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Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers Is the Best NFL Rivalry

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Colin Kaepernick Russell Wilson San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks NFC Championship

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What makes a good rivalry? The definition states that a rivalry exists between two teams competing for the same goal. In the NFL, the definition goes deeper than that, as most rivalries involve a form of hatred towards the other team or city competing in the same division. There’s also traditionally a historical factor.

While it may lack the latter, the rivalry between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers has been the best in the league for the past two seasons. There are other rivalries that have lasted longer and have more history, but no rivalry is as intense as the Seahawks and the 49ers.

Why is it the best? Well, to start, these two teams do not like each other. Both teams have won the NFC West in the past two years. But the unique part of this rivalry is that it goes deeper than two teams competing for a division crown. There are even better sub-plots.

It’s Pete Carroll against Jim Harbaugh – two coaches who have battled for supremacy since their days in the Pac-10. It’s Russell Wilson against Colin Kaepernick, two young and dynamic quarterbacks who are reinventing the position. It’s Richard Sherman talking bad about Michael Crabtree. It’s Kam Chancellor laying the boom on Vernon Davis in Seattle. It’s Frank Gore‘s long run to seal last year’s game in San Francisco. It’s Anquan Boldin terrorizing Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary. It’s a game that everyone around the country wants to watch. It’s defense against defense. It’s “old-school” football. It’s physical. It’s drama.

There are few matchups in the NFL that warrant this much attention because of how many different things there are to watch. Last year’s NFC Championship game in Seattle was arguably the best game of the entire year, and one of the most dramatic finishes in a championship game in recent memory. That game solidified this rivalry.

There’s a reason that the league decided to schedule these two teams to play on Thanksgiving in primetime. In their first meeting since Sherman’s infamous “tip,” this promises to be a competitive game between two 7-4 teams that are still in the division race. The Arizona Cardinals may lead the NFC West right now, but the Seahawks and 49ers are still the two heavyweights in the NFL’s most competitive division. Get your popcorn ready, folks.

Connor Frederickson is a Seattle Seahawks Writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @cfredrun or add him to your network on Google.

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