The best Eastern Conference rivalries give MLS fans exciting action

Rivalry. Derby. Cup. In soccer, these words mean something when two teams get together. Every match is important in Major League Soccer, but the matches that your favorite club play against their biggest rivals can mean so much more.

A win against your rival can bring bragging rights in the sports bars, barbershops, and on the streets. A loss brings pain, the kind that makes you want to remain in bed out of the anxiety of running into someone who will gloat about how their team owns the day and the rivalry.

Major League Soccer has some great rivalries, and when those teams get together, even neutral fans would do right by tuning in. Derbies bring excitement, passion, fierce play, and even some chippy moments. For fans of that club, a game-winning goal will bring them glory, and they leave that stadium knowing they can walk with the pride that comes with the bragging rights they have received until the two teams meet again. For many teams, it also comes with a trophy that they get to hold for a year until the two teams fight over it again.

In the Eastern Conference, there are several rivalries that the league should continue to focus on...or in the case of a couple, recenter as a focal point of the league. Let’s examine these fierce rivalries that have defined the league then, now, and will into the future.

The Trillium Cup was one of the major rivalries about 15 years ago in MLS, and it still holds some importance now. Both Columbus and Toronto have established rivalries with other teams, but when these two teams get together, it usually provides some fantastic entertainment as both teams seek to hang onto the Cup.

The author’s biased here, but the Atlantic Cup is the best rivalry in Major League Soccer. It is the league’s oldest rivalry and has defined the league for so long. Both teams entered the league in 1996 hating each other, and that hate continues today, despite the league placing more emphasis on other rivalries around the league. The Atlantic Cup should be placed front and center during MLS Rivalry Week and the history of the rivalry should forever be a focal point. Ask fans of either team: the Atlantic Cup is their biggest rivalry.

This rivalry doesn’t have a trophy, but when Atlanta United entered the league, their closest team to hate was Orlando City. And hate they did. The fans hate each other, but the chippiness on the field is what makes these matches a must watch. The hate has extended to regular life, with the teams buying billboards in the other city to troll even if the teams aren’t playing each other. Goes to show that a rivalry doesn’t need a cool name to be a rivalry.

540 kilometers separate Toronto from Montreal, but the distance pales in comparison to the geopolitical and social aspects of Canadian life that the two cities represent. And, these clubs represent that in full when they take the field against each other. Ontario vs. Quebec. Anglophone Canada vs. Francophone Canada. Red vs. Blue. The only thing that unites these two teams is the Bank of Montreal, which features as a front sponsor on both team’s jerseys. In everything else, they want to show dominance over the other, which makes these matches fierce and entertaining.

A religious sign on I-71 between Columbus and Cincinnati that reads “Hell Is Real” is the inspiration behind this rivalry name. When the Crew were saved and FC Cincinnati joined the league, this became an instant in-state derby between two teams separated by just 110 miles. They’ve even extended the rivalry name to their MLS Next Pro clubs, as the matches between Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2 are dubbed “Heck is Plausible.”

Since Inter Miami entered the league, the Florida Turnpike is more than just the inevitable car trap. It’s the focal point of the budding rivalry between Inter Miami and Orlando City. Already, the rivalry has developed some hatred both on the field and among the fanbases, and now that Miami has brought in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and others, the desire to win has only increased on both sides.

New York City vs. New Jersey. Is the NYC area Red or Blue? That is what’s at stake in the Hudson River Derby between NYCFC and the Red Bulls. This is one of the main rivalries that the league focuses on during every MLS Rivalry Week, and in the City That Never Sleeps, the debate between which club is better is one that continues 24/7. Red Bull holds a slight edge over NYCFC, meaning that Red holds for now.