i think that "rival" shows team that are comparable to your own, maybe a bit stronger, maybe a bit weaker. one goal of the season - to win that team (of course fans should be very happy about that).
i houpe you understand what i am trying to say
Apparently I was wrong about the number of TV games. My next best guess is that this is the team you have played the most games with.
It definitely doesn't have anything to do with team strength.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."