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. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas where each team represents a different part of the city or area (i.e., the other team is "across town"). The term regional rivalry is used to describe rivalries within a particular region but outside the boundaries of a particular metro area (this is particularly the case in Canada, where no metro areas have more than one team and the population is more sparse); likewise, intrastate rivals (also in-state rivals, or provincial rivals in Canada) describes rivalries that, while not in the same metro area, are within the same state or province.
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 (Connecticut) in the National Hockey League, and the former New York Knicks-New Jersey Nets rivalry in the National Basketball Association. The Knicks-Nets contest may develop into a full derby since the current Brooklyn Nets play in the New York borough of Brooklyn, an area also 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 Oakland Athletics are based in very close proximity, as are the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, their supporter bases are somewhat geographically distinct, separated 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" rivalries in the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, as well as major colleges. Minor leagues, being regional by their nature, feature numerous regional rivalries, some of which (e.g. the Staten Island Yankees vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones) are true crosstown rivalries.
Read more about Crosstown Rivalry: Canada
Famous quotes containing the words crosstown and/or rivalry:
“The three of them are enveloped
turning now to go crosstown in their
sense of each other, of pleasure,
of weather, of corners,
of leisurely tensions between them
and private silence.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“It seems to me that we have to draw the line in sibling rivalry whenever rivalry goes out of bounds into destructive behavior of a physical or verbal kind. The principle needs to be this: Whatever the reasons for your feelings you will have to find civilized solutions.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)