Why do people love rivalries?

Question

Everyone loves a rivalry, whether it's Yankees vs Red Sox, Lakers vs Celtics, Duke vs North Carolina, Black people vs White people or Israel vs Palestine. What is it about humans that makes us want to have a consistent enemy?

Answer 1

well rivalry is very common. Even simpling rivalry. Human just want to find a way to prove they are better than another person. They need to create a rivals so they could challenge themselves that they are better. Even though rivalries isn't the best thing in life but it does create excitements in the competitive world of gaming and sports. If there isn't any competition the game would be boring. But people shouldn't rival against each other all because of race, or cultural difference, human nature just can't help it.

Answer 2

Sociologically...and perhaps from a more functionalist stem, you could probably argue persuasively that rivalries help to provide clear boundaries for ingroup/outgroups and help us to define realistic or frivolous folkways for behavior within our particular group.

Answer 3

They like to see cat fights

Answer 4

It's competition I love . win or lose doesn't matter in a friendly competition

Answer 5

To be challenged.  To feel alive.

Answer 6

It's not about enemies, it's about competition.

Answer 7

Some of those rivalries you mentioned is just healthy competition. Some of the others are examples of social dysfunction or disorder on an ethnic or cultural scale. Most dysfunctional rivalries are born from misunderstanding and ignorance on one or both sides, stemming from decades or centuries old ideals that one or both side(s) refuse or resist rectifying.