Posted
in conjunction with Football Fans Today
http://footballfanstoday.co.uk/2012/12/06/bragging-rights-crystal-palaces-3-0-victory-over-brighton-meant-way-more-than-3-points/
http://footballfanstoday.co.uk/2012/12/06/bragging-rights-crystal-palaces-3-0-victory-over-brighton-meant-way-more-than-3-points/
Rivalries
define football. They are what set the sport apart, what drives fans to come
back for more. Rugby World Cups, the Ashes or even the Olympics, they all come
and go, and yet football, from day to day and game to game endures. People get
passionate about football. Whether you think they should or not is another
debate entirely, but fundamentally people care and it’s that burning desire,
whether healthy or not that fuels the rivalries that mean a victory can be
worth considerably more than three points and a loss can feel as devastating as
a child losing a pet gerbil.
It’s
because you care. You always want to win, but on occasion you cannot bear to
lose. It means too much. To be rather self-indulgent
and to quote one’s self, this was written in the aftermath of Crystal Palace’s
1-0 victory at the Valley earlier this season; ‘A win’s a win as they say but
emerging victorious against the local rivals is hugely satisfying, indeed
judging whether you’ve had a good or a bad season in the minds of fans can
often be decided on just that factor alone.’
Playing
your arch enemy narrows your view; you don’t see the bigger picture. Win or
lose against your most bitter foes and how you fair in the other 40 odd games
doesn’t seem to matter. Only the 90 minutes against the side you love to hate
does. Hate is a strong word but one that can be entirely appropriate. You’d
miss them if they weren’t there. You’d lose that buzz that can only come from a
game against your despised neighbours. It’s often not the anger that fuels you
– it’s not wanting the embarrassment.
In
a TV age and a world of social media, bragging rights are all important. You
can’t just make like one of the Likely Lads anymore, ignoring the score; it’s
there in your face, 24-7, humiliation and abuse ready to be served up time
after time. It’s a game your team must win, for your sake as much as theirs.
Where
do rivalries come from? Typically, it’s geographic; ‘Them from down the road’
the one’s you have to see every day. They can be from the same city or the one
just up the nearest dual carriageway, but it’s about local pride. History,
politics, religion, class, a dodgy penalty in a Rumbelows Cup tie, they can all
spark a grudge, one passed down from fathers to sons, more ingrained from
generation to generation.
Try
to understand where the rivalry between Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove
Albion comes from them. To those on the outside, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe
it doesn’t have too, but the fact remains that the clash between the ‘Eagles’
and the ‘Seagulls’ (even the club nicknames have sprung out of the rivalry) is
just as heated as any of the other civil wars that take place in English
football.
It
rose out of the 1970’s, two clubs on the rise, two clubs often playing each
other and two clubs in direct competition with one another. Games were
fractious, spiced up by personal rivalries from the White Hart Lane dressing
Room. Terry Venables and Alan Mullery didn’t like one another, and soon neither
did their players. It was only natural that the fans would follow their idols
suit.
Is
it local? Well not in the classic sense of the word, but then neither is Real
Madrid vs. Barcelona, and that tends to get people’s attention. Travel south
from the Borough of Croydon and there isn’t much football until you hit
Brighton. It’s the route from the South into London, the route the dislike travels.
The
clash last weekend was like a trip back in time, the fires of the rivalry being
stoked by both sides vying at the top of the division, angling for the top
flight. It’s where the passions ignited in the first place, two aspiring teams
and dreaming sets of supporters; the other blocking their way to the big time.
Managers Ian Holloway and Gus Poyet may not have the personal animosity of
their historical predecessors but in Glenn Murray, the clashes now have their
latest catalyst.
Defecting
from Brighton to South London after spearheading the formers promotion to the
Championship in the summer of 2011, understandably, did not sit too well. Nor
did it help that he was on the score sheet as his new team became the first to
beat his old team on their shiny new patch. Tensions before Saturday were
running high.
In
the end the game was rather one sided, an early sending off, the guilty and
wonderfully named Lewis Dunk could have no complaints about it, set the tone
for one way traffic. From the red card onwards it was always going to be
difficult for the away side, however, viewed as it is through red and blue
tinted spectacles, one team were rampant whereas the other was lethargic.
With
the partisan hat off, Brighton are clearly a good team, but for them last
Saturday was not a good day at the office. Too many passes astray, second to
every ball and dominated in the challenge, the visitors showed little and
offered less. Derby wins are always ones for the memory banks but one has the
feeling that the Eagles will not have it as easy again.
These
are special times to be a Palace fan. Recent history has told supporters to be
cautious, that setbacks are always waiting around the corner, but just like the
hammering of your closest rivals should be enjoyed, so too should a young
vibrant team playing great football being at the top of the league. Let’s just
hope by the time the men from SE25 head south for the return clash with
Brighton on the 17th March that it will be for points for a continued promotion
drive as much as the bragging rights.
Matt
Snelling
http://collinsbeans.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @CollinsBeans
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