Great Sporting Derbies

**Varagorn** · January 15th, 2011, 01:27 PM

What do you consider to be the greatest sporting derbies? I'm thinking not just football (soccer) but also rugby union, rugby league, cricket, American football, baseball, basketball etc.

On January 16th tomorrow there will be three massive football derbies taking place in the Premier League:

Birmingham City v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Everton
Sunderland v Newcastle United

Now I'm only a casual football fan but I know the importance of wanting your team (in my case Birmingham City) beating your local rivals (in my case Aston Villa, West Brom and Wolves). There's nothing worse than having your team getting a hammering from the team down the road and then going to work on a Monday morning.

For me I'd say the greatest sporting derby would be England v Scotland in football. With the Home Nations championship coming back this fixture will be a regular event again. The biggest domestic derby in English football has to be Liverpool v Manchester United. Both have won the championship 18 times, both have won European trophies, the FA and League cups. And both are close by to each other in the north west.

In football across Europe you have other big derbies: Inter Milan v AC Milan, Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid, Roma v Lazio and Celtic v Rangers. However, I'm not just thinking about football.

My knowledge of American sports is limited but I'm interested to hear about the important derbies that take place in American football, baseball, ice hockey and basketball. In rugby league here in the UK one local derby stands out to me: Hull v Hull Kingston Rovers. I don't follow rugby league that closely but the Hull derby I hear is pretty fierce!!! In cricket you have Warwickshire v Worcestershire.

There are other sports too that have fierce local derbies and the idea of this thread is to find out more about them and for you to tell us your favourites.

**Greenman** · January 15th, 2011, 01:59 PM

Oddly enough it was about 20 years or so since Kenny Dalglish managed Liverpool to a thrilling 4-4 derby with Everton but the best one for me would have to be one of the greatest FA Cups between them in 1989 when we beat them 3-2 in extra time thanks to John Aldridge & Ian Rush, when Stuart McCall levelled at 2-2 having scored both goals. What a game that was.

Outside of football I suppose you could call it a derby of sorts in the world of Athletics. Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, two great rivals breaking the 800m and 1500m records in Europe practically weeks after each other, and then meeting up in the 1984 Olympics where they each won the other's specialist race-now that was intense rivalry-won't see that again in my lifetime I reckon.

oden · January 15th, 2011, 02:40 PM

only real ones i know are

hibs v hearts
celtic v rangers
or my own teams ones,
partick thistle v morton
or clydebank v partick thistle

or the mankys as us thistle fans called em

there wwas no comparison for our derby games in them days
rangers and celtic had had 60k people shouting at each other

or at our games you had 20k people shouting and getting proper heated and to teh point hateing each other more intense and better football

**tygrkhat40** · January 15th, 2011, 02:59 PM

By "derby" do you mean rivalry? Because with the NFL playoffs going on this weekend, you've got the New England Patriots vs. the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravnes vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England/New York is a 50+ year old rivalry that includes not just the dislike of the two team towards each other, but the animosity of the the two cities involved, New York and Boston, and the extended feelings of the other sports teams from the cities, Yankees/Red Sox, Rangers/Bruins and Knicks/Celtics.

The Steelers/Ravens rivalry is much newer, but has become one of the most intensive in the NFL. Both teams legitimately hate each other. In the past few years, players on both sides have been injured in games, leaving ill will among all the players.

And there are many other rivalries in our sports leagues in both the US and Canada. In baseball there is the previously mentioned Yankees/Red Sox rivalry along with the San Francisco Giants/Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs/St. Louis Cardinals. In our football there is also the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons/New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers/St. Louis Rams (which was more intense when the Rams were in LA) and Dallas Cowboys/just about everyone else in the NFL.

In basketball there are the Celtics/Knicks, Chicago Bulls/Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers/Celtics. In hockey, the most intense rivalry is the Montreal Canadiens/Toronto Maple Leafs with the Battle of Alberta, Edmonton Oilers/Calgary Flames as a close second.

Many of these rivalries are not just the two teams that don't like each other, but it's the cities as well. Boston was one of America's first great cities and once it's most important port, but it's status has since been usurped by New York. New Orleans was the prize that Thomas Jefferson wanted that led France to sell the US the Louisiana Purchase, but the important city in the South today is Atlanta. Montreal is the city for the French Canadiens, while Toronto is the the biggest Anglo Canadian city.

