The 6 Most Vicious Crosstown Rivalries in Sports
Put on your punching pants; things are about to get brutal.
Yankees vs. Mets
Nickname: The Subway Series
Distance: 9.5 Miles
Record: Yankees lead 54–41
Background: This iteration of the New York baseball rivalry was born in 1997 with the inception of interleague play, but hit full stride in the 2000 World Series which the Yankees clinched in five games.
Fiercest Moment: Mike Piazza and Roger Clemens exchange pleasantries.
Clippers vs. Lakers
(Photo: Getty Images)
Nickname: The Hallway Series
Distance: 0 Miles
Record: Lakerslead 98–36
Background: These two LA teams share an arena, but they didn’t share much success until the Clippers recently started to put a team out on the court. In fact, the Lakers won every season series over the Clips until the 2012-13 season. The Clippers’ improvement continued this year, and was supplemented by a dramatic Lakers slide.
Fiercest Moment: Kobe Bryant claiming that, “Rivalries are made in the playoffs, not in the regular season.” Kobe obviously did not see this season coming.
USC vs. UCLA
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Nickname: The Battle of L.A.
Distance: 14.6 Miles
Record:UCLA lead 44–30–7
Background: This rivalry, often described as the most brutal in college sports, is preceded by a week-long celebration of beat-the-shit-out-of-the-other-team. The schools both cover and guard their main monuments to prevent their rivals from defacing them.
Fiercest Moment: There is also a game between each school’s ROTC units nicknamed the “Blood Bowl.” You know, because it’s so friendly and good-natured.
Manchester City vs. Manchester United
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Nickname: The Manchester Derby
Distance: 4.6 Miles (or 7.4 kilometers)
Record: United lead69-48 (with 50 draws)
Background: Going back to 1881, this is the oldest rivalry on the list. The city of Manchester is strictly divided between United’s red and City’s blue, and the players play up to it, which made City’s last minute title win, which knocked off United in 2012, all the more dramatic.
Fiercest Moment: United’s George Best completed a rough tackle on City Glyn Pardoe, breaking his leg almost to the point of requiring amputation. Really.
Rangers vs. Islanders
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Nickname: Battle of New York
Distance: 27.3 Miles
Record: Rangers lead 137-119-27
Background: The Devils deserve a little bit of a shout-out, since this rivalry really goes three ways, but the intrastate rivalry is the closest to home (literally). The Islanders are behind in the season record, but lead where it counts, in the postseason. When the Islanders ship off to Brooklyn, expect this rivalry to get a whole lot hotter.
Fiercest Moment: Sure, there have been tons of fights between each team’s enforcers, but can you really beat all these Islander Santas beating up a brave Rangers fan?
Browns vs. Browns
(Photo: Getty Images)
The closest (and maybe the fiercest) of all rivalries. Because who is it that defeats the Browns the most? That’s right, the Browns.
Photos by Getty Images
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