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If you could go to one soccer rivalry game?

S

Sean Miller Fan

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Oct 30, 2001
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Which one would you go to? During a recent broadcast, Stu Holden said Boca Juniors vs River Plate is on his bucket list and surprisingly, Chad Ochocinco mentioned on Twitter that he went to that game a few years ago. I never thought of that game as being one of the best in the world.

I guess for me, it would have to be Barca/Real Madrid. Not going out on any limbs there. However, after that, I'd probably pick Rangers/Celtic. That game is more than football. Its Catholics vs Protestants. Pro-Irish vs Pro-England. Pro-EU vs Pro-Great Britain
 
anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr said:
Rangers/Celtic by a huge margin. I’ve watched it on tv and it is old school rivalry as it gets.
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I don't think Americans can fully appreciate a rivalry like that because we just don't have anything like it. Complete focus on the other team (because the rest of the league is irrelevant) and just no respect at all between the fans.

They were going to have them play at Fenway years ago before they thankfully cancelled it. This isn't Yankees Red Sox, fans would have traveled here in droves just to chant stuff that's banned over there and to commit acts of violence.

Boca River is a really good rivalry too, underappreciated in the US. Geographically close to each other, River used to play in the La Boca neighborhood then got the "millionarios" nickname after moving a little ways away. Despite the nickname I don't think there's really an economic/demographic divide between the two.

You will see photos of fans wearing both jerseys together rooting for Argentina during the World Cup, something that I don't think happens with the Old Firm.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
Gannon vs IUP. Circa 1987.
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Yeah. Personally I was thinking Lebo vs USC or Peters vs CM or NA vs Seneca Valley. So I guess I’m not enough of a diehard. I’m not really itching to see Chelsea vs Hotspur. English fans are too much for me. But if a gun were held to my head, maybe Liverpool vs Everton.

Or maybe USA vs Mexico with a trophy or World Cup bid on the line.
 
How do you foresee getting World Cup tix for 2026. Should I get on some US Soccer list now?
 
Fk_Pitt said:
How do you foresee getting World Cup tix for 2026. Should I get on some US Soccer list now?
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Good question. I anticipate a mix of how Copa America Centanrio did tickets and how the USMNT gives out tickets

1. USMNT tickets - each team gets an allotment similar to college football. I dont know how many those will be. You get points for being a paid Supporter, attending games, etc. I think I only had 1 point or whatever because I am a registered youth coach so I'm in the US Soccer "system." But I was able to get USA/Mexico tickets which surprised me. I dont expect to get WC tickets through the USMNT.

2. Copa America did like a "season ticket" for each venue and I would think the WC will do the same. So you may want to buy the Philly package or NJ package and go to all those games in the hopes the US is there. For me, I'll probably buy "season tickets" for the 3 group stage venues the US will play in (and I think it will be groups of 4) plus the Round of 32, Round of 16, and Quarterfinal. Go to some non-US games and sell the rest on Stubhub. I'm afraid to think about how much the initial cost will be. $20K per ticket? I figure I can make that back and would be cheaper than just Stubhubbing it
 
Sean Miller Fan said:
Good question. I anticipate a mix of how Copa America Centanrio did tickets and how the USMNT gives out tickets

1. USMNT tickets - each team gets an allotment similar to college football. I dont know how many those will be. You get points for being a paid Supporter, attending games, etc. I think I only had 1 point or whatever because I am a registered youth coach so I'm in the US Soccer "system." But I was able to get USA/Mexico tickets which surprised me. I dont expect to get WC tickets through the USMNT.

2. Copa America did like a "season ticket" for each venue and I would think the WC will do the same. So you may want to buy the Philly package or NJ package and go to all those games in the hopes the US is there. For me, I'll probably buy "season tickets" for the 3 group stage venues the US will play in (and I think it will be groups of 4) plus the Round of 32, Round of 16, and Quarterfinal. Go to some non-US games and sell the rest on Stubhub. I'm afraid to think about how much the initial cost will be. $20K per ticket? I figure I can make that back and would be cheaper than just Stubhubbing it
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Interesting. I have a C license. So maybe 🤔 have points and didn’t know.
 
mike412 said:
Would any of those choosing Celtic vs. Rangers really go and risk being caught in the violence?
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As a Celtic fan I'd love to go but I'd have to be really careful. Go with people who had been there before and know how to avoid trouble. They've cut the away ticket allotment to under 1000 for Old Firm games so maybe that could cut down some of the issues.
 
mike412 said:
Would any of those choosing Celtic vs. Rangers really go and risk being caught in the violence?
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I don't have an allegiance to either team. If I were going to Ibrox, I'd wear a Rangers jersey. If I were going to Celtic Park, I'd wear a CCV jersey. It would be fine. And honestly, at this point, I doubt there is any more violence than a typical NFL game.
 
I’ve only been to Glasgow once, in 1976. But, it was during the soccer season. I was there with two nurses who I had met in Inverness, in the Highlands, and was dropping off in Glasgow to catch a flight to Oktoberfest in Munich.

We went into four bars in a couple of different parts of the city and in two of them almost everyone was wearing a Celtic jersey and in one everyone was wearing a Rangers jersey. The patrons in all 3 were uniformly drunk and couldn’t understand as one put it, why I was there with “two lassies” while he had none. Back in 1976, apparently the Scots could not grasp the concept of a lesbian couple (I’ll bet some of you were thinking threesome; no such luck).

Frankly, it wasn’t comfortable in any of them. We found a fourth pub where the clientele was older and no one was wearing soccer gear and hung out there.

Based on those 3 pubs, I wouldn’t have wanted to get anywhere near a Celtics v Rangers match. Admittedly, things were much different then. You had “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and sectarian resentment was on the front burner. Many Scots, particularly in Glasgow, had relatives in Northern Ireland.

But, hate is still hate and lots of unhappy people still exist today who want to take out their frustration on someone who has a different religion or is a different color or comes from a different neighborhood.
 
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