Philly's Biggest Sports Rivalries: Who We Love to Root Against

As a die-hard Philly sports fan, there is nothing more satisfying than rallying behind our beloved teams and cheering them on to victory. But along with the fierce loyalty and passionate support, comes a burning hatred for our most despised rivals. In the City of Brotherly Love, rivalries run deep across all major sports, fueling intense emotions and sparking heated debates. From the gridiron to the diamond, the hardwood to the ice, the list of most hated rivals in Philly sports is as diverse as it is intense. Let's dive into the rivalries that ignite the fire within every Philly fan's heart and fuel our unwavering passion for our teams.

NFL

Brendan

Where do I even begin with this team? The hatred I have for them as an organization, their players, and their cockroach fans is never-ending. First of all, who is the geographical wizard that decided Dallas, Texas should be in the NFC East?! "OK fellas, let's get the NFC East division down: Philadelphia, check. New York, check. Washington, check. Yep, no more cities on the East Coast. Let's go halfway across the fucking country and pick Dallas, Texas." So right off the bat, they shouldn't even be in our division.

Everything about the Dallas Cowboys I despise. The star, the "America's Team" label - fuck being America's team. If anybody is America's team, it's Philadelphia. America was born in the city of Philadelphia, not in the city of Dallas, Texas. Do you want a dome that opens up so God can watch you play? How arrogant is that? That's one thing of many that just rubs me the wrong way. Being on the East Coast, cities like Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, etc., we're blue-collar lunchpail people. Out there, they're white-collar, thinking they're better than us just because they have five Super Bowls. It's just disgusting.

Every season, the national media has to talk about the Dallas Cowboys, no matter what. No matter if they're a Super Bowl contender (which hasn't happened in almost 30 years) or they're the laughingstock of the league, they're always talked about because of money. If there's a top five list out there and Dallas isn't in the top five, don't make a top six list and put them in just to stir up controversies and have them be talked about.

Their fans are the most fake-ass people in the world. If you're from Dallas and you root for the Cowboys, great. But you're probably few and far between. The worst thing you can be is a Dallas Cowboys fan from Philadelphia. We all know who they are. We all have a couple in our lives. Their excuses range from liking the star when they were a kid, wearing pajamas with the star on them, their parents liking them (which is a horrible parenting job on their part). Let's face it, they were all probably pussies in school and got picked on, so this is their way of getting back at everybody. Basically, anybody who's a Dallas Cowboys fan from Philadelphia just wants to be an asshole and is an insecure prick.

As far as the team goes, you can't deny that they have five Super Bowl rings and they always seem to be in the news. They have had some of the greatest players ever like Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and the list goes on. But they have done nothing but choke on chicken bones the size of a Tyrannosaurus for the last 30 years. I try not to pay too much attention to their players, coaching staff, their leather-faced owner, or their scumbag fans these days, but damn it is hard sometimes. I could probably write an entire novel on how much and why I hate the Dallas Cowboys and everything that has to do with them. So I'll end it here, just like any Philadelphia Eagles fan does: Dallas sucks!!!

Shawn

NY Giants - The easy answer is the Dallas Cowboys but truly when a team only has four playoff wins in a quarter century it’s hard to dislike them, their fans are the real cockroaches. The Giants have all the makings of a formidable rival. They’re only 90 minutes up the turnpike, they have had a similar level of post season success and the games between these two teams are rarely blowouts.

Blanco

Cowboys - absolutely despise everything about this team, from the stars on their helmets to their general reputation. There is no respect in the hatred I have for them cow turds.

Giants - A more ancient rivalry, the hate should be carried forward, from the manning-face Super Bowl wins, and them being our geographically closest rival, it’s always heated when we play, and I can’t stand them!

The Steelers, it’s a Pennsylvania thing. There’s no shortage of Steelers piss color towels floating around here on this side of PA, and it’s gross. And the fans have that “Cowboys of the AFC” thing going on with all them dust covered trophies.

