The addition of Frank Lampard showed that NYCFC was eager to compete immediately Red Bulls fans took their seats in the upper deck The teams had only been rivals for a little more than a season but their fans already didn’t like each other As kickoff neared the fans sang and chanted eager to show the other side who was better They were playing for the pride of New York City 6
BAD BLOOD RISING Even before the first Hudson River Derby bad blood existed between the teams supporters Many Red Bulls fans believed NYCFC shouldn’t even exist After all New York City already had a team and it had been part of MLS from the start The Red Bulls originally known as the New York New Jersey MetroStars had been playing since 1996 the league's first season NYCFC also arrived in MLS with a lot of fanfare People were curious about this new team which was owned by the group that owned English powerhouse Manchester City Few MLS teams could match NYCFC’s star power with world-class players such as David Villa Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo on the roster NYCFC was also the first MLS team to play in the city The Red Bulls had always been based across the river in New Jersey All of that interest showed up in the box office Only two teams in 2015 drew more fans to their home games than NYCFC Their average crowd of 29,016 was nearly 10,000 more than the Red Bulls managed though it's worth noting that the Red Bulls played in a much smaller stadium Still NYCFC fans enjoyed the opportunity to tweak their more established rivals 7
I think there’s a lot of jealousy there that their team which has been there much longer wasn’t getting that sort of support explained one member of the Third Rail NYCFC’s main supporters group There was one problem for the new guys The results on the field skewed steeply to the old guard In 2015 the Red Bulls won all three meetings with NYCFC outscoring the expansion team 7 2 The low point for NYCFC came the next year On May 21 2016 in the first Hudson River Derby of the season the Red Bulls came to Yankee Stadium and walloped NYCFC 7 0 One reporter for the Guardian called the home team’s performance a farce A complete embarrassment The victory was embarrassingly easy said the New York Times But NYCFC captain Villa might have summed it up best It was a disaster for us he said Thankfully for NYCFC the next Hudson River Derby was less than two months away GAME TIME This time meeting just before Independence Day in 2016 NYCFC came out fast In the eighth minute Pirlo sent a looping corner kick to the top of the penalty area At first the ball looked like it was going to no one Then hotshot rookie Jack Harrison showed up The English midfielder raced forward to 8
NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders center doesn’t shy away from contact as he makes a save against the Red Bulls 9