And this doesn't even get into the collegiate rivalries of the US, Alabama/Auburn, Ohio State/Michigan, UCLA/USC, Harvard/Yale and Army/Navy, which, in reality, transcends sport.

**otokonomidori** · January 15th, 2011, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oden

or clydebank v partick thistle

or the mankys as us thistle fans called em

Christ - talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I always thought they should be called Possilparktick Thistle

**Varagorn** · January 15th, 2011, 07:35 PM

Thanks to Tygrkhat40 for his post, very informative, much appreciated. With the size of the USA geographically I suppose the term "derby" is probably much broader when talking about matches between nearby cities, and chief rivals. I'm curious about the rivalry in American sports and Tygrkhat40 post has been very informative. Thanks.

**Eu Mesmo** · January 15th, 2011, 08:24 PM

Boca Juniors x River Plate (they call "super derby"/1.200 is the number of policemen for this derby)
Brasil x Italy (Volleyball)
Brasil x Argentina (Football)
Argentina x England (Football)
Croatia x Serbia (Basketball - 90's)

oden · January 15th, 2011, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleetwood77

Christ - talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I always thought they should be called Possilparktick Thistle

check the post code, maryhill all the way

**victor meldrew** · January 16th, 2011, 03:14 PM

West Ham V Millwall (Football)

England V Australia (Cricket)

**haroldeye** · January 16th, 2011, 08:59 PM

Way back when - Durham Wasps and Whitley Warriors.

The game was once abandoned because as they lined up in the tunnel before going onto the ice they started fighting.

January 15th, 2011, 01:27 PM	#1
Varagorn Vintage Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Mid England Posts: 977 Thanks: 34,717 Thanked 51,237 Times in 1,159 Posts	Great Sporting Derbies What do you consider to be the greatest sporting derbies? I'm thinking not just football (soccer) but also rugby union, rugby league, cricket, American football, baseball, basketball etc. On January 16th tomorrow there will be three massive football derbies taking place in the Premier League: Birmingham City v Aston Villa Liverpool v Everton Sunderland v Newcastle United Now I'm only a casual football fan but I know the importance of wanting your team (in my case Birmingham City) beating your local rivals (in my case Aston Villa, West Brom and Wolves). There's nothing worse than having your team getting a hammering from the team down the road and then going to work on a Monday morning. For me I'd say the greatest sporting derby would be England v Scotland in football. With the Home Nations championship coming back this fixture will be a regular event again. The biggest domestic derby in English football has to be Liverpool v Manchester United. Both have won the championship 18 times, both have won European trophies, the FA and League cups. And both are close by to each other in the north west. In football across Europe you have other big derbies: Inter Milan v AC Milan, Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid, Roma v Lazio and Celtic v Rangers. However, I'm not just thinking about football. My knowledge of American sports is limited but I'm interested to hear about the important derbies that take place in American football, baseball, ice hockey and basketball. In rugby league here in the UK one local derby stands out to me: Hull v Hull Kingston Rovers. I don't follow rugby league that closely but the Hull derby I hear is pretty fierce!!! In cricket you have Warwickshire v Worcestershire. There are other sports too that have fierce local derbies and the idea of this thread is to find out more about them and for you to tell us your favourites. __________________ Karen Brennan To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

January 15th, 2011, 01:59 PM	#2
Greenman Live Legend of VEF Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Underground lair somewhere in the world Posts: 20,353 Thanks: 30,936 Thanked 383,526 Times in 19,356 Posts	Oddly enough it was about 20 years or so since Kenny Dalglish managed Liverpool to a thrilling 4-4 derby with Everton but the best one for me would have to be one of the greatest FA Cups between them in 1989 when we beat them 3-2 in extra time thanks to John Aldridge & Ian Rush, when Stuart McCall levelled at 2-2 having scored both goals. What a game that was. Outside of football I suppose you could call it a derby of sorts in the world of Athletics. Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, two great rivals breaking the 800m and 1500m records in Europe practically weeks after each other, and then meeting up in the 1984 Olympics where they each won the other's specialist race-now that was intense rivalry-won't see that again in my lifetime I reckon. __________________ There was only ONE Greenman, and you accepted no substitutes! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Rest in peace MaxJoker-you will be sorely missed. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. 20,000: Milestone reached!

