Who knows why rivalries exist. 

Is it the opponent you compete against the most?  Is it based on geographical locations?   

In sports, it’s usually an actual hatred of the other team.  Steelers-Ravens comes to mind in the present NFL.  In the 70s and 80s I’d say it was Cowboys-Redskins.  I enjoyed those games.

Lisa and I are watching “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” and it illustrates a great rivalry between the Lakers-Celtics and also individually between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

*Side Note 1 – Larry Bird really comes off as a Class-A Ass in this show.  I have to wonder how accurate it is.

I’ve always been a student of history.  Even now, I find myself channel surfing and I seem to always stop on a documentary or something on the History Channel.

               *Side Note 2 – drives the Sumstine ladies crazy when I try to share with them the vast array of knowledge I’ve acquired.

               *Side Note 3 – drives me crazy that the Sumstine Ladies don’t want to hear the vast array of knowledge I’ve acquired.

One of my favorites was a 3 or 4 part documentary or mini-series on the Hatfield & McCoys.  Now THAT was a rivalry.

I had a rival in both high school and in college.  In high school it was Jamie Paige who ran for Wicomico High School.  It is odd, that we both are of the same year, we both graduated in 1983 and we both hold a county record.  He holds the 3200 meter county record (2-mile) and I hold the 1600 meter county record (1-mile).  In cross country, it wasn’t really a rivalry, it was a 3.1 mile race and in the distances he was better than me.  My team always – ALWAYS – beat his team, but individually, he always beat me in cross country.  But not on the track – NOT ON THE TRACK.

In college there was a guy from Christopher Newport College that always got under my skin.  He beat me once, and that was all it took.  Head to head, in the 800 meter open races, I think I beat him 4-1 (if memory serves), but it was that 1 loss that always irritated me.  NOW – I am not a sore loser.  Regardless of if he beat me because I ran a bad race, or my strategy didn’t work, if he beat me then I respected him.  See, I know the work I put in, so if he beat me, that means he also put in the work.  We faced off numerous times in relays, but his team wasn’t very deep, so his relay team couldn’t beat my Salisbury 4some. 

               *Side Note 4 – I wonder what he’s doing now?  Be cool to catch up and share a beer

But there is a rivalry that I’m not sure you’re aware of.

But that’s the beauty of www.becauseJimsays.  Perhaps you read it to be entertained.  Or you might read it because yes, I am a doofus.

BUT – there might be the occasional rare reader that visits my blog to gain a bit of knowledge.  Perhaps I make this person think.  Perhaps I point out something that he/she never thought of and now – BAMM!!!  There it is – and they walk away a little bit wiser.

In this rivalry you might not have heard of, I do wonder:

Is there trash talking?

It is just opinion based, “Mine’s better – your’s sucks” – or – do these 2 parties show up with data and charts and graphs to better argue their positions?  Do they have challenges and face off in head-to-head competitions?

What are the chances that they are friends on the outside.  Perhaps it’s a friendly competition, not exactly a rivalry.

But what fun is that?

NO – I need to assume it’s a deep –seated resentment

               *Side Note 5 – I had to Google it to see if it was “Deep-Seated” or “Deep-Seeded”.

               *Side Note 6 – see, you don’t just get knowledge in www.becauseJimsays, but you also get grammatically correct knowledge.

I need to assume that these two people hate each other with a passion that runs deep.  I need to imagine there are heated words in a local drinking establishment after their shifts.  I need to think that friends need to hold them back.  I need to assume that harsh words are exchanged.

And what rivalry am I speaking of?

Well… Lisa and I last week went to the Texas Roadhouse and of course we love their rolls.  And today, we went to the Olive Garden and of course we love their breadsticks.

So the Olive Garden breadstick maker and the Texas Roadhouse roll maker.  Do they hate each other?  Does one make more per hour and this causes resentment?  OR – do they compare how many items they make in a shift and that makes one quantitatively better than the other? 

OR – is one like an undergraduate in the restaurant industry and the other is the major leagues? 

Do they consider one as an inferior baker and the other as a culinary genius?

Now me, I personally would love to hear the trash talking:

TR – “Your diners are so lazy – you have to smear that garlic butter crap on there but my diners are more sophisticated and know how to use a knife to spread it.”

OG – “Oh yeah, well your raw dough just gets thrown in a basket – but mine come carefully wrapped in a dinner napkin”

DANG !!!!!  Them’s some serious fighting words !!!

I need to also assume that their spouses and/or significant others are also into it and they also get into the trash talking.

Oh – mark my word – I will be asking.  And if you know me – then you know that I actually will be asking.

Now, it’s possible that they could care less about the other.

But what fun is that?

• Ramblings