Blog editor Louis Byers revisits his blog post on football derbies, from August 2014.
Sports derbies and rivalries are some of the biggest fixtures in the sporting calendar. The term ‘derby’ means a fixture between two teams from the same city, area or region, and is most common in football, although also occurs in various other sports. Derbies are usually named after a city (Manchester), a region/county (East Anglian/Essex), an interlinking road (M23) or a local industry (Steel City). Derbies in the UK are heated affairs among fans and players alike, but are seen as some of the best fixtures around, which sparks an interest in television broadcasters. Sky Sports are scheduled to broadcast the East Anglian derby on Sunday afternoon.
Why do fans enjoy these fixtures? I discovered a fan report, conducted by footballpools.com in February 2008, which suggested that derby matches are popular among fans because teams are local, are jealous of their rivals, regularly meet, or because rivalries go beyond sport and are due to ‘wider cultural or political issues’. The report suggests the East Anglian derby is one of the biggest football rivalries in English football which I agree with due to the high amount of hatred between fans, and the number of incidents caused by fans.
Personally, I love derbies because they are very heated affairs on the pitch, which makes a match much more competitive. Unfortunately, fans can take advantage of this, and cause violence leading to those fans getting arrested, or ejected and eventually be banned from sports grounds. Sometimes, fans can get injured or sadly, get killed. It was exciting to see my first East Anglian derby back in August because I experience a different atmosphere compared to a 'normal' league fixture. The big attendance added to the tension and atmosphere.
REVISITED: The East Anglian derby: The East Anglian derby, between Ipswich Town and Norwich City, is one of the fiercest and longest-standing rivalries with 40 miles between the clubs. The two sides will once again meet on Sunday lunchtime (K/O 2.05pm, Sky Sports 3), following the meeting at Portman Road earlier this season. Once again, a high attendance will be expected at Carrow Road, alongside a worldwide television audience. The worldwide audience will learn the passion of the fixture, and how much this fixture means for fans and the clubs. High police numbers are expected on Sunday, with many fans ejected and arrested in previous meetings. Some of the chants bellowed by both sets of fans can be fairly amusing to, but some chants can aggravate fans.
As a Town supporter, I would love to see us beat our neighbours up the road. I think Norwich haven't done as well as they've hoped for this season, and have been a bit quieter since we've [Town] been above them. Hopefully, Ipswich can avenge their narrow 1-0 defeat on Sunday, and hopefully grab a result to help in our promotion push!
COYB!
-Written by Louis Byers (Twitter: @louisb8)
Sports derbies and rivalries are some of the biggest fixtures in the sporting calendar. The term ‘derby’ means a fixture between two teams from the same city, area or region, and is most common in football, although also occurs in various other sports. Derbies are usually named after a city (Manchester), a region/county (East Anglian/Essex), an interlinking road (M23) or a local industry (Steel City). Derbies in the UK are heated affairs among fans and players alike, but are seen as some of the best fixtures around, which sparks an interest in television broadcasters. Sky Sports are scheduled to broadcast the East Anglian derby on Sunday afternoon.
Why do fans enjoy these fixtures? I discovered a fan report, conducted by footballpools.com in February 2008, which suggested that derby matches are popular among fans because teams are local, are jealous of their rivals, regularly meet, or because rivalries go beyond sport and are due to ‘wider cultural or political issues’. The report suggests the East Anglian derby is one of the biggest football rivalries in English football which I agree with due to the high amount of hatred between fans, and the number of incidents caused by fans.
Personally, I love derbies because they are very heated affairs on the pitch, which makes a match much more competitive. Unfortunately, fans can take advantage of this, and cause violence leading to those fans getting arrested, or ejected and eventually be banned from sports grounds. Sometimes, fans can get injured or sadly, get killed. It was exciting to see my first East Anglian derby back in August because I experience a different atmosphere compared to a 'normal' league fixture. The big attendance added to the tension and atmosphere.
REVISITED: The East Anglian derby: The East Anglian derby, between Ipswich Town and Norwich City, is one of the fiercest and longest-standing rivalries with 40 miles between the clubs. The two sides will once again meet on Sunday lunchtime (K/O 2.05pm, Sky Sports 3), following the meeting at Portman Road earlier this season. Once again, a high attendance will be expected at Carrow Road, alongside a worldwide television audience. The worldwide audience will learn the passion of the fixture, and how much this fixture means for fans and the clubs. High police numbers are expected on Sunday, with many fans ejected and arrested in previous meetings. Some of the chants bellowed by both sets of fans can be fairly amusing to, but some chants can aggravate fans.
As a Town supporter, I would love to see us beat our neighbours up the road. I think Norwich haven't done as well as they've hoped for this season, and have been a bit quieter since we've [Town] been above them. Hopefully, Ipswich can avenge their narrow 1-0 defeat on Sunday, and hopefully grab a result to help in our promotion push!
COYB!
-Written by Louis Byers (Twitter: @louisb8)