My Two Loves

by Jenna

There is a rather religious segregation when it comes to New York and New Jersey. A person living in either of the two places can barely perceive both of them as non-rivals; the competitive elements include the basic everyday life, facilities, or even sports teams of both cities, among many others.

But where is the fine line that brings both New York and New Jersey together? It definitely lies in the spirit of sports; fans like me cannot deny their love for both NJ and NY teams, and even though the cities are rivals at every other level, sports bring them back together.

This however, is definitely not an indicator of the complete picture of the NY and NJ sporting world. The competition exists the same way as it does between the cities otherwise. Someone who has lived in New York and moved to New Jersey (and vice versa) will always consider himself a New Yorker forever. This dilemma still prevails; anyone from New York can never become a proud citizen of New Jersey, no matter what. Also in the first place, there has to be a very strong catalyst to make a person migrate to their rival city!

News about NY and NJ sports rivalries often pop up on the bulletin boards. Most of these enmities cook up from the team management level, when various teams or players are acquired by the other city’s sports administration. Soccer and baseball are a major personification of these New York and New Jersey enmities, and basketball follows closely. Fans take the player migrations and acquisitions very seriously, and they are often the root of the healthy rivalries between teams.


Despite the opposition, the cities remain intertwined in a difficult to resolve web. Taking an example from soccer, the New York Red Bulls play at Harrison, NJ, and New York Knicks and Nets also keep shuffling between both NY and NJ. These teams usually play at locations in their alternating cities, so there is not much that can be done about categorizing them.

Shuttling back and forth and going to games has become a chore because teams are located all over, but hey it's what the real fans do! I have noticed that since living in NJ I have become more of and more of a Jersey girl. I find myself caught up in the NJ Devils hockey season, visiting the Jersey shore for fun, and even switched to New Jersey car insurance. Regardless of where you live you can admit that loving in an area with some many teams and fans sure it a lot of fun!

Rivalries in sports are usually created by an unpleasant event, but rarely on the basis of geographic reasons. For instance, one of the most popular NFL rivals is the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, and the rivalry does not stem from a geographical reason at all.

Yes, I am guilty as charged. New York and New Jersey will always be my two loves. Not just in the domain of sports, but also otherwise. For me, both cities complete each other and have their own special charm.