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ESPN SportsCenter Snubs Auburn-Alabama in Top Ten Sports Rivalries List

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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I don’t often watch the Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network, and I very rarely listen to it on the radio. However, I happened to run some errands this afternoon during the normal broadcast hours on my local affiliate.

As usual, folks around SEC Country were ranting and raving about their favorite team and their hated rival and how their favorite team was better than their hated rival.

I didn’t think much about it until I heard Paaawwwwwl refer to the Auburn-Alabama Iron Bowl rivalry being snubbed off of a recent ESPN SportsCenter list of the top ten sports rivalries.

Of the top ten sports rivalries ESPN selected, five came from college athletics, and none of them were Auburn-Alabama. In fact, none of them was a Southeastern Conference rivalry.

The only SEC school even listed – Tennessee – came in at No. 9 for the Lady Vols’ women’s basketball rivalry with UConn. The other rivalries that made the cut? North Carolina and Duke (No. 2), Army-Navy (No. 3), Michigan and Ohio State (No. 6) and Harvard versus Yale (No. 8).

That seems crazy.

The Iron Bowl is as good as it gets because there are no two fans bases that are more passionate 365 days a year, in either collegiate or professional sports.

The Auburn-Alabama rivalry is the only reason any of us actually know who Paul Finebaum is. It literally made him a sports celebrity who is now on national television daily to talk about what else? The Auburn-Alabama rivalry. 

As for SportsCenter, I understand Army-Navy making the list. It’s a great rivalry through and through regardless of the win-loss records of the schools and it’s incorporated into the daily lives of the Cadets and Midshipmen at the their respective academies.

Michigan and Ohio State is a comparable rivalry to Auburn and Alabama in terms of passion and the programs both have rich histories in a variety of sports. It’s a solid rivalry, but not better.

I’ll even admit that Harvard and Yale is a historically significant rivalry. Did you know that the two schools were actually the first to meet in any intercollegiate athletic competition? Sure, it was rowing, but the rivalry is real, and the two schools are very competitive. However, Harvard-Yale is more so a rivalry between student bodies and alumni than an athletic-based hatred, which makes it a questionable one to include in ESPN’s rankings.

Putting the Tennessee and UConn women’s basketball rivalry on the list is just silly. Yes, they are two great, great programs. But I’m sorry – a college rivalry has to be more than two good teams, and it has to extend beyond just one sport.

Which is why the Duke-North Carolina rivalry is the one that irks me the most. The second best rivalry in all of sports? Please.

The selection of UNC-Duke is surely connected to the Tar Heels and Blue Devils playing a thrilling 92-90 overtime game Wednesday in which Duke honored recently departed legendary Carolina head coach Dean Smith.

Nov 30, 2013; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers cornerback Chris Davis (11) is interviewed after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium. Auburn Tigers won 34-28. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

As far as a series between two great basketball programs, it’s tough to argue. But in terms of a sports rivalry, Duke-North Carolina falls well short in terms of overall passion.

Think about it – I’ll bet you know at least one person that is a “Duke basketball fan” but cheers for another school in football. How can it be a great sports rivalry if a large number of their fans root for two schools? As insufferable as some Alabama football fans are, at least the vast majority of them don’t have another school as their favorite basketball team.

Oh, and if you know someone that is a “Duke basketball fan” and an “Alabama football fan,” punch them in the face. Don’t worry, they can’t press charges. No cop will arrest you and no judge would convict you because he or she is the worst person in the sports world.

I digress.

Some will say Duke-Carolina deserves to make the list because they are traditionally two of the best college basketball programs in history. Combined they’ve won nine national titles, which is great. Yet, as good as Duke and Carolina have been on the court, neither has even been to the Final Four since 2010.

On the other hand, either Auburn or Alabama has played in the BCS National Championship Game or in the College Football Playoff every year since 2008.

Simply put, SportsCenter messed up. ESPN put North Carolina and Duke on their top ten sports rivalries list because the timing was right, not because it’s a better rivalry than Auburn-Alabama.

Because it’s not.

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