Buzz
Due to the continuous demand for additional lists, fueled by great user feedback and abundant research material, I’ve decided to follow up on my earlier list, the Top Ten Intense Three-way Rivalries from November 16, 2010. Here’s 10 MORE Three-Way Rivalries.
As you might expect, I find three-way rivalries to be incredibly intriguing—far more complex than the typical two-sided ones. Plus, this theme offers an opportunity to touch on a variety of topics that might not seem related at first glance, giving everyone a chance to learn something new. I’ve even slipped in a few personal book recommendations along the way. I hope you enjoy these latest picks, which blend past suggestions, explore new themes, and round out the collection to a nice total of twenty.
10. Rock, Paper, Scissors
You've played it, but do you know where it came from? According to the World Rock Paper Scissors Society, the game likely originated in Japan around 200 BC. It eventually made its way to Europe and then to America, brought over by Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, who led the French Expeditionary Force during the American Revolutionary War. In fact, if you feel like it, you could call the game 'Roshambo,' as it’s also known.
There are other versions of the game, one of which comes from Japan and includes a chief, a tiger, and the chief’s mother. The chief beats the tiger, the tiger beats the chief’s mother, and naturally, the chief’s mother beats the chief. I couldn’t find the hand gestures for that version. By the way, if you’re curious about how to always win at Rock Paper Scissors, click here.
9. The Second Roman Triumvirate
What political change in history was more monumental than Rome’s shift from a republic to an empire? At its heart, between approximately 44 BC and 30 BC, there was a three-way rivalry between Octavius, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony.
The tale of the Second Roman Triumvirate has it all: Conspiracy (Julius Caesar's assassination), an alliance (the Brundisium Treaty), bitter grudges (Quintus Tullius Cicero, among others), relentless power struggles (Sextus Pompeius and others), marriage (Antony and Octavian’s sister Octavia), romance (Antony and Cleopatra), the fall of one dynasty (Cleopatra and the pharaohs), and the rise of another (Augustus, Caesar of Rome).
8. The Race to the 4-Minute Mile
Enter Roger Bannister, a self-taught Oxford medical student; John Landy, an Australian who had built endurance by chasing butterflies as a child; and Wes Santee, an abused boy from a Kansas farm. Their mission was clear yet mutually exclusive: to be the first person ever to run a mile (1,609 meters) in under 4 minutes. The winner was Bannister, who made history on May 6, 1954, in Oxford, where a plaque still honors his achievement. His time (3:59.4) would be surpassed a month later by Landy (3:57.9). Bannister, however, was the first, and he would beat Landy in a head-to-head, double sub-four race the following August in Vancouver. In 1955, Santee ran his personal best of 4:00.5.
Enter Roger Bannister, a self-taught (at running) Oxford medical student; John Landy, an Australian who had built endurance as a child by chasing butterflies for his collection; and Wes Santee, an abused American boy from a Kansas farm. The mission was self evident and mutually exclusive: to be the first person ever to run a mile (1,609 meters) in under 4 minutes. The winner was Bannister, who earned immortality on May 6, 1954, in Oxford, where a plaque still hangs in his honor. His time (3:59.4) would be broken a month later by Landy (3:57.9). Bannister was first, however, and Bannister would defeat Landy in a head-to-head, double sub-four race the following August, in Vancouver. In 1955, Santee ran his personal best-ever time at 4:00.5.
7. Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Vince McMahon
In the world of professional wrestling, rivalry is everything. Wrestlers and promoters spend months carefully building tension, creating 'heat', to give the audience the intense drama they crave. But sometimes, the line between what's scripted and what's real becomes harder to distinguish. A prime example of this occurred in 1997 with the WWF, when the intense feud between Bret 'The Hitman' Hart and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin captivated fans. Their legendary submission match at WrestleMania 13 is regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Remarkably, this match wasn't for a title or even the main event of the evening, though it won Match-of-the-Year honors and became a rare and pivotal instance of the 'double-turn' in wrestling lore.
The drama continued in 1997 as Vince McMahon, facing mounting pressure from the rising competitor WCW, struggled to maintain dominance in the wrestling world. WCW had been poaching talent from the WWF, and Bret Hart, who had recently entered his fifth reign as WWF Champion, was approached with an offer. After a series of contentious events involving deceit, espionage, and lawsuits, it was clear that Bret and the WWF were on a collision course. To shorten an epic saga (though for more details, read Bret Hart’s autobiography 'Hitman'), the infamous Montreal Screwjob took place on November 9, 1997. Bret was cheated out of his title and his WWF career in a moment that blurred the lines between reality and fiction.
