It's one of the reasons rivalry matches occupy that special place in our hearts: They have a knack for providing us those special moments and memories that have us coming back for more.
We asked fans to open up and submit some of their most memorable stories from matchups past. Here are a few....
The FC Dallas fan with a most inconvenient name
Illustration by Elliot Gerard
"The Dallas Beer Guardians had a member named Houston. But during one of our pre-match meet-ups before a game against the Dynamo, some folks decided that poor Houston, the person, was being indirectly bullied through all of our not so nice things to say about Houston, the city.
As a pre-game toast happened, everyone let out a big expletive about Houston -- and one DBG member, Jonathan Virnig, added the phrase, 'HATE THE CITY, NOT THE MAN!' Since then, any time we say his name, especially on the week of playing the Dynamo, we refer to him as, 'Houston, Hate the City, Not the Man.'"
The cycling Red Bulls fan who made it to the New York Derby, no matter what
Illustration by Elliot Gerard
“I am an avid cyclist and a die-hard Red Bulls fan. So on the morning of June 28, 2015, I decided to combine both loves. I parked up by Fort Lee, unloaded my bike, headed out to meet the rest of my friends and the New York Red Bulls supporters' groups at Legends.
The ride there had my adrenaline pumping as it was the first Derby I ever biked to. We enjoyed a few chants at Legends and as everyone was preparing to head out I decided to jump out and ride a few minutes ahead of them, since they were taking the subway.
As I approached Columbus Circle, I went over a steel plate covering what must have been road construction. I had no option but to go over it or potentially go in the middle of the road. As I rode over the plate, my back tire slipped and I went down. As I collected myself from the ground, I realized half the block was looking at me in shock.
AsI got up, I felt the intense pain -- my shoulder was dislocated. I collected myself, thanked whoever was watching over me that let me live, and proceeded to push my bike through Central Park with my shoulder and right arm hanging off of my body.
As I walked through the park I noticed EMTs that were there for SummerStage, so I walked up to them hoping they would have the knowledge of popping my shoulder back. Well, I was wrong. The gentleman who tried to help me just caused me 10 times the pain, and I decided at that point I had to miss the Derby and seek medical attention.
So I gave up, threw on the GPS for directions to the nearest hospital, and headed towards it. I was about a block away from the hospital and needed to cross the street. But as I stepped over the curb to cross the street, pop!
That lovely shoulder went right back into position. I stopped for a second, checked myself, rolled my shoulders a bit, jumped back on the bike and made it to Yankee Stadium before my group of friends did.
Little did they know of the pain I went through. I got into the game, saw our Bulls win 3-1, and rode back home safely to Fort Lee. It was a good day."
The Toronto FC fan who helpfully redirected some confused Montrealers
Illustration by Elliot Gerard
“Once I was standing out front of our home bar, Shoeless Joe's, on King Street near the stadium. There's probably 250 or so people inside, unwinding after a match with Montreal (in either 2012 or 2013).
A bus pulled up to the door, and instantly a huge crowd of younger players and a coach arrived outside -- all from the Montreal Impact academy. They had apparently searched on the internet for a ‘soccer restaurant,’ and wound up deep in enemy territory.
I politely explained that yes, it was a soccer bar, but this was the home of TFC supporters. They looked around, and saw all the faces pressed to the glass behind me, watching intently, and decided to go for another establishment.”
The Quakes fans who spotted a full Galaxy moon
Illustration by Elliot Gerard
“Probably around 2011, a group of us from San Jose did an LA Galaxy away trip. Before the match, at the venue, we saw Omar Gonzalez, who at the time was recovering from injury and training on one of the fields in the back of what is now StubHub Center. Due to being the visiting team's fans, we were put into a tailgating lot away from Galaxy fans.
We noticed it was Omar training and we took the opportunity to heckle him a little bit, and show us how much 'love' we have for him and his team. He took the opportunity to show us how he felt about us too -- he mooned us."
The Timbers fan who sustained a minor tifo injury
Illustration by Elliot Gerard
"I helped the Timbers Army with the 'Good Timber Does Not Grow With Ease' tifo for a 2014 away match in Seattle.
I helped guide the tifo during deployment. While going down the stairs, I slipped, landed on my butt crack on top of some stadium chairs, and then fell over sideways with my left hand hitting the ground first to brace my fall.
I was mostly fine, but at first I thought I had broken my tailbone. After the game, though, I discovered that my finger was swollen.
And now, I can literally say that CenturyLink Field literally broke my middle finger.”
