ExtraTime Live from Red Bull Arena!
Watch ExtraTime Live on Friday at 5:30 PM ET. Ahead of the New York Derby, Andrew and David bring you on to the field and into the parking lot at Red Bull Arena. Tune in for interviews with players, coaches and fans ahead of a massive match as Heineken Rivalry Week rolls on. Set a reminder to watch
Heineken Rivalry Week, which kicked off on Wednesday with FC Dallas hosting the Houston Dynamo in the Texas Derby, continues tonight. This match-up – the New York Derby – is much younger than others around the league, but already one offering some of most drama and rancor, on and off the field.
For each rivalry match-up happening this week, we've asked a fan on each side of the proceedings to contribute a bit about what it means to them. We heard from FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo fans earlier this week, so now we turn to a voice on each side from the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC.
The Red Bulls host NYCFC tonight, Fri., Aug. 25, at Red Bull Arena (7 pm ET, ESPN and ESPN Deportes in US, TSN in Canada).
Photo via USA Today Sports Images
From a New York Red Bulls fan...
The atmosphere at Red Bull Arena is unlike anything I've ever experienced in sports, and the first match of the Hudson Derby in 2015 absolutely blew my mind, thanks partly to the result, but mostly because the South Ward is amazing.
I'd heard about a new NYC team on the horizon when I bought my first tickets to a New York Red Bulls match in late 2014. But as a Mets fan born and raised 10 blocks from Yankee Stadium throughout the 1970s, they were never a serious consideration. When their rallying cries centered on zip codes and expensive imports from Europe, while playing second fiddle to the Yankees on their baseball field, I relished the dominant beatings our underrated, underpaid team delivered that first year in both venues.
After two years of the Red Bulls owning the Derby and becoming a highly anticipated family outing, NYCFC have taken two disappointing matches from us this year while we knocked them out of the Open Cup, so it finally feels like a proper rivalry. Now, there are three critical points up for grabs that we arguably need more than they do, and I'm confident Jesse Marsch will have us fully prepared this time.
The metropolitan area deserves an authentic soccer experience. The South Ward will offer their full-throated support as always, and New York will be red once again and forever.
-- Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Photo via USA Today Sports Images
...and from a NYCFC fan
I've been playing soccer for 20 years, living in New York for four, and pursuing graduate studies in sports management for one. My hometown – San Juan, Puerto Rico – didn't have much of a soccer culture growing up, although I did meet Josh Saunders when the Puerto Rico Islanders existed in the early 2000s. (That team folded and was replaced by what is now Puerto Rico FC in the NASL).
When I moved to New York in 2013, I had intended to attend a Red Bulls game, but never quite got around to it. When a girlfriend and I were walking by the city after happy hour, we noticed a sign for NYCFC, a new MLS team, and we giddily purchased tickets on the spot.
That first game, despite the blistering cold, was amazing. I had known David Villa is a relentless striker, but nothing compared to watching him dance across players and score. It was majestic, and it still gives me the chills when he makes magic out of nothing.
After the 2015 home opener, I attended all matches, but despite the obvious enchantment, I hadn't committed to season tickets. All I could think of was, “Is it okay if a single woman attends 17 soccer games a season on her own?” I somehow believed my analytical brain needed research to make a conscious, well-researched decision. That was so silly, considering soccer decisions come from the gut. I chose NYCFC, and I bought one season ticket.
Now, I don't just have a guaranteed activity for seven months of the year; I've picked up so much. I go to [partner pub] Ryans Daughter for every away game – by myself – and I've made countless friends by sitting in the bar and striking up a gameday conversation. I've joined the NYCSC group after attending away games in person, and I've gained a supporters family.
My love for the beautiful game is contagious enough that I convinced my boss to go to games. I try to schedule family visits for when home games are scheduled! My little brother went to one last year, and my friends embraced him as one of our own.
I've gained a community from supporting the team. And never had I experienced such passion attending a sports match until the first derby in 2015. Yes, we lost. And yes, we continued to lose, but that locker room picture last year represents the resiliency our team had to come back and respond after an embarrassing loss.
I hope NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira took a page from Joe Girardi's book, and comes to the 25th with a broom. People can say the history precludes the organic nature of a rivalry, but the sheer passion exhibited among fans, and the exciting nature of the past couple of years have led to the continued development of one of the greatest rivalries in sports in the US.
I can't wait until it's five years from now and it dwarfs all New York City sports rivalries. And I can't wait until we win New York's first MLS Cup.
--Wandi Schell