The betrayal that occurred during the Montreal Screwjob helped solidify the McMahon family's role as villains, with Vince McMahon’s heel persona becoming central to the rivalry. This created the perfect antagonist for Steve Austin, who would soon propel the WWF to new heights, eventually leading to the downfall of WCW by 1999. Over the years, the bitter rivalry would evolve, including the tragic loss of Bret Hart’s brother, Owen, during a WWF event. However, Bret eventually reconciled with Vince McMahon, returning to a role within the company. In an ironic twist, Steve Austin served as the Master of Ceremonies at Bret Hart's induction into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
6. Three Universes
My initial list had a mention of the Miss Universe pageant, but before diving into that subject, we first had to settle on a model for our universe. In the late 1500s, there were three main contenders for this concept. The first was proposed by the renowned librarian Ptolemy, who envisioned Earth as the central point, surrounded by the moon, the sun, and the stars. This 'geocentric' view, rooted in ancient philosophy, was widely accepted and continued to dominate well into the Middle Ages.
The second model came from Copernicus, who, just before his death in 1543, unveiled his 'heliocentric' theory. In this model, the sun was at the center, with the Earth and other planets revolving around it. Not long after, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe offered a third model that combined elements from both previous ones. Brahe proposed that Earth remained fixed at the center, but the sun revolved around it, with the planets and stars orbiting the sun. This theory was a hybrid, and Brahe even accounted for the trajectory of a comet. (It was universally understood that the moon revolved around the Earth.) Each model had its own merits and drawbacks, supported by a passionate group of followers. However, after the invention of Galileo’s telescope and Kepler’s mathematical refinements, the Copernican model emerged victorious, albeit after some fiery confrontations.
We might take pride in knowing that the Earth revolves around the sun, a fact they didn't know. Yet, it’s worth noting that Albert Einstein would later introduce a theory stating that all motion is relative to an observer's point of view, effectively bringing the center of the universe back to Earth, where it all began.
Bizarre tangent: Tycho Brahe met an unfortunate end, passing away from a ruptured bladder after he was unable to obtain permission to leave a formal dinner.
5. Three Cousins
While Britain had aligned with France and Russia in the Triple Entente, this did not necessarily guarantee that Britain would be compelled to join the war. In the crucial days leading up to the conflict, it wasn’t at all certain. After all, Britain and Germany shared deep ties. Queen Victoria, their grandmother, had a preference for Germany over France. The Kaiser not only attended Edward VII’s funeral dressed in British military attire, but he also held the hand of the widow (who was his aunt). As for Wilhelm and Nicholas, here’s a poignant piece of history: when they exchanged letters in July 1914, desperately searching for a way to prevent war, they affectionately referred to each other as “Willy” and “Nicky.” Despite the mounting tensions among nations, this kinship between the two cousins remained, at least for a brief moment, tender. The tragic aftermath would follow soon after.
The political landscape was in turmoil, yet the personal bond between the cousins Wilhelm and Nicholas stood in stark contrast. The impending war loomed, but in those final days of diplomacy, their familial ties offered a fleeting glimpse of human connection amidst the growing conflict.
For an in-depth look at the events that led to 'The Great War,' I highly recommend *The Guns of August* by Barbara Tuchman. It earned the Pulitzer Prize (in my opinion, largely due to the first chapter) and became required reading for all of President John F. Kennedy’s cabinet members during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Tsar and his cousin, the Kaiser, are featured prominently in the narrative.
4. Walt Disney, News Corporation, Time Warner
These media giants shape much of the information and entertainment we consume. While they’re not the only major players—Viacom and NBC Universal also contribute—they are the three largest. The Walt Disney Company, for instance, owns ABC, multiple movie studios like Pixar Animation Studios, a wide range of cable/satellite networks such as The Disney Channel, The History Channel, Lifetime, ESPN and its related networks, and even Marvel Comics. Additionally, Disney oversees iconic theme parks, resorts, and a cruise line.
News Corp controls an impressive portfolio, including 20th Century Fox, Fox Television Studios, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports, The Sun and The Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and several other properties like National Geographic and MySpace. Time Warner (formerly known as Time Warner AOL) is best known for its two flagship brands: Warner Bros. and Time Inc., which publishes Time, Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, and more than 100 other magazines. They also own numerous cable/satellite networks such as HBO, CNN, TBS, and Cartoon Network.
