Rivals

by Wiggins, David K.

• ISBN13: 9781557289216
• ISBN10: 1557289212
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-04
• Publisher: Univ of Arkansas Pr

Summary

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.

Author Biography

David K. Wiggins is professor and director of the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism at George Mason University and the editor of Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes. R. Pierre Rodgers is associate professor in the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism at George Mason University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
One-on-One
The Purest of Rivalries: Rafer Johnson, C. K. Yang, and the 1960 Olympic Decathlon	p. 5
The King and the Bear: The Arnold Palmer-Jack Nicklaus Rivalry and the Rise of Modern Golf	p. 29
The Mortality of Kings: Ali versus Frazier	p. 49
"We Were about Winning": Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and the Rivalry That Remade the NBA	p. 69
Friendly Rivals: Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert	p. 109
The Battle of the Carmens: Debi Thomas versus Katarina Witt	p. 133
Team Games
Bitter Foes, but Marketing Pros: The Red Sox-Yankee Rivalry	p. 147
A Tale of Two Cities: The Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens	p. 175
Like Cats and Dogs: The Massillon-Canton McKinley Football Rivalry	p. 193
A Rivalry for the Ages: Tennessee-UConn Women's Basketball	p. 213
Three Yards and a Pool of Blood: Ohio State versus Michigan	p. 239
Corporate Cowboys and Blue-Collar Bureaucrats: The Dallas-Washington Football Rivalry	p. 265
Wide, Wide World
Imperial Rivalries: America versus Britain for the Davis Cup	p. 293
This Has Nothing to Do with Money: The Ryder Cup and International Rivalry in Golf	p. 305
The Match of the Century: The U.S.-USSR Rivalry in Sports	p. 327
Dare to Dream: U.S. Women's Soccer versus the World	p. 359
Notes	p. 383
Contributors	p. 443
Index	p. 451
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