I seem to dedicate a lot of time to rivalries in this space. Orlando City’s relative youth as a Major League Soccer club means we, collectively as a fanbase and the team, are searching for our place in the mix. In a league that stresses rivalries from the corporate top to the grassroots bottom, it matters that we are a part of those conversations.
From the league’s Heineken Rivalry Week match-ups to supporter group-organized derby trophies, MLS has realized its business model relies on people giving a damn about their games. This wasn’t a lightning strike of inspiration in MLS HQ, but simply observing the natural rivalry that came out of the Pacific Northwest, between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland — cities where teams named the Whitecaps, Sounders, and Timbers have been meeting up in various league competitions since the heydays of the old NASL.