ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Oxford–Cambridge rivalry

Have you ever been in a race and really wanted to win? That's kind of like what the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry is all about.

Oxford and Cambridge are two really old and really famous universities in England. They're kind of like grown-up schools where people go to learn a lot of important things and get really smart.

But, because they're both pretty fancy and famous, they like to compete against each other. It's kind of like a sports game between two schools, but instead of playing on a field, they compete with things like grades, books they've written, and even who has the fanciest buildings.

One of the biggest things they compete in is called the Boat Race. This is a really long race on a river where people row boats as fast as they can. Each year, the Oxford and Cambridge teams race against each other and try to get to the finish line first.

Even though it's mostly just for fun and bragging rights, people take the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry pretty seriously, and they always want their own school to come out on top!