rivals don't come and go. The Bears and Vikings are always there no matter which team is having the good season.
Rivalries have to work both directions otherwise it is just envy. Packers wanted the Cowboys to be a rival but I don't think Cowboys feel the same way. They have Washington and Phil as their main rivals Giants too.
It is just plain dumb to have a list of 5. There are not that many great rivals. 1 or 2 max.
"wpr" wrote:
I don't know if I agree with that. You used Dallas as an example and I'll stick with them.
Their rivals are Eagles, Giants, and Redskins. That will always be the case, especially with Washington.
However, during the 90s, Dallas and San Francisco was as heated as a rivalry as you can get. I dont think you can diminish that rivalry because it is no longer such. At that time, Dallas wanted to beat the 49ers more than they wanted to beat the Redskins. Today, both teams are struggling, so the rivalry is dead.
Same thing applies with Raiders and Steelers. That's not really a rivalry anymore. The Steelers rival is Baltimore, but at one time, there was no greater rivalry in football than Raiders vs. Steelers.
In away, rivals do come and go. Situations matter.