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Any trip to an NFL game brings a certain level of excitement and anticipation. But let’s face it, some games are bigger than others. Obviously, games with playoff implications and games involving great players and good teams will always add a little extra juice to the competitive fire. But there’s a step beyond that as well – The Rivalry Game. These are games involving a particular level of hatred and animosity between the players on the field and/or the fans in the stands.

What you’ll see below are ten rivalries old and new in which there is some added degree of animosity between players and teams at the top of their games. Note these on your NFL calendar and, if you happen to be within striking distance of any of the relevant locations, lock down your tickets today and let the hating begin.

Giants at Colts Tickets, Sunday Night, September 19
As one of two brothers myself, I can attest that there’s a long history of rivalries between older and younger brothers. You’ve heard of Cain and Abel, right? So maybe Peyton and Eli don’t hate each other quite that much. But there’s gotta be a hint of a rivalry between them. Certainly one of the more intriguing matchups of the early schedule with the Manning bros facing each other for only the second time in their careers.

Packers at Bears Tickets, Monday Night, September 27
Lotta history here. This is the one NFL rivalry that always seems to stay relevant no matter how good or bad the teams are. Perhaps that’s because it’s so old school. It’s about Nitschke and Butkus, Lombardi and Halas. Mike McCarthy and Jay Cutler? Not so much. Still, no matter who’s wearing the uniforms, when the green and gold face off against the dark navy and orange, it’s a classic grudge match for the football purist. Lovie Smith gets it. When first hired as Bears coach he stated three core goals: win the Super Bowl, win the division, and beat Green Bay.

Redskins at Eagles Tickets, Sunday, October 3
Just take any two NFC East teams, match ‘em up and you’ve got yourself a rivalry. This one takes a step up in 2010, however, due to the trade of Donovan McNabb from the Eagles to the Skins. McNabb’s return to Philly could test the accuracy of the “City of Brotherly Love” motto.

Ravens at Patriots Tickets, Sunday October 17
This is a somewhat new but also slightly overlooked and developing NFL rivalry. Animosity surfaced back in 2007 when the Ravens felt like they got robbed in their bid to knock off the then-unbeaten Pats on Monday Night Football. It was a bitter, gut-wrenching loss for a Ravens team that played with great pride and felt it deserved to win. Tensions flared once again last season during a regular season Ravens loss to the Pats where Ray Lewis took exception to a roughing call against Tom Brady, casting Brady as a pampered superstar. Lewis talked more Brady smack before the subsequent playoff matchup between the two teams last January, in which a pumped up Ravens team went out and punked the Pats on their home turf. After the embarrassment of that loss the Pats will be gunning for revenge in this rematch.

Vikings at Packers Tickets, Sunday Night, October 24
Brett Favre returns to Green Bay (once again). Assuming he returns to Minnesota (once again).

Colts at Patriots Tickets, Sunday, November 21
Very likely the premier rivalry of modern times. These teams have a history dating back to their days as AFC East rivals prior to realignment. It’s the rivalry between Brady and Manning, however, football’s version of Bird-Magic, that makes this one so great. Brady and the Pats owned Manning and the Colts in the beginning. Things have started to even out in recent years. Pats are happy to get the Colts at home in November this time around.

Giants at Eagles Tickets, Sunday Night, November 21
So many great moments between these two old rivals, beginning in 1960 with Chuck Bednarik’s vicious hit on Frank Gifford that knocked Gifford literally into 1962 (he didn’t step on the field for another year and a half after that hit). It’s one of the most famous acts of in-game violence in NFL history. Hardnosed, blue collar Philly guy Bednarik (he poured cement in the offseason) takes out his frustrations on New York City glamour boy Gifford. A veritable microcosm of the natural animosity between the two teams, cities, and fan bases.

Steelers at Ravens Tickets, Sunday Night, December 5
Since the AFC North was created in 2002 each of these teams has made the playoffs five times, but the Steelers have won four of eight division titles, with the Ravens and Bengals taking two each. The Ravens look like the best team on paper this year, especially with Roethlisberger out for the start of the season, but they’ll have to go through the Steelers if they want to establish supremacy in the division.

Jets at Patriots Tickets, Monday Night, December 6
Pats-Jets is like a “Rivalry 101” course at the local community college. It’s a perfect storm of all the elements that make for a good rivalry. We’ve got the Boston-New York regional rivalry, the long-term AFC East rivalry, the fact that Bill Parcells left the Pats and went to the Jets, and the fact that Bill Belichick left the Jets and went to the Pats. Now we have the resurrection of the Jets as a playoff caliber team with cocky coach Rex Ryan spouting trash talk and targeting the Pats as public enemy number one. The rivalry takes on added significance for both teams in 2010 as the Jets seek to prove that their run to the AFC Championship Game was no fluke, while the Patriots will be out to prove that they’re not a team on the decline.

Eagles at Cowboys Tickets, Sunday Night, December 12
The four core teams of Dallas, Philly, New York Giants and Washington have been locked together in NFC East divisional warfare since 1970. Considering that all of these franchises have had their share of good teams in that time span, the battles for playoff spots over the years have been intense. Last year, as always, it came down to the wire for the division title, this time between Philly and Dallas. Dallas beat the Eagles soundly in week 17 and then hammered them once again the next week in a wild card round playoff game. Dallas looks like the favorite in the division this season, while Philly is looking to make the transition to the post-McNabb era. The Eagles won five of six division titles between 2001 and 2006, but the Cowboys have won two of the last three.