It's important to acknowledge that countless three-way rivalries exist within this intricate landscape. Some examples include: Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd from *Looney Tunes* (Warner), Batman/Joker/Catwoman from *DC Comics* (again, Warner), and even Humans/Elves/Dwarfs from *The Lord of the Rings* film trilogy (distributed by New Line Cinema, a Warner subsidiary).
3. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
We are all familiar with the classic battle between good and evil, but what happens when that age-old conflict is twisted into a three-way struggle? Edmund Burke is often quoted saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This could create three distinct groups: the good, the evil, and the indifferent or complacent. However, it’s perhaps more thrilling to consider this scenario the way Italian director Sergio Leone approached it in his 1966 western *The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly*, starring Clint Eastwood (“il buono”), Lee Van Cleef (“il brutto”), and Eli Wallach (as Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez, or “il cattivo”). The film, the third in a trilogy, follows a hunt for lost gold, culminating in a climactic three-way showdown between the three armed men, a.k.a. a Mexican Standoff. No spoilers here.
This entry takes the top spot not only because it represents a quintessential three-way rivalry, but because it reaches its peak in a guns-drawn confrontation. Moreover, no other rivalry on this list has the added impact of an Ennio Morricone score. Those horns are unbeatable. Quentin Tarantino (known for his use of the Mexican Standoff and Morricone's music, although never combining both at once) praised *The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly* as “the best directed film of all-time.” Given that imitation is the highest form of flattery, Tarantino's endorsement speaks volumes.
2. The Daughters of King Lear
This rivalry is iconic for several reasons, the most notable being that it’s the most common and intense form of rivalry: sibling rivalry. It stands as the definitive example of this in Shakespeare’s works, and arguably in all of English literature.
In *King Lear*, the aging king asks each of his three daughters—Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia—to declare the extent of their love for him, in exchange for their share of the kingdom. The two older daughters flatter him with exaggerated professions of affection, while Cordelia, who loves him the most, refuses to indulge in such superficial displays. As a result, Lear banishes her from Britain, and she marries the King of France. Goneril and Regan, meanwhile, plot to bring about their father’s downfall, but soon their rivalry turns into mutual jealousy and hatred. In the tragic finale, Cordelia is executed, Goneril poisons Regan (to death), and then takes her own life. Lear dies holding Cordelia’s lifeless body. It’s the quintessential Shakespearean tragedy, a pile of bodies in the end.
Naturally, no discussion of Shakespeare would be complete without at least one close reading. Consider this passage from Act 4, where King Lear, realizing his mistake, speaks to Cordelia: 'If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me; for your sisters have, as I do remember, done me wrong: You have some cause, they have not.' Cordelia replies simply, 'No cause. No cause.'
Ron Rosenbaum, in his book *The Shakespeare Wars*, argues that this single line reveals a kind of 'forgiveness as pleasure.' He even refers to it as the 'ultimate pleasure,' noting, 'Of course there is cause, but nothing he’s done is unforgivable, nothing he has done is 'cause' enough, is cause anymore. Forgiveness suspends the old laws of cause and effect.'
A positive thought, I mused.
1. Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry
It might seem odd to place this in the top 3, but it’s hard to deny how perfectly these three flavors complement each other. Historically speaking, all three were 'discovered' by the Spanish during their conquest of Aztec Mexico. They also happen to be, by a significant margin, the most popular milkshake flavors from classic hamburger joints that this writer considers to be of immense cultural significance—almost achieving relic status. Maybe I’m a sucker for nostalgia and a cynic, but I’m always mildly stunned when new 'old-fashioned' themed diners even serve a milkshake in a real glass, and even more so when they hand you two straws without asking.
They are also the three flavors of high-protein muscle drinks favored by weightlifters and bodybuilders, so it seems the milkshake legacy has transformed into this new form. The trio even somewhat resembles a rivalry mentioned in my original list: Blondes, Brunettes, and Redheads, though that comparison might be a stretch.
Ultimately, it’s this: With each of the three flavors being so distinct and divine, all vying for your affection, which one do you pick first? Which scoop of Neapolitan ice cream do you dive into initially? And which do you leave for the final bite? Decisions, decisions, decisions.
