History Main / OpposingSportsTeam

* Averted with ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' where opposing teams are never villainous, they simply have different philosophies and strategies. The opposing teams and characters' own emotional backgrounds are explored enough that it is hard not to feel bad when they lose or not to cheer when they win. A famous saying in the fandom is "The best thing about Haikyuu is you love all the teams. The worst thing about Haikyuu is you love all the teams".
** Subverted with Aoba Johsai and its captain Oikawa. While at first, it seems like Aoba Johsai will be set-up as their arch-enemy "villainous" school, they are a great team on their own right with great teamwork and have compelling and empathetic characters. In his first appearance, team's setter and captain Oikawa belittles Hinata and Kageyama, and it is clear Kageyama - who has known him in middle school - does not like his personality. It is also later revealed that Oikawa was once about to [[spoiler:hit a 12 year old Kageyama when they were in middle school]]. He also comes of as the intimidating super-star of his team. However, it is later revealed that his teammates trust him 100%. He is very supportive of each of them and is the best at giving them the most accurate sets. His dynamic with Kageyama also gets explored and shines a sympathetic light on Oikawa. The exploration of his character, his {{Backstory}}, and his CharacterDevelopment subverts his initial "villainous"ness.

* There is a solid ton of these in ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'', though most of the members of these teams are made just sympathetic enough to allow for mountains of SlashFic. Special cases are Higa (whose coach is a EvilTeacher and are portrayed almost textbook Jerkasses at first) and Rikkaidai (tennis-playing {{Knight Templar}}s... as well as a particularly strong set of TrueCompanions led by an IllBoy whom they genuinely care for)

* In ''Mario Smash Footbal'' (aka ''VideoGame/SuperMarioStrikers'') the final battle of the last Super Cup is a match against [[spoiler:Team Omega, robots based on Next-Level Games's mascot.]] They're the strongest team in the game, both due to their perfect stats and because [[spoiler:they all act as captains, which means they can all use super shots.]]

ָָָ* The Canadian team in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_No._17 Legend No.17]]. TruthInTelvision - the Canadian professionals played a much rougher style of hockey than the USSR team to begin with, but also pulled a few outright assaults that [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140201201037/http://english.portal.sport-express.ru/articles/9_68/ were considered dirty even by their standards]].

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

* This trend continues with Petey Pirahna's team in the final of VideoGame/MarioStrikersCharged, the sequel.

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'' has the Gorira Alliance, consisting of five {{Gonky Femme}}s and an effeminate-looking boy who happens to be [[HotGuyUglyWife dating the leader of the alliance]].

* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite features this. What makes this instance of the trope so poignant is that the opposing team is made up of Vulcans, who don't generally display emotion. While there was little in the way of UnnecessaryRoughness in the game, the Vulcan Captain was obviously smug about his team's superiority.

* ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury'' has the Backdraft Group, an illegal organisation which subverts the "noble" sport of Zoids battles and forces the hero team into unsanctioned battles. Fortuntely, the Backdraft Group seems to be primarily made up of maldjusted screwups...

** The Dalton Warblers, who despite being [[TheComicallySerious hilariously humourless]] and devoid of human personalities prep school boys are [[WorthyOpponent honourable]] and [[FriendlyEnemy friendly]] opponents. That is until the following season where their new (but still openly gay lead singer) throws a slushie spiked with rock salt at the old lead singer and nearly blinds him (he was actually aiming for his boyfriend) and then the season after where they take performance enhancement drugs.

* The main opposing choir in ''Film/SisterAct2'' doesn't really come across as bad, per se, so much as acting disturbingly like a homogeneous ''army''. They are genuinely good singers, but it is loosely implied that there isn't really any spirit to it.

** Subverted with Aoba Johsai and its captain Oikawa. While at first, it seems like Aoba Johsai will be set-up as their arch-enemy "villainous" school, they are a great team on their own right with great teamwork and have compelling and empathetic characters. In his first appearance, team's setter and captain Oikawa, belittles Hinata and Kageyama and it is clear Kageyama - who has known him in middle school - does not like his personality. It is also later revealed that Oikawa was once about to [[spoiler:hit a 12 year old Kageyama when they were in middle school]]. He also comes of as the intimidating super-star of his team. However, it is later revealed that his teammates trust him 100%. He is very supportive of each of them and is the best at giving them the most accurate sets. His dynamic with Kageyama also gets explored and shines a sympathetic light on Oikawa. The exploration of his character, his {{Backstory}}, and his CharacterDevelopment subverts his initial "villainous"ness.

** The Kirisaki Daiichi team is full of unrepentant cheaters. They are led by Makoto Hanamiya, who tells Kuroko that he plays the way he does for no other reason besides liking to see the faces of the players whose dreams he has crushed. They are also responsible for injuring Teppei Kiyoshi years ago and compromising his career. They don't regret it even a bit.

