(10-06-2017 04:37 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(10-06-2017 04:29 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-06-2017 04:24 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(10-06-2017 03:44 PM)JRsec Wrote:  Do you know why so many rivalries only date back to 1944? It is because many schools suspended teams during the peak of WWII due to a manpower shortage. IMO, this severely skews your survey. Except for WWII Auburn played Georgia continually since 1894. Auburn played Georgia Tech continually since 1892 until 1944, and then again until 1978.

I understand it was the war, but it doesn't matter here. A matchup only has to be active and to have been played for 30 straight years up to the present to make the list. Anything beyond 30 is just gravy. No matchups in the list would change, just the year in parentheses.

It is however relevant to the quality of a rival that it has endured 100 years as opposed to thirty, particularly as it relates to the importance of keeping, or abandoning the rivalry.

I can add more chronological information, but I'm relying on those here who already know about the rivalries in the poll to help determine whether they're essential or not.

If anyone disputes my specific placement of any rivalries under the essential or non-essential lists, please let me know! Those were just the ones I thought I was sure about. :)

That's fine, it's your project. I was just noting the difference in perspectives. I'm old enough that the South Carolina and Arkansas are still newbies in the SEC to me. Most of my life we traveled to Atlanta every other year for Tech and had a pep rally and parade when we played them here. Auburn / Alabama were stopped after endless contention over a wide array of oft debated issues, but those grew violent when Alabama used its political influence to try to close Auburn by making several pushes to do so from the late 1800's through the 1920's. When a dispute following one of the games allegedly resulted in a homicide the game was stopped and not resumed until an act of the Alabama legislature mandated it. But Auburn has 3 major rivals historically. Tech was a big deal. It ended when they joined the ACC. Georgia is more like two siblings getting ticked enough to fight. We simply hate the Bammers.

I just note that often on this board if it happened before Millennials were born it's like it never happened.