Crosstown rivalry

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In sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada, and it is analogous to the local derby in other parts of the world. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas,

Compared to other parts of the world, true "local derbies" are rare in the United States. Even those rivalries that can be considered "local derbies" due to geographic proximity often feature teams that primarily draw supporters from distinct geographic communities, largely because professional sports teams do not want to have to draw from the same people, so that each person has more money to spend on their team instead of dividing it among multiple teams. This is especially true for rivalries in the greater New York City area; while some local rivals may play home games less than 10 miles (16 km) apart, they represent distinct geographical communities. Two examples are the three-way rivalry between the New York Rangers (representing New York City), New York Islanders (representing Long Island), the New Jersey Devils, and formerly the Hartford Whalers in the National Hockey League, and the New York Knicks-New Jersey Nets rivalry in the National Basketball Association. The Knicks-Nets contest may develop into a full derby upon the Nets' expected 2008-09 relocation to the New York borough of Brooklyn, an area currently within the Knicks' fan base. A similar situation exists in the San Francisco Bay Area for baseball and American football; while the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics are based in very close proximity, as are the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, their supporter bases are geographically distinct, separated neatly by San Francisco Bay. Additionally, in Los Angeles, there are rivalries such as the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Los Angeles Angels, based in Anaheim, in Major League Baseball.

Below is a list of "crosstown" as well as "intrastate" rivalries in the United States and Canada.

Contents

[edit] Professional

[edit] Baseball

[edit] Others of note

Note all of these are interleague unless otherwise noted.
See also: List of Major League Baseball rivalries

[edit] Basketball

See also: Rivalries of the NBA

[edit] American Football

[edit] Former

[edit] Intrastate rivalries

[edit] Within the BosWash corridor

See also: Rivalries in the National Football League

[edit] Hockey

  • New Jersey Devils v New York Rangers - This one takes place in the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). Fuel was added into the fire when in 1994 the Rangers came back from a 3-2 deficit to make it to the Stanley Cup. They play each other approximately 7 times a year since they are both in the same division and the NHL schedule pits rivals against each other more.
  • New York Rangers v New York Islanders - the Islanders are based in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, not far from Manhattan, where the Rangers are based.
  • Buffalo Sabres v Toronto Maple Leafs - In the broadest sense, these two cities are occasionally considered one giant metropolitan area stretching from Toronto across Hamilton and Buffalo to Rochester (the Buffalo Bills currently have home stadiums in both Toronto and Buffalo and hold training camp in Rochester, and at one time a fast ferry connected Toronto and Rochester). Like the Devils, Islanders and Rangers, the Sabres and Leafs are division rivals and play each other numerous times each year.
See also: National Hockey League rivalries

[edit] Soccer

Main article: MLS two-team Cups

Major League Soccer has attempted to bolster interest in its league by encouraging the creation of special trophies for matches between nearby franchises, to foment local rivalries. A true derby exists between Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, both of which play in the Home Depot Center as their home ground. That match is currently named the "Honda SuperClasico."

[edit] Intrastate rivalries

[edit] University

See also: List of NCAA college football rivalries
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[edit] Canada

Note: These rivalries may not be crosstown, rather they may be across large geographical regions instead, due to a lack of actual local derbies in Canada because of its large area with a small population base that is mainly scattered.

[edit] Other uses

The term "crosstown rivalry" can also refer to other non-sports items. Radio stations with similar formats, newspapers (although this is increasingly less common) and television stations are often considered crosstown rivals.