The Washington Post recently published an article that went through the history of the Maryland-Duke basketball “rivalry.” The reason I say “rivalry” in quotations is because it’s not a real rivalry. One school, Maryland, looks at the rivalry as an actual rivalry, where the fans hate the other team’s fans and they always root for whoever is playing against their rival. The other school, Duke, looks at the rivalry as nothing more than a matchup with a team in the same conference as them who gives them -at best- a minor rise in interest. Duke laughs at Maryland for thinking of their matchup as a rivalry, while Maryland finds every reason to believe it is one.

A rivalry becomes competitive and interesting when both teams are good. Take a look at the prominent rivalries in major sports today: Red Sox-Yankees is the biggest rivalry in baseball, and arguably sports overall. Both teams are competing for World Series titles year in and year out, as well as competing for free agents. Seahawks-49ers is a rivalry that erupted two years ago in the NFL. Both teams are led by young quarterbacks, fiery coaches, and loyal fans. Both teams also have played for the NFC Championship the past two years. The Pacers-Heat rivalry in the NBA has also sparked in the last two years as the Pacers have attempted to dethrone the Heat. Again, both teams are very good, and are consistently competing for the Eastern Conference championship.

Maryland has not been consistently good at basketball since the early 2000s. They won the national championship in 2002, but since that season, they have been in the tournament only five times. Dominant programs in college basketball are in the NCAA tournament eight out of every nine years, if not every year. Five-out-of-eleven years sounds like a mediocre program.

Duke on the other hand, has not missed the NCAA tournament since the 1994-95 season. They have won two national championships in that span. They are a sure-fire, blue-blood men’s basketball program. It does not make sense for a program as prominent as Duke to be rivals with Maryland.

A rivalry must be between teams that are playing for something more than just a win. They must be playing for some kind of championship, like the Red Sox and Yankees do, like the Seahawks and 49ers do, and like the Pacers and Heat do. Maryland and Duke do not consistently play for anything more than win.

Maryland fans that argue that Duke is their rival are living in the early 2000s. That’s when Maryland and Duke were battling for ACC titles, when both teams were good. But now, Duke stomps on Maryland. Sure Maryland will steal a win from Duke here and there, or maybe two wins like they did last season, but a rivalry cannot be formed between a dominant team and a mediocre team. Perhaps Maryland and its fans can finally – as the Terps move to the Big 10 – find a true rival, one that is based on true competitive balance, not distant memories