kenpersons

On NFL Total Access tonight Mark Fields said he thought the Panthers/Bucs rivalry was the best in the NFC South. I get that he's a Panther now, so he's going to have a bias for where he is, but how can it not be Falcons/Saints? It's quietly become one of the best rivalries in the NFL.

These two teams have been doormats for so long that for years their only compensation was winning this rivalry. While it may not be the longest running rivalry in the league, it's been strong for pretty much the entire life of both teams.

Carolina hasn't been in the league more than ten years and the Bucs are new to our party, they were in the NFC Central making their own enemies. How can that compare?

I'd say it's the best rivalry not just in the NFC South but in all of professional football, but that's my bias. Then again, consider...

It's in the frickin' south. Memo to the rest of the world, we are passionate about our football and rivalries run deep. See: the Iron Bowl, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail party and quite frankly anyone against LSU because I hate the Tigers.

I'm from Mississippi. They teach us to hate LSU from kindergarten on up. Doesn't matter which school in MS I'm a fan of. I hate LSU. (and Alabama too, actually)

I can only hope that an LSU fan will fire back some form of smack (albeit message board friendly) because that's what it's about.

The point is, a key ingredient of a rivalry is the passion of the fans involved. Nobody gets into football like we get into football.

Mark Fields wore a Fleur de Lis. He knows better. I wish him the best and I hope his recovery sticks, but he's flat out wrong on this topic.

That said, as Saint fans, which NFL rivalries do you rate higher than Saints/Falcons and why?

[Edited on 23/6/2004 by kenpersons]