Gillingham: Sporting rivalries that span the generations
They are occasions that stir the blood, reviving memories of some of the great and most meaningful head-to-heads of the past – Johnno's heroes of '97 or Willie John's in '74 though the number most closely associated with his touring party was "99".
Then there was Ian Botham's genius that lit up Headingley and Warney's opening stanza in Test cricket which bamboozled Gatting at Old Trafford.
And what about those classic contests on the parched lawns of SW19 – Evert v Navratilova; Borg v McEnroe or, more recently, Nadal and Federer.
Each and every one is worthy of a mention in a top dozen of sport's greatest rivalries or head-to-heads. Here, though, are my top five . . .
IN 1980 it was a rivalry that divided the nation in the same way that derbies split Manchester into City and United and Glasgow Rangers or Celtic.
No one who professed to care anything about sport didn't have a preference. You were either behind the Tough of the track or the Toff of it; supporting the rebel or the institution figure; Sheffield or Brighton; media friendly type or publicity shy one; Mummy's and Daddy's boy or the fellow whose home life was not quite so straightforward.
Coe and Ovett had largely dodged one another throughout their careers; the 1980 Olympics, though, would see them go head-to-head over both 800m and 1500m.
Coe, blessed with stunning speed and acceleration, would go on to become the world 800m record holder and was expected to win gold in that event.
Ovett, on the other hand, was tactically brilliant; the 1500m title appeared destined to be his. In the end, Ovett won the first event, the 800, with Coe having his revenge in the 1500.
Ovett admitted later that if the finals had been scheduled the other way round then he'd probably have won the 1500 and Coe the 800. The spoils, Ovett insists, were destined to be shared. And he was probably right.
DANCING Brave was possibly the greatest mile-and-a-half three-year-old colt never to have won the Derby. Having won the 2000 Guineas, he went off 2-1 favourite at Epsom but, held up for a late run by jockey Greville Starkey, found the finishing post arriving too quickly as Shahrastani hung on to win.
With Starkey sidelined, Pat Eddery took the ride and after winning the Eclipse at Sandown, arrived at Ascot for the King George VI Stakes and the rematch with Shahrastani.
Yours truly was propping up the inside rail that day, just inside the one furlong pole and what I saw was one of the greatest athletics displays – on four legs or two – as Dancing Brave swept past his rival with a breathtaking turn of foot.
MY formative sporting years came in the mid-70s when satellite television was a pipe-dream and live sport from halfway round the world was rare.
So the 1974 Ashes series in Australia demanded early mornings with ear cupped to the wireless and a long wait for the highlights on BBC2 that evening.
What was obvious from the mellifluous tones of Alan McGilvray was that this new bloke Jeff Thomson – he of the slinging action – was quick and dangerous. In tandem with his more orthodox, yet equally deadly, new-ball partner Dennis Lillee, they had England's batsmen on the hop.
One-by-one they were sidelined with broken bones as the Aussie duo bounced the Poms into Ashes oblivion. Mike Denness was the England captain, powerless to act, as even the apparently long-departed from Test cricket Colin Cowdrey was dispatched Down Under to offer a bit of stubborn resistance and English stiff upper lip. As the Sydney Morning Herald put it: "Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Thomson don't get ya, Lillee must".
NICKLAUS v Watson and their "Duel in the Sun" at Turnberry in 1977 was, along with the Garcia/Woods clash at Medinah for the USPGA title ten years ago, the greatest of modern day golfing clashes. Neither has yet to have a film made about them though.
"The Greatest Game Ever Played" involved a 20-year-old wannabe and the finest Open champion of all.
The scene was Brookline near Boston and a US Open that was apparently destined for the great British professional Harry Vardon, whose record of six Open Championship titles eluded Tom Watson, Peter Thomson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player and still doubles the tally won by Tiger Woods.
Francis Ouimet was a 20-year-old American of poor immigrant stock. He worked in a sports shop by day and needed to ask time off from his boss even to take his place in the US Open field.
Carrying Ouimet's bag was a ten-year-old kid, yet the pair held off the challenge of Vardon to lift the trophy; a turning point in American golf.
It broke the mould. No longer was golf perceived to be elitist, as hundreds of municipal courses sprung up across the land while the World Golf Hall of Fame recognised Ouimet's triumph as being the moment that "the notion that golf was a stuffy game for the old and rich" was swept away.
ALI and Frazier genuinely hated one another. They met three times in the ring. The first went Frazier's way; Ali failing to regain the world title after having served a jail term.
Ali won the second and the decider was the acclaimed "Thriller in Manila" in 1975 which lasted 14 of the scheduled 15 rounds. The pair slugged it out for each and all of the three-minute rounds before Eddie Futch in Frazier's corner threw in the towel.
It was believed that both fighters were in decline but in searing heat and humidity, they produced arguably the most brutal ever contest. In one clinch, Ali muttered to Frazier: "Joe, they told me you was all washed up." Frazier growled back: "They lied."
Frazier may have been spent when Futch ended the fight but his opponent wasn't far behind him – Ali collapsed in a heap as he attempted to celebrate. Ali said later: "Man, I hit him with punches that would bring down the walls of a city. Lordy, he's great! Joe Frazier is one hell of a man. If God ever calls me to a Holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me."
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