ABSTRACT
Are you a sports fan? If you are anything like me, you live and die with the fortunes of your favorite team. Rooting for your team also means that you need to develop an antipathy for its main rival. But what happens when two hated rivals are matched? What happens on the crisp autumn afternoon when the University of Michigan plays Notre Dame in football? Or when the New York Mets meet the Boston Red Sox? Who does one root for when the Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team tips off against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame? 1 As far as I can tell, it is impossible for both teams to lose. And virtually every sport has eliminated the opportunity for a tie. Such matchups may have been the impetus for the quote “the lesser of two evils.” In the end, I am left hoping that one team suffers a soul-crushing defeat while the winner has a Pyrrhic victory. 2