Dann

The Dallas Cowboys - Why are they even in the NFC East?! They were put on this planet for one thing, to be hated. To still be called America’s team is a joke. The fans are delusional, they root for the Lakers and Yankees. And we got to hear about their 90’s Super Bowl wins that are on VHS. Oh, and this is our year.

MLB

Brendan

Oh, the go-to answer for most Phillies fans is to hate the New York Mets, which, granted, I absolutely do. I also have a grudge against the Washington Nationals just because they're a newer team that used to be the Montreal Expos, who were way cooler than these guys are. But the Atlanta Braves have been the biggest thorn in the side of the entire National League for the last 30 years. They were always good when I was a kid, and they crushed so many dreams in the '90s and early 2000s. Despite winning in '93 and last year's series win over them both to head to the World Series, the Braves have pretty much owned us. They had so many hate-the-face guys on that team for so many years; the list is too long to even start. I will humbly admit that I heard a comparison the other day that the Atlanta Braves are the Philadelphia Eagles of baseball, which, if you kind of think about it, is true. They're always talented, always in the mix, and even if they have a down year, it's just a temporary setback before they bounce back. So, just as Wes Mantooth said to Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, "I hate you, but dammit, I respect you."

Shawn

Braves - The Mets may have our number lately but the Braves have imprinted on me in a very special way. As a young kid going to The Vet with my grandfather, anytime I knew we were playing the Braves I knew I was about to watch the Phillies get their shit kicked in by Chipper, Smoltz, Glavine, Maddox etc…. I’m still not over watching the Braves kick our ass at the last game ever played in Veterans Stadium. Their sustained success is just the icing on the cake for why I hate them.

Blanco

Marlins - I could list our whole division here, and plenty of reasons why, but I will just start with the Marlins. This hatred might just be rooted in my hatred for our own team at times. Before this year i swear, we get swept by the Marlins every time we play them. Especially when we are fighting for a playoff spot and the Marlins are dead last with the worst record in baseball. Ughhh.

Nats - Secondly, I have to mention the Nats, since Harper came here it sort of amplified that rivalry a bit, especially since they won it all that very year. Also a little more personal for me since I have a bunch of work mates that are Nats fans and it's fun to jab them from time to time. You damn well know they like to poke fun at me when they can.

Blue Jays - Still to this day I hold a disdain for the Toronto Blue Jays, back in 1993 when we lost the world series to them, and baseball went on strike soon after. I was way more into baseball back then than now, and that is my earliest memory of feeling torn because of sports. That was a major turning point in my young sports fan life, when Baseball stopped being my favorite sport.

Dann

The Braves have long been our most despised rivals, their 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005 still haunt us. It seems like they always have our number, consistently outperforming the Phillies on the field.

Following the Braves, we have the Mets and Marlins on our list of rivals. Mets fans, much like Dallas fans in football, always boast about their team's chances, only to witness them crumble under pressure. And the Marlins, even when they appear to be the weakest team in baseball, somehow manage to sweep the Phillies, leaving us frustrated and perplexed.

NBA

Brendan

This is probably the team that I hate to love but love to hate: the Los Angeles Lakers. They have always been the darling of the NBA, from the '70s, '80s, early '90s, and throughout the 2000s. The Showtime Lakers did help put the NBA on the map, and I will give them a lot of credit for that. Magic Johnson is probably the best point guard of all time, and the list of Lakers legends goes on with names like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, and many more. I hate that players just flock to Los Angeles for Hollywood and the big fame. Most players go out there to see all the celebrities and stars sitting courtside, wanting to be out there with all the famous people so they can be famous too. Plus, they get to enjoy the nicest weather and all that jazz. Even when the Lakers suck, players still want to go to LA. They are one of those teams that attract fake-ass fans from other cities who just want to be assholes or jump on the bandwagon because they were once great champions. Similar to the Duke Blue Devils, the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Lakers, and of course, the Dallas Cowboys. If you're a fan of any of these teams and you don't live in their particular city, then you just want to be an asshole.

