The Rivalry: VCU-ODU
Can I get a whistle please?
This is where it gets good. You can enjoy Sunday’s Super Bowl all you like. I don’t really have a stake in either of those teams. Saturday at 4 p.m. is what I’ve been waiting for all season. It’s VCU and Old Dominion for the 80th time.
I’m willing to say this to anyone who will listen. This game can hold its own against the best college rivalrys. On the so-called mid-major level, I’m not sure there’s one better. (Sorry, Towson/Georgia State) I mean that sincerely. Why do we love to hate each other so much?
I figure there’s roughly five things that make a good rivalry great.
#1. Proximity: There’s nothing quite like showing up the neighbors. If your neighbor’s lawn looks like Wrigley Field, what are you going to do, roll over? Of course not. It’s Miracle Grow time. Gotta keep up with the Jones.
#2. Common goal: Nothing adds venom to a rivalry like a championship. All the best rivalries, Duke/UNC, Ohio State/Michigan, Browns/Steelers, Florida/Florida State (forgive me for not including your team, I don’t have time to name 300 rivalries), include two teams in the same conference or division. That old Celtics/Lakers rivalry feels manufactured. It really hasn’t carried much weight since the mid-80s, when Magic and Bird were leading their teams into the finals every year. Now? Yawn. It’s a good game, but it doesn’t have that “can’t miss” appeal. This is why I don’t see Richmond as VCU’s biggest rival. It’s just one game, and no matter who loses, it doesn’t have much impact beyond that day. Whereas, the outcome of the two VCU-ODU games may very well determine the fate of the CAA title. And that’s not even accounting for the possibility of playing the CAA Tournament. My head is going to explode talking about this.
#3. Competitiveness: As much fun as winning is, beating somebodys brains in year in and year out takes some luster off a series. You know why the JMU-VCU game isn’t that big a deal? Because we’re 41-19 all-time against the Dukes and because James Madison hasn’t won a CAA title since 1994. You know how long ago that was? I was a high school junior and weighed 155 pounds. I worked at McDonald’s (some might argue that I should still be there.) You know what the No. 1 song in the country on this date in 1994 was? Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love”. Seriously. Somebody has some ’splainin’ to do, but I digress. VCU leads the overall series, 41-38 and except for one 10-game winning streak by the Rams from 2001-05, the series has always been close.
#4. Supportive fan base: With the exception of George Mason, VCU and Old Dominion are the two most fervent fan bases in the CAA, at least in a basketball sense. William & Mary is closer to VCU than ODU and plays in the same league, but people in Williamsburg don’t care about basketball. Not yet anyway. We’ll see if they’ve turned a corner this year. Meanwhile, the ODU-VCU game has been a guaranteed sellout for at least the last five years. No other CAA rivalry can say that.
#5. History: VCU has played ODU 16 times more than any other opponent. Not only have they been CAA-mates for 14 years, but they also have a shared history from the Sun Belt. All those games leave some lasting memories. I’ve only been around for five years and I’ll never forget the no-call on the final play of the game in ‘08 or last year’s CAA semifinal win. Duke-North Carolina has things like Jeff Capel’s halfcourt shot in 1995 (By the way, I’m told Jeff really doesn’t like talking about that shot because Duke lost that game), or Gerald Henderson demolishing Tyler Hansboro’s face with an elbow a few years back. Those ghosts don’t go away.
