Poll – Who is the biggest rival in Boston sports right now?

For decades, this question was not a question. The "Greatest Rivalry in Sports," which for a year or two it was right up there, was played between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

The intensity of each meeting was unmatched. The ill will on the field could be felt through your TV. But that's long ago. It began fading after the curse was reversed and this summer Sox-Yanks will be played in front of empty seats in both New York and Boston.

For a rivalry to be at its best, you need two teams either at the peak of their powers or with a long standing history of hatred. The former immediately removes the Sox and New England Patriots from the conversation. The latter is hard to come by in today's age of athlete, where everyone seems "buddy buddy" with each other.

Playoff hockey seems to be the one breeding ground for that kind of attitude, as we heard Brad Marchand admit to last week when discussing the hit he absorbed from Florida's Sam Bennett in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series vs. the Panthers.

"People don't want to say it but part of the playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team. The more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has. People don't say that but it's just a fact of the game."

While that sort of gladiatorial mindset gets phased out of athletics with each passing generation, the few bits that remain give life to intense, burning rivalries like the ones you see break out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What's the one team you can't stand seeing your favorite Boston squad take on?

Take advantage of the write-in option to submit your own answers to today's poll!