Auction Block: Rivalry Week

Rivalries produce more than some heated emotions. There's stuff.

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"I'd like to buy stock in any company that runs a dam on the Red River."

The college football rivalry game is one of the few truly magical events remaining in big-time sports.

Geographical nearness doesn't change and the emotion that carries over from one generation of fans to the next often intensifies. None of the participants in this weekend's 101st Backyard Brawl between Pittsburgh and West Virginia were alive to see the first game take place in 1895 (there have been some breaks in the schedule), but each of them was carrying the full century-plus of baggage that has accrued since.

The rivalry game is a statement game, regardless of the relative standing of the two teams involved. The statement can be "things have changed", as it was when Alabama blanked Auburn in the Iron Bowl Saturday to end the regular season undefeated. With team rosters and student bodies at both schools loaded with natives of the state, back-home bragging rights matter nearly as much as a national title.

The rivalry game is also an annual opportunity to re-enact ancient hatred that goes beyond the football field. The Missouri/Kansas Border Showdown was known, not too long ago, as the Border War, a name that harkened back to historical bloodshed between abolitionists and slaveholders just before the U.S. Civil War. In this year's contest, Missouri had already sewed up the Big 12 North title before the game, a fact that failed to soothe the anguish of the Tiger faithful when Kansas scored last in a battle of spread offenses and equally spread defenses.

Speaking of the Civil War, the Pacific Northwest version of that conflict showcased another great theme of Rivalry Week: Spoilers. Oregon and Oregon State entered the game with similar records and national rankings, but it was the Beavers who had legitimate hopes of reaching this year's Rose Bowl with a win. The Ducks had no such prize to gain, but poured it on nonetheless, scoring 65 points and leaving their longtime foes in the Pac-10 passenger seat. OSU's only hope? For 4-7 UCLA to pull an even bigger upset over cross-town rival (and #5 team in the nation) USC next week.

Don't count that unlikely result out. Stranger things can and will happen when next door neighbors throw down.

Just in case you want to throw down a little dough in memory of your own favorite frienemy slap-fight, here are a few mementos:

USC Band Pin: The Trojan sword piercing the shamrock in this vintage button from 1979 pays homage to one of the great non-geographic rivalries in the nation.

Army-Navy Buttons: These wonderful pieces of tin from the 1940s commemorate both sides of the great service academy rivalry that has since become slightly less glamorous.

Bayou Classic Reversible Hat: We hoped it would say "Grambling" on one side, and "Southern" on the other, but that would be blasphemy in the annual SWAC grudge match. This non-DI game is the centerpiece of a full-on party in the Big Easy.

Football-shaped Harvard/Yale program: This unique item from the 1915 version of The Game reminds us of a time when America's future leaders were also some of our biggest gridiron heroes.

Iron Bowl Collectible Tray: All the better to serve your defeated opponent his plate of crow and humble pie. This relic of the 1975 game features opposing coaches Bear Bryant and Shug Jordan.

1941 Minnesota/Michigan ticket: As trophies go, we've always rather enjoyed the "Little Brown Jug". This game rarely figures in the national standings these days, but it's still the kind of rivalry we love to see.

Apple Cup towel: Definitely one of the tastier-sounding rivalry games out there. We're not sure how the Egg Bowl is prepared. And who doesn't like a nice apple now and again? As any galactic hitchhiker knows, the towel is a crucial travel accoutrement.

Egg Bowl Coke Bottle: We love it that these things generally still contain the original beverage. Is that a selling point?

And, it's not college-related, but the floors and fixtures of Texas Stadium are on the auction block until December 6th. Drop by and find something unique for your basement shrine.

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