New York boasts historic and distinguished sports teams and records across several leagues and sports. New York is one of two cities that have more than one team that represent the metropolitan zone spanning four leagues totaling nine franchises. New York, in general, hosts a myriad of sports throughout the 5 boroughs.
Queen’s hosts tennis’ US Open- the New York City Marathon- the Giants and the Jets- the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks- the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC- The Rangers and the Islanders- and can’t forget the Yankees and Mets. I’ll dive into the rivalries that divide New Yorkers as fans pledge their allegiance to their respective teams.
Arguably the pride of New York, the Yankees and Mets are two gargantuan franchises that reign over the baseball world. The Yankees find themselves in the Bronx while the Mets find themselves in Queens- coincidentally, I’ve lived near both stadiums in my life. Out of the teams, the Yankees occupy the most wins out of the two teams spanning 80-61. The Yankees were the only New York based team until 1962 where the Mets joined the league adopting the colors of the NY Giants. Each time would go on to challenge for the World Series with their own ups and downs. Both teams have yet to reach the World Series in recent years so there's some rebuilding that must be done.
The Giants and the Jets first met on November 1st, 1970 with the Giants winning 22-10. The teams play in different conferences resulting in them only playing once every four years. In the last two outings, the Jets have beaten the Giants but the Giants have more silverware amongst their ranks with Superbowl wins in 2007 and 2011.
The Knicks and the Nets crosstown rivalry began in 1976 when the Nets joined the NBA. Originally known as the New York Nets, the team has a history of relocation as they were the New Jersey Nets at one point. The relocation of the Nets to Brooklyn in 2012 created the intra-city rivalry. The Knicks and the Nets have been quite vocal about their distaste for each other's franchises since the beginning and the rivalry hasn’t slowed down; the Nets seem adamant about becoming the sole pride of the city while the Knicks trail behind slowly.
A similar cross-town rivalry is the Hudson River Derby between soccer teams NYCFC and the New York Redbulls. A fairly new rivalry as both franchises are recently formed, the Red Bulls are the dominant force between the two teams. NYCFC is determined to dethrone the Red Bulls as they continue to inject money into the club to expand its fans and quality.
Finally, the Rangers vs Islanders rivalry has kicked into second gear as both teams have shown some success in the playoffs, with most recently the Rangers nearly getting to the finals of the Stanley Cup. The Rangers reside in Madison Square Garden while the Islanders are based in Long Island. Rangers' fans span from the five boroughs and from Yonkers while the Islanders mainly retain their fanbase from Long Island. The Islanders occupy both the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum making it almost an intra-city rivalry but not quite- the Islanders and the Rangers are both yet to find success in the Stanley Cup but both are chasing the elusive trophy to one-up their rivals.
New Yorkers find pride within their teams and the person next to you may not support the same team as you- but this city never sleeps during a game season!
Great article!