* The ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' movies dabbled with the trope. While in the first two films, Apollo Creed is just a big-shot in an ivory tower, Rocky's later opponents turn villainous. Clubber Lang from ''Film/RockyIII'' is a trash-talking, disrespectful thug, Ivan Drago from ''Film/RockyIV'' is a soulless, heartless freak of science, and Tommy Gunn from ''Film/RockyV'' is a traitor. Only in ''Film/RockyBalboa'' does the franchise return to its roots with Mason Dixon, a nice enough guy who simply needs to be tested.

* In the UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} film ''film/{{Lagaan}}'', a RagtagBunchOfMisfits from an Indian village face off against a bunch of snooty [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British soldiers]] in a game of cricket.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' features a few of these. The Amino Cyborgs are the "soulless regimen" type, while the Zokugaku Chameleons start out as the "filthy cheaters" type. The Hakushuu Dinosaurs would be considered cheaters in most other series, as their game revolves around injuring the opposition, but they're just looked down on as unfair and mean. Lastly, the Teikoku Alexanders have the anti-aesop thing going, since the rivalry inside the team is almost bigger than that against their opponents. The series also averts this, as many of the opposing teams are portrayed sympathetically, or as [[TheRival rivals]]. The series doesn't play down the fact that the Devil Bats are crushing many, many other players' dreams, either. In some games, the opposition comes off so well, you almost root for ''them''.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' gives this treatment to a group of high school students during a dodgeball game early in the manga.

* In the Bollywood film ''Bollywood/{{Lagaan}}'', a RagtagBunchOfMisfits from an Indian village face off against a bunch of snooty [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British soldiers]] in a game of cricket.

* Subverted in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. For one thing, Our Team is the upper-class university faculty, and the OpposingSportsTeam (Ankh-Morpork United) are the scrappy and diverse working-class souls. For another, AMU, while somewhat antagonistic, and with a history of violent play (admittedly before there were any rules against violence) play fair ... with one exception, and [[spoiler:after the match he gets walloped by his own captain for nearly ruining it for everyone]].

* In one ''Series/MagnumPI'' Robin Masters bet the estate on a softball game with another playboy after losing a card game. While the estate's team was composed of local amateurs, the OpposingSportsTeam was composed of [[HiredGuns ringers]]. This was a subversion in that the underdog-with-a-lot of heart, team lost. But this was rectified when it was discovered that the original card game was crooked.

** Parodied in one storyline: Rayne and Mick help coach an all-girl Little League team. [[GenreSavvy At first they expect]] the girls to be the RagtagBunchOfMisfits who struggle throughout the season only to beat the OpposingSportsTeam in the championship game, but it turns out that their team is actually very good. Only when they make it to the final game and their opponents turn out to be a group of downtrodden orphans does Rayne realize that he and his girls ''are'' the OpposingSportsTeam.

'''Mick:''' [[GenreSavvy So]] ''[[GenreSavvy they're]]'' [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits the underdog team]] [[UnderdogsNeverLose rising up to surpass impossible odds]]. [[HeelRealization That would make us]] [[OpposingSportsTeam the arrogant champions willing to do anything to win]]. [[IgnoredEpiphany And I think I'm fine with that, as long as we win]]. Where are you going?\\

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hurricanes}}'', an animated series about a team of American soccer players, had the Garkos Gorgons, the typical "cheating" team. Occasionally, however, The Hurricanes themeselves would exhibit the behavior of the OpposingSportsTeam, and be defeated for it.

* In ''Franchise/ArchieComics'', Riverdale plays almost exclusively against Central City, an entire city with a population of nothing but criminals, cheaters, and con artists, all of whom hate everything pertaining to Riverdale. The one time a Central player was portrayed sympathetically was when Archie and Chuck saved his life, while his friend ''abandoned him to die'' so he could win the race.

->''[[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33426 "You Will Suffer Humiliation When The Sports Team From My Area Defeats The Sports Team From Your Area"]]''

* Subverted in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals''. For one thing, Our Team is the upper-class university faculty, and the OpposingSportsTeam (Ankh-Morpork United) are the scrappy and diverse working-class souls. For another, AMU, while somewhat antagonistic, and with a history of violent play (admittedly before there were any rules against violence) play fair ... with one exception, and [[spoiler:after the match he gets walloped by his own captain for nearly ruining it for everyone]].

* Cobra Kai (naturally) from ''Film/TheKarateKid'' are every bit the opposing team, down to the sadistic coach, imposing black uniforms, and sneering superiority. In the end they even resort to [[spoiler:"SWEEP THE LEG!"]]

[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sports_5532.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[UnnecessaryRoughness Sometimes]] they also [[UseYourHead headbutt.]]]]

* Spoofed with [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1896300 this]] ''Website/CollegeHumor'' video. As it turns out, it's the same group playing in multiple sports, trying (and failing) to win against a werewolf pointguard, a field goal kicking horse, and a child in magic shoes. And finally, [[spoiler:with a cry of, "We are ''done'' being made the fool! OOH-RAAAAAAAH!" the team turns rather...psychotic.]]