Most "class" driven rivalries in sports

[kenobi_65]

@Red_Wiggler

I think this is a good example and there might be lesser ones in other states (Alabama, Michigan and Kansas and Florida maybe, among others) where one major university holds itself as superior to the other(s).

I also imagine that this is all good natured fun to one side of the rivalry. At times, though, it can rub some of us the wrong way.

My clients are in Alabama; most of them are Alabama natives, and most of them attended either the University of Alabama, or Auburn University. There is a lot of ribbing that goes on between the alumni and fans of the two schools – most of it good-natured, but it’s clear that the rivalry can be intense.

(And, the folks who went to UAB are treated like the poor stepchildren.)

[bump]

@Velocity

Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies had something of a liberal vs. conservative rivalry to it; the liberal Austinite Horns vs. the conservative Republican/military ROTC Aggies. Although the two rarely play each other anymore.

Actually it is/was more of a rural/urban divide more than anything else- early on, it was redneck/country ROTC agriculture and engineering students vs. urban liberal arts students. As time went on, and the military component was minimized, it was still country agriculture students vs. hippies in Austin.

Nowadays, both schools are overwhelmingly middle class suburban students, with a relatively small percentage of rural/agriculture students (A&M) and hippies/progressives (UT) acting as the ‘seasoning’ that makes the schools have some character.

And truth be told, both schools have hippies and rednecks- just maybe not in the same proportions. And A&M in particular has been more tolerant and progressive than you might suspect; for example, the first Hillel organization at a US university was started at Texas A&M in 1916, of all the times and places.

[Red_Wiggler]

“AGGIES. IS. SEMI. RURAL.”

From Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins (a novel which could probably not be published today).

[Munch]

@Freddy_the_Pig

let’s face it, ticket prices are such that pretty much only affluent people attend any professional sport anywhere.

Huh? You can get tickets to a White Sox game on StubHub for $6. Hell, you can get upper level tickets from the Sox’s own box office for $5 right now.

[penultima_thule]

@russian_heel

What other examples of economic/social status are there that determine rivalries in sports?

The traditional biggest rivalry in AFL is between the working class Collingwood and the gentrified Carlton which are almost adjoining suburbs of Melbourne.

Tthe suburb in the middle is Fitzroy (also working class), which had it’s own VFL/AFL team for a century. 9 of the 12 foundation VFL clubs are inner city based and it would be an invigorating afternoons walk around them.

The socioeconomic class distinction has diminished but Collingwood still push their blue collar status despite being the wealthiest club in the competition while Carlton push their white collar establishment status despite being cash-strapped and utterly crap at football.

[Alessan]

Fro the record, my grandfather’s Dodgers’-fan siblings always resented my grandfather for becoming a Yankees fan. The claimed he though he was better than them.

To be fair, he was better than them.

[Atamasama]

@Munch

Huh? You can get tickets to a White Sox game on StubHub for $6. Hell, you can get upper level tickets from the Sox’s own box office for $5 right now.

Mariners tickets are as low as $11 for some games. That’s less than a fifth the price of Seahawks tickets.

What kills you is paying $50+ to park if taking the train isn’t a viable option.

[ekedolphin]

Pacers vs. Knicks in the mid-to-late-1990s: “Hicks vs. Knicks”.

[Cicero]

@Cumbrian

You’re right about soccer. Baron Greenback has about the right of it in his answer on the other sports.

Cricket has a big divide in it at a children’s level, in that it is played mostly by fee-paying schools (so the middle and upper classes) and by immigrant communities, who generally have much less money. It used to be the case that cricket was played more universally at schools and, particularly in places like Lancashire and Yorkshire, the game still retains some working class appeal. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the long run.

I guess also there was the professional versus amateur divide which only disappeared in the 50’s and 60’s. They had separate dressing rooms and I believe Len Hutton in 1952 was the first professional captain of the MCC. (Arthur Shrewsbury had been a captain in the 1860’s but they were professionally organised tours.).

[Krav_Manga]

Rugby League in Australia in the 70s saw a rivalry between Wests and Manly - became popularly known as the Fibros (short for Fibro dwellers) vs the Silvertails.

The ABC did a documentary about the 1978 clash - - YouTube

[Skywatcher]

The Portland Mavericks and, well, everyone else in their league.

[Rayks_Marcial]

I will answer “All inter-high school team matches.”