by BEELINE » October 24th, 2010, 5:40 am
The Bradley/Illinois State rivalry has the most historical, sustained venom regardless of either teams success or lack thereof year in and year out. Similar but of less intensity is the Creighton/UNI relationship, but that could easily get a bit more heated in the coming years given some of the dynamics at play. WSU fans have certainly tried to foster a rivalry [at least on this board] with Creighton, but most Creighton fans I've talked to still see SIU as the team they love to hate. I think the results have been too lobsided in Creighton's favor the last couple decades for a large segment of their fan base to have much emotional investment in that one.It has potential, but only if both teams have sustained success over the next 3-5 years to where the games actually have championship impact.
MSU always considered SIU a prime rival, but the CU/SIU thing and the fact we just weren't good enough to contend for titles with them yearly during that time, diverted most of that energy. I feel similar to Veritas in that the Bear's have no true current rival, but WuDrWu clearly doesn't grasp that just as WSU does with Creighton, most teams point at teams either regional or at the top of the league as their targets, so WSU[ 7100 attendance in 09/10] has garnered a lot less focus in Springfield than games against CU and UNI[ 9,000+ attendance in 09/10]the last few years. That might be different this year if WSU and MSU actually meet expectations and contend for the title.