Sibling Rivalry

Jim and John

The 2013 Super Bowl will feature a rivalry between siblings for the first time ever when Jim and John Harbaugh will take on each other in the world's most watched football game. Jim's San Francisco 49ers will take on John's Baltimore Ravens in two weeks time with the build-up likely to be themed around their familial ties.

Of course, it is not the first time sibling rivalry has been on display in top sport even if it is the first time that the Super Bowl will feature two brothers as coaches. In fact, we often tend to see siblings competing as a pair rather than against each other - the Evers-Swindell and Bryan twins spring to mind.

Here are some other memorable sibling rivalries in recent times.

Serena and Venus

Venus and Serena Williams
Easily the most successful sibling rivalry in tennis and probably in any sport. Venus (7) and Serena (30) combined have 37 Grand Slam titles between themselves and have played each other in 8 Grand Slam finals. While Venus may be on the wane, Serena is still going strong at age 30 and doesn't look like stopping any time soon even with the rise of younger stars like Maria Sharapova, Vika Azarenka, etc.

Ralf and Michael

Michael and Ralf Schumacher
The two Schumacher brothers are probably Formula 1's most successful sibling rivalry yet although big brother Michael undoubtedly has the edge over little brother, Ralf with his 7 world titles and other numerous records as well as a much longer career - probably longer than he should have had in most people's opinion. There were times though when Ralf got the better of big brother, Michael - the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix springs to mind, the first time two brothers finished 1-2 on the podium too.

Eli and Peyton

Peyton and Eli Manning
A sibling rivalry that hasn't quite been seen as much due to the format of the NFL - Peyton Manning's Colts and Broncos play in the AFC, while Eli plays in the NFC with the Giants meaning that they would play each other at best once every 4 years in the regular season. The last time the Manning brothers went head to head in a competitive game was on 19 September 2010 - Peyton Manning's Colts won that game comfortably. While Eli on paper has been more successful than Peyton with his 2 Super Bowl rings to big bro's 1, it appears critics have been more favourable to big bro, Peyton when it comes to the who's-better question. Still time anyway for Peyton to square the ledger with Eli  at the Broncos - but not too much it seems.