Yankees vs Red Sox

The Yankees–Red Sox rivalry is the oldest and most bitter in American professional sports, dating to 1901. The Curse of the Bambino—Boston's 1920 sale of Babe Ruth to New York—created 86 years of agony, ending with the Red Sox's 2004 World Series win after an unprecedented 3–0 ALCS comeback. Key moments include Aaron Boone's 2003 ALCS Game 7 walk-off homer and Dave Roberts' 2004 steal, generating over $1 billion in cumulative media value and keeping both teams among the most valuable in MLB. This rivalry's media value is actually higher than the India–Pakistan cricket rivalry's per-match revenue, though it attracts a smaller live audience of about 40 million per game.