The Top Ten Rivalries of Cincinnati

I was recently perusing Facebook and saw an article about Cincinnati and 17 fights that occur regularly between friends and even families. In fact the article was called "High school bragging rights, ice cream, chili and goetta: 17 fights you won't win in Cincinnati." As a former (and at heart) Cincinnatian each of these fights bring up many fond memories of the Queen City from my 18 years growing up there. And because I know I have many readers from the Cincinnati area I figured the city could use another opinion on the big ones, so here's my take on 10 of the 17 fights that rage in Cincinnati every day.

1. Skyline v Gold Star
If you want a really easy answer for this one just check my pantry here at school. You'll see at least one can of Skyline (I'm running low...) and absolutely no Goldstar. When I lived in Cincy the tradition was to go with my dad to Skyline pretty much anytime we went to a Reds game. Or any day I was off school. Or pretty much whenever we could. A 3-way and cheese coneys with either a Coke or Root Beer and a mint on the way out. Many fond memories of the Skylines around the city. To this day I know of one Gold Star... I can think of four Skylines off the top of my head (Loveland, Route 28, Downtown, Blue Ash)

2. Graeter's v Aglamesis Bros.
If you check my freezer I have a pint of Graeter's ice cream whereas I don't recall ever buying more than a scoop from Aglamesis. The chips are bigger, the ice cream sweeter and cooler and the locations much more convenient. Hyde Park Graeter's was a regular stop for the family, especially after Mass at Bellarmine.

3. Ohio v Kentucky
Can I cast a "neither" vote? Or how about a "both"? I really can't decide. With my dad being from Kentucky and my mom being from Ohio I have a nice even split. Of course the edge would probably go to Ohio considering Cincinnati is in Ohio and well... I love Cincinnati more than I love any other city on this great green earth. I also know for a fact that the Cincinnati skyline looks amazing from the Ohio hills.

4. High School v High School
So we want to compare high schools? The oldest debate of them all. (Okay, maybe not the oldest but the most important at least) I think I'll stick to the guys schools mostly since that's what I grew to know extremely well. The GCL schools vs the GMC schools. Moeller v Elder v St. X v LaSalle. Moeller is just a bunch of jocks and St. X is just a bunch of preppy kids and Elder is full of west siders and LaSalle is the redheaded stepchild (except that might be offensive to the redheaded stepchild...). The rivalries go deep and can get extremely personal, but at the same time it pushes each school to do better athletically, academically, financially and in the arts. But Crusader pride runs through these veins for the rest of my life, no questions asked.

5. LaRosa's v any other pizza
I don't even know of any other Cincinnati pizza and other than the sandwich place right across the street from my house on campus I doubt any other pizza would stack up to the better-ness that is LaRosa's pizza and hoagies and sandwiches and chips. Granted UNO's pizza is some damn good deep dish pizza, but that's from Chicago so it really doesn't count.

6. Opening Day v any other day (including Christmas and birthdays)
17 years straight my dad and I attended Reds Opening Day. The only one we missed? Last year, the first year we had moved to Memphis and I was in college as a freshman. We went in ice, rain, sun, clouds, wind, heartbreak and called walk-offs (the only one I have successfully called occurred on March 31, 2011 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth). One year I was caught on the televised broadcast by my 7th grade English teacher (I was sick with Red fever that day). I've spent birthdays at the ballpark and at the preceding Opening Day Farmer's Market Parade. So, without question, Opening Day is not only the best day of the year, it should easily be a city/ national holiday.

7. Good Pete v Evil Pete
Yes Pete Rose bet on baseball. Yes he violated rules. Yes he lied about it. However, he also only ever bet on his team. Which would actually be pretty much doing the exact opposite of what the rule was implemented to stop. Then we have Rose the ball player. The best pure hitter of the game. The guy with that unbreakable record. The guy with some of the biggest heart, most guts and purest desire to win. If he doesn't enter the HOF it will not only be a travesty to him but it will be a huge black spot on the sport of baseball.

8. Love the Bengals v Love the Bengals enough to give Mike Brown money
I'm no diehard Bengals fan. I've gone to one (maybe two) games my entire life for two reasons. First, the weather is almost never worth it to get beer spilled on you and a bunch of rowdy fans pushing you around. Second, who the hell decided on the prices? Even if I wanted to go, which I don't, there's no way you could get me to pay that much just to line Mike Brown's pockets and see about half of what I'd be able to see at home on my couch.

9. UC v Xavier (It'll always be known as the Crosstown Shootout no matter what people say)
Xavier answered this one this year. In quite stunning fashion too. 17 points? At a neutral court? Either the Bearcats are horrible and the AAC is really actually just a low quality conference or the Muskies are the good and the Big East is a high-intensity conference. Or, why not both? Xavier was rarely the popular choice in high school "bets" but they are truly making their voice heard over the past 10 seasons.

10. Bogart's v Riverbend
I can't even find Bogart's on a map. Riverbend? Pinpointed in less than 20 seconds. It's pretty easy to find. I've seen some quality performances there including Brad Paisley, James Taylor, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Chris Young and Miranda Lambert. The pavilion is a great place to be to enjoy a good concert but, as most Cincinnatians know, the lawn is where the high school and college kids typically spend their nights on blankets with huge groups of friends.

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