History Main / OpposingSportsTeam

** For added humor, at one point Rayne reacts to the standard {{Glurge}} moment from the other team by [[SmiteMeOMightySmiter looking up at the sky and saying "I don't care, we're playing to win."]] A near-miss from a BoltOfDivineRetribution convinces him to throw the game.

* Not a sports team, but in ''Anime/WakeUpGirls'', I-1 club is essentially this, being Japan's top IdolSinger group (and an Music/AKB48) {{Expy}}) enduring a soulless training regimen where members can be fired for a single screwup (and in the backstory, Mayu was essentially [[spoiler:fired for standing up for her friend]]).

* The Leader team from ''ComicBook/MichelVaillant''.

* Team Hostile Takeover Bank (Chick Hicks' sponsor) from ''WesternAnimation/Cars1''. Francesco in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' as well, if only for his arrogance.

* The "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons of the Late 80's and Early 90's were a tough team that embraced their "villain" image. Headlined by stars Bill Laimbeer and Isaiah Thomas, The Pistons' gritty and physical defensive style of play pushed the limits of legality and made a ton of enemies with the Celtics, Bulls, Lakers, and many others. It was [[IntendedAudienceReaction practically intended]] [[HateSink on their part]], because they wanted to bully and crush teams physically and mentally on their way to winning.

** Another episode features Ace of Diamonds and His Jewels, an exhibition softball team [[{{Expy}} in the style of]] the Harlem Globetrotters. Hank coaches the Arlen team to put up a token resistance against the celebrity team, who - [[MinorInjuryUnderreaction unused to their opponents bunting]] - immediately become the OpposingSportsTeam themselves, trouncing the amateur team and [[KickTheDog walking away with the giant novelty check]], which was supposed to go to charity.

** The most commonly seen Opposing Sports Team are the Gorira Alliance, a gang of GonkyFemme delinquents who often appear whenever Rentarou's family needs a team to compete against. After their first appearance, they're much friendlier to the family and have no issue helping the family out. When Ahko's former friends run afoul of them, the leader is willing to let them off with a warning when they claim to know Karane.

* ''Theater/TheCollegeWidow1904'': Atwater and Bingham are rival universities in every aspect but it all crystallizes during the football seasons. Each year, both institutions subject their teams to grueling training and make sure to hand-pick all the best high school graduates.[[note]]Fun fact: Atwater and Bingham have a TruthInTelevision rivalry known as the Monon Bell[[/note]]

* All three of the ''Film/MajorLeague'' movies have this, complete with playing a BigGame against the rival team at the end. In the first two films the good guys are playing for the Cleveland Indians[[note]]now the Cleveland Guardians[[/note]] Major League Baseball team and in the first film they have to face the much better New York Yankees team who routinely dominate the Indians. The Yankees seem destined to cruise to first place until [[MiracleRally a late season rally]] by the Indians forces the two teams to face each other in the playoffs. In the second film the Chicago White Sox become their opponents, and both the rivalry and unsportsmanlike tactics heat up after {{Jerkass}} star player Jack Parkman (who had been acquired by the Indians between seasons), is traded to the White Sox in the middle of the season and he makes it his mission to beat the Indians. The third film, which is only tangentially related to the first two, involves a scrappy minor league team trying to prove itself against their arrogant big league counterpart.

* UsefulNotes/ColdWar musical ''Theatre/{{Chess}}'' subverts the trope by introducing a InternationalShowdownByProxy chess championship between an American and a Russian, but then revealing the American to be a bit of a {{Jerkass}} and ending the first act with the Russian winning the title and [[DefectorFromCommieLand defecting]].

* In ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Lakehurst starts out as this. It gets worse.

In ProfessionalWrestling, usually with {{Tag Team}}s, an Opposing Sports Team is usually a team full of {{Heel}}s, while the hero team usually consists of the {{Face}}s.

In ProfessionalWrestling, an Opposing Sports Team is usually a team full of {{Heel}}s, while the hero team usually consists of the {{Face}}s.

* ''VideoGame/{{WarioWare}} Smooth Moves'' has Team Dinosaur as the opposing sports team to the one Mona is cheerleading for. The team is made up of the antagonists from the local PredatoryBusiness.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioStrikers'' (aka ''Mario Smash Football''), 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.]]
** This trend continues with Petey Pirahna's team in the final of ''VideoGame/MarioStrikersCharged'', the sequel.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' with Teikoku Academy's soccer team. They start out giving this impression, but halfway through it turns out that all the actual villainy is committed by their "commander"/coach and some of his henchmen, all behind the backs of the actual players. The players themselves actually turn out to be perfectly nice people (if a bit intimidating due to their skill and military-grade discipline) and revolt when they find out about their coach. Their team captain Kidou even voluntarily offers to forfeit the match because of it, but Endou's not the type to take an easy victory on a technicality.

* ''Literature/TheOtherGirl'': Most of the baseball players in Shane's school belong to one of two teams: the Cardinals and the Mustangs. Shane is a Cardinal, and TheBully Nico is a Mustang. The Mustangs have gone to regionals for the last five years, unlike the Cardinals. Shane is one of the Cardinals' best players, and it's implied that part of the reason Nico [[ForcedOutOfTheCloset outs him as trans]] is to make the Cardinals turn on each other. During the regionals, Nico tries to distract Shane by wiggling his hips and yelling "You throw like a girl!"

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

Also seen in [[AdvertisingTropes commercials]] as the side that doesn't endorse the main product, whom the hero defeats through CerealInducedSuperpowers.

The villains of any sports series or movie, the Opposing Sports Team is the number one team before the main hero's eventual victory. They seem to be made up of {{Designated Villain}}s and [[VillainyFreeVillain Villainy Free Villains]], but they are not: they got to this point not because of TeamSpirit, but because of either [[LoopholeAbuse cheating]] and/or bullying and abusive behaviour or at the best of times a [[TrainingFromHell grueling, soulless regimen]] that goes against whatever [[AnAesop the Aesop]] of the show is. They almost always wear a uniform that is mostly black. These may be ThePsychoRangers to sports what the StopHavingFunGuys are to video games; the [[CombatPragmatist types who play the game solely to win, and will resort to any means to do so]].

See also TechnicianVersusPerformer. JerkJock is about individual athletes who are jerks, but there is some overlap, in that they have similar attitudes of cruelty, aggression, the acceptability of [[KickTheDog kicking dogs]] and abuse of all the privileges of being a winning athlete.