Dr. Joe Cobbs: Sports Rivalries Explained - The Science Behind the Fiercest Rivalries in Sports

Sport is full of legendary rivalries: Yankees and Red Sox, Duke and North Carolina Basketball, Lakers and Celtics, Alabama and Auburn, and so many others. But what, exactly, elevates a competition to the level of rivalry? Is it a defining moment, such as the Christian Laettner buzzer beater that propelled Duke to shatter a thousand dreams across Kentucky during an NCAA Tournament game? Is it simple geography, such as Green Bay’s proximity to Chicago? Is it a storied past colliding in the present, as with the Yankees and Red Sox? Or two cities, states or organizations which are so similar that they, much like siblings, can’t help but clash (say, Ohio State vs. Michigan)? How about all of the above? Our guest this week on The Secrets to Winning is the Founder of the Know Rivalry Project Dr. Joe Cobbs, an associate professor of sports business at Northern Kentucky University and former sports marketing executive who dreamed up the “Battle of the Bricks” brand to promote the football rivalry between Miami (OH) and Ohio University. Cobbs developed and leads class on rivalry in international sport at NKU, the first course of its kind in the nation.