January 15th, 2011, 07:35 PM	#6
Varagorn Vintage Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Mid England Posts: 977 Thanks: 34,717 Thanked 51,237 Times in 1,159 Posts	Thanks to Tygrkhat40 for his post, very informative, much appreciated. With the size of the USA geographically I suppose the term "derby" is probably much broader when talking about matches between nearby cities, and chief rivals. I'm curious about the rivalry in American sports and Tygrkhat40 post has been very informative. Thanks. __________________ Karen Brennan To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

January 15th, 2011, 02:40 PM	#3
oden Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 21 Thanks: 7 Thanked 119 Times in 15 Posts	only real ones i know are hibs v hearts celtic v rangers or my own teams ones, partick thistle v morton or clydebank v partick thistle or the mankys as us thistle fans called em there wwas no comparison for our derby games in them days rangers and celtic had had 60k people shouting at each other or at our games you had 20k people shouting and getting proper heated and to teh point hateing each other more intense and better football

January 15th, 2011, 02:59 PM	#4
tygrkhat40 Long Suffering Bills Fan Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The City of Good Neighbors Posts: 9,669 Thanks: 304,243 Thanked 152,630 Times in 9,629 Posts	By "derby" do you mean rivalry? Because with the NFL playoffs going on this weekend, you've got the New England Patriots vs. the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravnes vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England/New York is a 50+ year old rivalry that includes not just the dislike of the two team towards each other, but the animosity of the the two cities involved, New York and Boston, and the extended feelings of the other sports teams from the cities, Yankees/Red Sox, Rangers/Bruins and Knicks/Celtics. The Steelers/Ravens rivalry is much newer, but has become one of the most intensive in the NFL. Both teams legitimately hate each other. In the past few years, players on both sides have been injured in games, leaving ill will among all the players. And there are many other rivalries in our sports leagues in both the US and Canada. In baseball there is the previously mentioned Yankees/Red Sox rivalry along with the San Francisco Giants/Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs/St. Louis Cardinals. In our football there is also the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons/New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers/St. Louis Rams (which was more intense when the Rams were in LA) and Dallas Cowboys/just about everyone else in the NFL. In basketball there are the Celtics/Knicks, Chicago Bulls/Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers/Celtics. In hockey, the most intense rivalry is the Montreal Canadiens/Toronto Maple Leafs with the Battle of Alberta, Edmonton Oilers/Calgary Flames as a close second. Many of these rivalries are not just the two teams that don't like each other, but it's the cities as well. Boston was one of America's first great cities and once it's most important port, but it's status has since been usurped by New York. New Orleans was the prize that Thomas Jefferson wanted that led France to sell the US the Louisiana Purchase, but the important city in the South today is Atlanta. Montreal is the city for the French Canadiens, while Toronto is the the biggest Anglo Canadian city. And this doesn't even get into the collegiate rivalries of the US, Alabama/Auburn, Ohio State/Michigan, UCLA/USC, Harvard/Yale and Army/Navy, which, in reality, transcends sport.

January 15th, 2011, 08:24 PM	#7
Eu Mesmo Vintage Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brasil Posts: 674 Thanks: 1,328 Thanked 16,288 Times in 644 Posts	Boca Juniors x River Plate (they call "super derby"/1.200 is the number of policemen for this derby) Brasil x Italy (Volleyball) Brasil x Argentina (Football) Argentina x England (Football) Croatia x Serbia (Basketball - 90's)

January 16th, 2011, 03:14 PM	#9
victor meldrew Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: At the bottom of an empty glass Posts: 15,778 Thanks: 531,920 Thanked 180,037 Times in 15,766 Posts	West Ham V Millwall (Football) England V Australia (Cricket)

January 16th, 2011, 08:59 PM	#10
haroldeye Moderator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Halfwitistan Posts: 5,716 Thanks: 113,534 Thanked 59,972 Times in 5,708 Posts	Way back when - Durham Wasps and Whitley Warriors. The game was once abandoned because as they lined up in the tunnel before going onto the ice they started fighting.