Shawn

Celtics - Rivalries are dying in an NBA where everyone wants to be friendly with one another and nobody truly seems to care  about the outcome of games until March. But I’d be hard pressed to pick anyone but the Celtics for most hated rival. The entitlement of their fans is annoying, the Sixers losing three playoff series in the process era is heart breaking, and let’s not even talk about Danny Ainge fleecing Adam Silver's errand boy, Bryan Colangelo, into trading up just to pass over Jason Tatum.

Blanco

Celtics - I hate them and why can’t we beat them in the postseason???? Ugh, I’m so pissed about it again.

Lakers - Easy hatred here, mostly because of 2001, and also Cowboys fans who live in Philly, but there is a little respect in that hatred for their Shaq/Kobe dynasty.

Dann

When it comes to the Philadelphia 76ers' bitter rivals, there's no team that stirs up more animosity than the Boston Celtics. The mere mention of their name is enough to send shivers down the spines of Sixers fans everywhere. From the intense head-to-head battles to the historic championship clashes, the Celtics have consistently posed a formidable challenge. Their success has often come at our expense, fueling the flames of our rivalry and leaving a bitter taste in our mouths.

NHL

Brendan

OK, I'll admit I'm not the biggest diehard hockey fan who knows every in and out of the sport, but I do love my Flyers. Therefore, I have to dislike some opposing hockey teams. I pretty much dislike anybody in our geographical area. I despise the New Jersey Devils; they're just North Jersey douchebags, and they're always good. I can't stand the New York Rangers and their stupid blue jerseys. They were always good when I was a kid. I always have this image of Mark Messier holding up the Stanley Cup and cheering to himself. However, the team that takes the cake for me as the ultimate rival is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those pesky flightless birds down the turnpike just make my blood boil. From the days of Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux to the current Sidney Crosby, a.k.a. Sid the Kid, Pittsburgh as a town just has an overall arrogance about itself. And the thing I can't stand the most is that not only do they not have a basketball team, but all three of their teams have the same colors—black and yellow. Come on, get some variety in your sports life! I know a lot of Pittsburgh fans, and next to Dallas fans, they're the most pompous and arrogant fanbase I've ever encountered. So for that reason, the Pittsburgh Penguins are my number one team to hate in hockey.

Shawn

Penguins - I mean Sidney Crosby might be the most punchable face in pro sports. When you factor in the in-state rivalry and the wars these two fought against each other in the 00s, I can’t really pick anyone else.

Blanco

Devils - Division rivalry, geographically closer to us than other teams, and I distinctly remember, when I first started hating the Devils, when I was a kid I knew someone from my neck of the woods in South Jersey who was a Devils fan, and their reason for being a Devils fan was because “we live in Jersey”. I thought that was the dumbest reason to be a fan of a team. I’d rather pick a team because of their pretty colors. He was also an Eagles and Phillies fan because there is no Jersey team in the NFL or MLB, so yea.

Penguins - Being the same division, and same state. It’s like the Steelers hatred, but worse.  Plus, in my short time as a casual Hockey fan, it seems like the Penguins are always good, so fuck ‘em.

Dann

Ah, the Dallas Cowboys, the perennial thorn in our side and the self-proclaimed "America's team." Seriously, why are they even in the NFC East? They exist solely to be despised by Eagles fans like us. Don't get me started on their delusional fanbase, who conveniently root for the Lakers and Yankees. And let's not forget their outdated VHS tapes boasting about their '90s Super Bowl wins. Give me a break.

Coming in at a close second on the hate meter are the New York Giants. Just one look at Eli Manning's goofy face says it all. And don't even get me started on the likes of Jeremy Shockey and their cast of douchebags. It's mind-boggling how this team manages to achieve so much with mediocre quarterbacks throughout the years.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the hatred for our most despised rivals runs deep in the veins of every true Philly sports fan. From the Cowboys to the Celtics, and the Mets to the Penguins, these rivalries ignite a passion within us that can't be extinguished. But we're not alone in our disdain for these teams. We invite you, fellow Philly sports enthusiasts, to join us on social media and share your thoughts on who you consider to be the most hated rival in Philly sports. Let's keep the conversation going and show our unwavering support for our beloved teams. #QBFSPhillySportsRivalries

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