Whether because of geography, historical moments, or fan interaction, rivalries are a classic part of all sports. But how do fans of the most notorious rivalries in major sports like baseball feel about each other? Los Angeles Dodger and San Francisco Giant fans helped us find out.
Starting in 1889, the Dodgers and Giants quickly became one of the fiercest rivalries in the league. Over the years this historic rivalry has been characterized by numerous bench-clearing brawls and fan violence, shaping the essence of the legendary matchup last Wednesday, April 3.
Fans from all over the world voiced their disdain for each rival. “F– those guys, they overspend like crazy,” said Jose Burgos of San Jose. Burgos has always been a die-hard Giants fan, shy of any compassion for the Dodgers.
Other fans like Camila Chicone and her boyfriend Jack of Alhambra said, “ I don’t hate them at all or any players in particular… I’m just a baseball fan at the end of the day. Chicone added, “I can respect a solid ballplayer like Thairo Estrada and I’m sure their fans love to root for Mookie (Betts) when they’re not playing against us.”
Anthony Cabrera aka ‘Tricky Beard AC’ said, “There’s no hate, it’s just entertainment at the end of the day.”
This rivalry also serves as a chance to root for players on their prospective teams they can relate to on a deeper level. “Being Korean American makes me a huge fan of Jung-Hoo Lee,” said Donovan Branton, a Giants fan and first-generation immigrant. Players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Jung-hoo Lee draw more Asian people to the ballpark.
Kevin Nishimura from Florida isn’t a fan of either team but was in attendance to see Ohtani for the first time. “It’s good to see the Dodgers have more of an international presence,” said Nishimura, hopefully, they sign (Roki) Sasaki and have the Japanese Trifecta.”
In the last couple of seasons, the rivalry has been particularly one-sided as the Dodgers seemingly had a dynastic rule of the NL West “The tenured guys made this rivalry good, Kershaw, Crawford, Puig, Posey, Belt, all of them man they made this shit fun,” said Matt Lopes from Pasadena. Lopes can only hope for Kershaw to make his return sometime this season as Kershaw works his way back from off-season surgery.
Dodger fans would ultimately be the ones ending the night bragging, with a 5-4 win.
