A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, [ 1 ] management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious violence.
A rivalry that gets out of control can lead to fighting , hooliganism , rioting and some instances with career-ending and even fatal consequences. In the " Football War ", along with other factors, it was suggested to have been the tipping point in leading to military conflicts.
One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and the Greens, and the minor teams of the Reds and Whites, each of which were chariot racing clubs competing at the Hippodrome in Constantinople.
The rivalry took on political tones as well, coming close to deposing the Roman Emperor Justinian in CE in a riot and the suppression of the riot killed tens of thousands of people. Owners have been known to encourage rivalries as they tend to improve game attendance and television ratings for rivalry matches. Clubs can reduce fan aggression surrounding rivalry games by acknowledging rather than downplaying the conflict [ 2 ] because the rivalry is an integral part of fan identity.
The term is usually connected with association football [ 4 ] and the media and supporters will often refer to this fixture as "Derby Day". There are different theories as to how the term 'Derby' originated. One suggestion is that it arose from a game of football played between the congregations of All Saints and St Peter's churches in the city of Derby. Alternatively, it may have came from the Derby , a horse race in England, founded by the 12th Earl of Derby in The 19th Earl has since claimed the Derby name was originally only given to one other sporting event: fixtures between St Helens at one end of the family's Knowsley estate and Wigan at the other.
