Rivalries Rule
By Bob Temple, NFLHS.com
Quick: name the oldest rivalry in the NFL.

Packers-Bears, you say? Well, they have played each other
more than any two teams in league history, true. But this
past weekend's game between the Arizona Cardinals and the
Chicago Bears is actually a renewal of the oldest - in
terms of years - rivalry in NFL history.

The Cardinals and Bears first met on November 28, 1920,
nearly 83 years to the day from their matchup this
weekend. Of course, they were the Racine-Chicago Cardinals
and the Decatur Staleys then, and with the franchises no
longer meeting each other regularly, it would be hard to
consider this a "rivalry" today.

Regardless, no rivalry in the NFL compares in terms of
longevity with many of the huge rivalries that are played
out annually on high school gridirons around the country. To
be sure, the NFL rivalries have more at stake. But the
fervor with which the participants battle and the fans cheer
in these high school games matches - if not surpasses
- that of the NFL games.

Many of these rivalries are played on Thanksgiving in
various parts of the country, particularly in the East.

One of the oldest of all is the Leominster-Fitchburg battle
in Massachusetts. Last Thursday, the teams met for the 120th
time.

It's the kind of rivalry that strikes at the core of the
two towns - the types of cities in which a good chunk of
the adults who live there now grew up there, too.

The annual game brings out all the old stories of past
triumphs and defeats, and people on both sides of the game
garner tremendous pride from their team's
accomplishments, regardless of whether they personally know
anyone on either side.

To give a quick taste, here's a sampling of people who
once played in the rivalry: Fitchburg's city assessor;
Leominster's fire chief and several members of the crew;
Fitchburg's police chief; Leominster's human resource
director; Fitchburg's recreation director; the list goes
on and on.

And they all recall with pride their involvement in the
game, whether it was as a key player or a bench-warmer.

"It's in everybody's blood here, and it's passed on
from generation to generation," Fitchburg Police Chief
Edward Cronin told the Fitchburg-based Sentinel and
Enterprise. "If you cut me today, I'd bleed red and
gray."

A good rivalry is also a close one, in which each team has
won its share of big games. Fitchburg entered this year's
game with a 57-53-9 edge in the all-time series. Fitchburg
also had a five-game winning streak in the rivalry entering
this year's game, and a victory over Leominster this time
would mean a berth in the Central Mass./Western Mass. Super
Bowl this coming Saturday.

All of that made this year's game even more special than
the typical matchup between these rivals.

Fans reached the stands hours before the game, filled them,
and lined the end zones as well. Leominster had its sights
set on stopping William Earley, Fitchburg's outstanding
running back.

But in the end, Earley was simply too much, and Fitchburg
won its sixth straight in the rivalry, clinching the Super
Bowl berth in the process.

Thanksgiving dinner must have tasted extra sweet in
Fitchburg.

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