Throughout the history of sports, competition has always been the fuel that feeds the fire. But rivalries are the wood that makes the fire burn. Rivalries make the greatest athletes in the world exceed the even highest expectations and far surpass feats of normal human beings. It pushes them to the limit and beyond. It’s the fuel that feeds their inner desire to not only win, but to demolish that inner demon that is their rival. Since the inception of sports into the mainstream there has never been a shortage of great rivalries.

The late 50’s and early 60’s saw two giants do battle on the court. Wilt “the Stilt” Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell. The 60’s saw Jack “the Golden Bear” Nicklaus go shot for shot against Arnold Palmer and his army of fans. The 80’s and early 90’s saw the flash and brilliance of Ervin “Magic” Johnson battle the grit and determination of Larry “the Legend” Bird. Flash-forward to present day and these rivalries are still fresh in the minds of many sports fans. But the new era has also produced some great rivalries itself. Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickleson, Kobe vs. Lebron and many more. But with Vegas only mere days away is there a new rivalry about to put its stamp on the history books? Will Reed vs. Stewart live in the minds of race fans 20 or even 30 years from now such as these great rivalries have?

Let us know take at trip into the past and find out what made these rivalries so great and how they compare to the battle Reed and Stewart have embarked on this Supercross season.

Chamberlain vs. Russell

For three seasons Bill Russell dominated the NBA. No one had ever seen anything like him. Then along came Wilt Chamberlain. He was three inches taller, just as quick and the greatest offensive center the world had ever seen. Many basketball historians thought this was the end of an era, the end of Bill Russell’s reign.

But as one veteran guard would later say, “This challenge by Chamberlain is going to make [Russell] better than ever. He’s got a lot of pride and nobody is going to knock him off that All-Star team without a fight.”

While Chamberlain was rewriting the record books many thought Russell would sit ideally by and watch one of the greatest centers ever. Instead, Russell was just beginning to make records of his own. These two giants did battle 142 times during the 10 year stint of their rivalry. They would dominate the NBA for many years and win a handful of championships, or in Russell’s case two handfuls of championships. He amassed 11 NBA rings in his 13-year career. While all Chamberlain did was average over 30 points and 22 boards a game over his career, while also being the only player in NBA history to score 100-points in a game. Some have called this the greatest rivalry in NBA history.

After his 2004 Supercross title, and with Ricky Carmichael’s career slowly coming to an end, many in the industry thought this was Reed’s time, this was Reed’s era, similar to the Bill Russell story. Then in 2005 along came James “Bubba” Stewart. His hard charging aggressive style and speed was something the world had never seen before, similar to the attributes of Chamberlain. But like Russell, Reed was not going to sit ideally by and watch Stewart rewrite the record books. Instead Reed charged harder than ever and almost took home the 2005 Supercross title, but ultimately lost out to Carmichael. While Stewart would take home the 2007 title, Reed would fight back and make the 2008 Supercross season his (Stewart missed the 2008 Supercross Season due to injury).

Reed vs. Stewart is similar to Russell vs. Chamberlain in that Reed, like Russell, is not going to sit by and watch Stewart (like Chamberlain) rewrite the record books without having something to say about it.

Nicklaus vs. Palmer

Many young golf fans will probably tell you that the greatest rivalry ever in the game of golf is the current one between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson. While the Tiger vs. Phil rivalry has heated up in the last couple of years it’s not even on the same block as what the Nicklaus vs. Palmer rivalry produced.

This rivalry was a passing of the torch in some sorts. Palmer was making his slow exit as the man on top while the Golden Bear was just getting started. While the Palmer vs. Nicklaus show did provide much entertainment on the course the rivalry meant much more to the game of golf. This duo changed the game of golf forever and made it the game it is today. This was especially true regarding fan interest and in regards to television.

Palmer was the fan favorite and it wasn’t until Nicklaus, and the fierce competition he brought to the game, that fans watched these televised matches. Nicklaus battled Palmer tooth and nail for many years but he also had to deal with the rabid supporters of Palmer, which were known as “Arnie’s Army.” While Nicklaus got the better of him on the course, amassing 18 majors (still a record) to Palmer’s 7, the two changed the game of golf forever.

While Reed was not considered the man on top when Stewart entered the Supercross class, Carmichael was, Reed was definitely number two in line. And Stewart had to take that thrown from him, similar to the path that was laid out for Nicklaus. And Stewart did that when he took home the 2007 Supercross championship. While Reed did fight back to win the 2008 Supercross championship it was while Stewart was on the sideline. So now the roles are reversed, Stewart is considered the top rider in the world and Reed, much like Palmer, has to reclaim his throne atop the hierarchy of Supercross.

Reed vs. Stewart, similar to Nicklaus vs. Palmer, will change the way Supercross is viewed for many years to come. This battle has proven to drive fans to the arena even with the economy in the toilet. This epic battle has proven that Supercross can transcend itself and be a nationally televised sport along with golf. Fans want to see the two best athletes in their sport battle for supremacy. And with Stewart and Reed providing some of the best bar-to-bar action the sport has ever seen, the fans have not been disappointed.

Bird vs. Magic

Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson was not just two of the greatest athletes of their time doing battle on the hardwood. It was East vs. West, Flash vs. Blue Collar, Lakers vs. Celtics. The teams met in the NBA Finals three times in the 1980s, with the Celtics winning in '84 and the Lakers in '85 and '87.

The Lakers and Celtics dominated the 1980s. At least one of them reached the championship round every year. But when they played each other, it was extra special. Everyone knew the "Beat L-A! Beat L-A!" chant that reverberated through the old Boston Garden.

Unlike some of the rivalries mentioned earlier these two did not like each other. Magic Johnson once said in a video, "I hated him! I hated Larry. It was just like that. There's no other word to use." And that is what made the rivalry even more intense. The distaste for each other could be seen from miles away and that’s the way they wanted it.

The similarity between Bird and Magic resonates more than any other rivalry with the one we have with Stewart and Reed. No matter how much these two try and play nice, they flat out do not like one another. As Magic Johnson would say, there’s no other word to use. It's Stewart’s flash vs. Reed’s blue-collar style; add in Reed’s distaste for Larry Brooks and you have a ready-made rivalry.

Reed vs. Stewart

As we saw with Bird and Magic, although these two do not seem to like each other, they definitely respect one another. Each understands how much work and determination it takes to win a round in Supercross, much less a championship. This weekend in Sin City, if Stewart and Reed bust out of the gate chasing one another like we have already seen this year, this could boil over into one of the most epic races the Supercross community has ever seen. While these two have embarked on an epic battle this season, to be mentioned as one of the greatest rivalries like the ones listed above they will have to continue to go bar-to-bar for many years to come.