Post-match: Hell Comes to Cowtown - Crew v Cincinnati - Match 14 - 5/17/25 7:00 PM

#NeverForget

 

The weather is improving. The high on Saturday could touch 80, game time will be in the mid 70's with a very small chance or rain. A higher chance of rain and potentially storms will come through overnight Friday into Saturday morning, but should be cleared out by the afternoon. We haven't had many if any good weather games yet this season, hopefully the trend as we get closer stays positive.

 

Over at the MLS site, Sasha Penis Breath Kljestan says that Galaxy/LAFC "is the best rivalry in MLS and it isn't even close".

 

Is that the "Get to the game late and leave early" rivalry? (I've been to a Dodgers game where this is legendary.)

 

I mean, he's right. Have you guys actually watched any El Trafficos? Just about every game is must watch TV. It's also hard to beat a cross town rivalry like that. They've also played at the Rose Bowl twice - once in front of 82k and another time in front of 70k. I don't know of another rivalry in this league that would pull 80k+ for a game.

With that said, that rivalry still doesn't have a single game on par with the 2023 ECF. That one is tough to beat.

 

Figure he would say RBNY V nycfc

 

Cascadia would like a word.

But otherwise I agree with you.

 

@LaMacchia beat me to the answer.

Poetland/Seattle is an older rivalry with serious history and every bit as big a venue in Seattle, while LAFC still has that new car smell. Yes, El Trafico is a cool name and they have a big venue they can use.

But if you put HiR in Ohio Stadium I'll bet you could easily draw 60k, and the fans would be smarter.

(Sasha also wants to rate Miami/Orlando, which is a stretch. For now. When Messi finally hangs them.up, well see what the deal really is)

(And honestly, he ignored TFC/ Clubfeet, a match up which requires legions of riot police in full tactical gear just to.preserve life and limb. Its just that both teams suck - and Mtl is reaching monumental levels of suckitude - that it's not interesting to anyone except a bunch of local fans bent on mayhem)

At worst I'd rate the Los Angeles derby as equal to the others - and thats leaving out New York - or more or less on a par if you'd prefer - but saying that Gals/Ferrell is far and away the best and "nobody else is even close" is a contention that doesnt bear close examination

 

Sacha is a Doofus. I feel about him the way a lot of you feel about Twelman - I can't stand the guy.

I'd agree that El Traffico is a Top 3 rivalry, along with Portland/Seattle and Columbus/Cincinnati. Everyone else is fighting for 4th place.

 

It's often been pointed out in here that they way fans have to rely on the league to act as the primary source of "information" and "analysis" about itself is, well, bizarre in terms of what usually is the case when one is a fan of a team or a league. I get it. More independent media hasn't exactly been beating down the doors of MLS HQ demanding access, and so the league has chosen to fill the void itself. I mean, it's better than nothing, I'll admit. But sometimes it's little more than Ministry of Propaganda bullshit.

 

Sacha sucks so hard. I agree, he's way way way worse than Twellman.

 

I'm not sure what word that would be. Attendance in SEA-POR games has fallen way off. Seattle can't even hit 40k for games against Portland anymore. They haven't hit 50k for a Portland game since 2019, and they haven't hit 60k in 10 years. Portland didn't even sell out their home game against Seattle last season. They were 2k short of a sellout.

But aside from attendance, the LAFC-LAG games have been far more compelling on the field. The games themselves have been exciting and they've had great characters involved. Seattle-Portland simply haven't had that for quite a while now.

In my opinion, I'd put LAFC-LAG as number, CLB-FCC a close 2nd, and SEA-POR number 3 in terms of overall "watchability" right now. Rankings will obviously change from time to time based on various factors, but that's where I see things currently.

 

SEA-POR play in a big venue in Seattle and only manage to fill half of it these days. The games are often boring, and the teams lack solid characters like Bouanga and Puig to bring more excitement to the game. Sure, it has history and that definitely counts for something, but they really need something to reignite that rivalry. A big playoff matchup, like the 2023 ECF, would do wonders.

Miami/Orlando is bogus though, that's for sure. Without Messi, who cares?

And yea, TFC/Montreal is seriously underrated. Both teams have underrated supporters groups and they are intense. Both teams being awful holds it back though.

Also, I agree that LAFC-LAG is not "far and away" the best rivalry. I think it's narrowly the best right now, but there are other matchups (CLB-FCC, SEA-POR, TOR-MTL) that are in the discussion.

 

So we agree

 

Yes. But I'm right and you are wrong because this is the internet.

 

We have two teams in a city quite a bit larger than LA that can barely hit 30k, although that says more about the state of those clubs than anything else. NYCFC's new stadium will definitely have a positive impact though. It should help NYCFC attract some bigger names (assuming they want to) which will add more intrigue to the matchup.

 

They play in a baseball stadium that can hold close to 50k, but can barely get to 30k. Red Bull Arena holds 25k and sometimes they can't even fill that. But yea playing in a baseball stadium is really holding them back. Like I said, NYCFC's new stadium should really help improve things.

 

2008 ECF vs Chicago.

 

I mean, it is really SuperClasico 2.0, since LAFC is the Goats 2.0. Why does nobody talk about the Goats when talking about El Trafico? The LA rivalry is nothing new. The league wants to paste over the Goats but we will never forget. LAFC even hired an ex-Goats coach, FFS. They are not fooling anyone.

 

The Return of the Jed-Kai.

 

Everyone talks about Cascadia and forgets that Vancouver is part of that as well and they are actually good this season. I know that Portland and Seattle are the showcase match but there should be more of a spotlight on Vancouver being a part of it too.