>>538014920
Anime rivalries among boys are the most popular MxM pairings among girls. Rivalry means a strong bond between the characters displaying a strong sense of masculinity by trying to best each other, which usually involves some sort of physical contact, especially if it's an sports anime.
There's also the Moe gap factor, where the rivals are rude to each other, but they secretly, deeply care about the other a lot. Hoyo pushing Phainon and Mydei's rivalry is no coincidence.
You wouldn't get it.