart to Mark Ingram with 22 seconds left to give the Dolphins a 28-24 victory. The 1982 AFC Championship Game is the only postseason meeting between the two division rivals, and it was notable for an Orange Bowl turned into a quagmire by heavy rains the week of the game. Miami intercepted Richard Todd five times, with A.J. Duhe swiping three passes. His 35-yard pick for a touchdown sealed Miami’s 14-0 win and sent the Dolphins to Super Bowl XVII. In 1986, Marino and Ken O’Brien combined for 884 passing yards and 10 touchdowns, with Marino throwing six. But O’Brien’s four TDs went to Wesley Walker, who tied the game with his third scoring catch and won the game in overtime with TD No. 4 in a 51-45 final. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns The “Turnpike Rivalry” has mirrored the hard-nosed image of both blue-collar cities. Ask quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was lifted and spiked into the turf by Joe “Turkey” Jones in a 1976 game. The teams first met in 1950 when the Browns won 30-17 at Pittsburgh. Cleveland dominated the first 20 years of the series, but Pittsburgh took control when both teams were moved into the AFC in 1970. Even when the Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens, Cleveland’s “new” Browns feuded with Pittsburgh. Cleveland running back William Green and Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter traded punches during pregame warm-ups in 2004. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys OK, it’s not a traditional rivalry, but it deserves to be here for producing two of the most memorable Super Bowls, both won by Pittsburgh during the 1970s. The rosters of both teams were littered with Hall of Famers. Dallas got some payback in Super Bowl XXX, beating the Steelers 27-17.

Five things worth a bit more reflection after an eventful weekend in sports:

1. As BYU backup quarterback Tyler Mangum ranged to his right and launched the game-winning 42-year Hail Mary pass in his team’s 33-28 victory against Nebraska Saturday, a fan hundreds of feet away in the opposite end zone had his camera rolling.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU7QJ8ecLv4] We found that video on YouTube. We like it because it gives us a different look at the Play of the Year so far in college football (yeah, we said it). We LOVE it because of the fan’s burst of laughter at the :20 mark. Laugh smack is the best smack.

2. Mets ace pitcher Matt Harvey took a lot of heat in New York over the weekend for not pounding his chest and exclaiming that he would defy the recommendation of surgeon James Andrews (and, perhaps more importantly, the orders of agent Scott Boras) by blasting right through his medically mandated 180-inning limit this season.

[caption id="attachment_930" align="alignleft" width="240"] Image: NY Daily News.[/caption] Harvey, known affectionately to Mets fans as the Dark Knight, was smacked HARD by the Daily News with a pretty brilliant depiction of the big right-hander as Harvey Dent, AKA Batman’s nemesis Two Face. Harvey fired back with a first-person vow in Derek Jeter’s the Player’s Tribune that he would, in fact, pitch in the playoffs. This all seems like a big none story to us at this point. After all, the Mets still have to GET TO the postseason for Harvey to pitch there. And don’t look now, but those under-achieving Washington Nationals are coming on hard and fast.

3. There might not be a more compelling sibling rivalry in sports history than Venus vs. Serena. The Williams sisters easily won their respective U.S. Open Round of 16 matches on Sunday, so they advanced to meet one another in the quarterfinals. At stake: Serena’s quest to hold all four tennis major titles in the same calendar year.

This one has all the elements of a truly historic sports rivalry: two great champions, one (Venus) aging but still brilliant, one (Serena) among the most accomplished professional athletes in U.S. history. A historic milestone, the tennis Grand Slam. All with the added drama of sister vs. sister. We will be watching.

4. This video from a high school football game in Texas is an illustration of everything wrong with sports. Two players from San Antonio John Jay High targeted a referee with cheap shots from behind during the play.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNCrs63JeuM] The two players have reportedly been suspended by their school district (gee, ya think?). The John Jay coach apologized for the attack, but clearly that was not going to be enough to make amends. Come on, Texas. Let’s keep it civil, eh? If you have an issue with the ref, take the high road and stick to the time-honored tradition of creative insults punctuated with off-color language.

5. We don’t even know what to make of this. The Kansas State band broke into its Star Trek routine at halftime Saturday, but suddenly a giant Kansas Jayhawk appeared … in … space? And attacked … a cylindrical … what IS that? The Enterprise? REALLY?

Here’s how it was SUPPOSED to look: [caption id="attachment_931" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Image: Kansas State University.[/caption] This video shows how it ACTUALLY looked: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKGwf7CBWuw] Um. OK. There were a number of interpretations of the band’s routine floating around the Internet this weekend. We’ll leave it to you to decide what … it … really … is.

Every fan has an origin story to tell. Sometimes the passion for a particular team is inherited. Geography often plays a role. Rationality rarely comes into play. Logic is laughable. Why do you love the teams you love (and love to hate their rivals)? Sometimes, the answer is as simple as, "Because I always have. And I always will." Smack Zone asked five writers and passionate sports fans to share their fan origin stories this week. All five articles are live as of this morning, and we encourage you to check them out. All of the writers are conducting a giveaway of one Smack Apparel t-shirt of the winner's choice. Enter all five sweepstakes, and you could win five shirts! In addition, all five will co-host the first Smack Zone Twitter party with us on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. It will be an hour of smack talk and fun, with $200 in Smack Apparel gift card giveaways. To participate in the Twitter party, follow us on Twitter (@SmackApparel) and use the hashtag, #SmackZone. Here are our writers, with links to their great stories: Jeff Bogle lives near Philadelphia and is the publisher of Out With the Kids. He tells a tale of his love for Michigan State, and what it means to share that passion with his family, in his piece, "A Sometimes Confusing Passion for Sports." Aaron Gouveia lives near Boston and is the publisher of the Daddy Files. He is, shall we say, more than a bit fixated on New England sports (particularly the Patriots). He sheds some light on that unique brand of sports madness in his post, "Sports Rivalries: Why It's Fun to Hate Other Teams." Creed Anthony of Tales From the Poop Deck lives near Indianapolis but is a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Browns. He tells us why even a college career spent in enemy territory (Pittsburgh) couldn't sway his allegiance in his piece, "A Misunderstood Rivalry." Calley Brewer Pate lives near Tampa and publishes the popular environmental and lifestyle blog, the Eco Chic. Her piece, "College Football is the Yin to my Yang," tells of her family's undying devotion to the Georgia Bulldogs. Whit Honea lives in Southern California and publishes the website, Family Life on Earth. He writes lyrically about his long-time passion for University of Arizona sports in his piece, "Of Smack, Bear and the Things We Down."

____________________

Tell us your fan origin story in the comments. We want to know how and when and why you began to love the teams you love. And be sure to join us Tuesday at 8 p.m. for the #SmackZone Twitter party!