As a Philadelphia Flyers fan, you grow up hating pretty much every team in the Eastern Conference, because the only team that matters to you is the one in black and orange.
The Flyers hate most of the teams in the Atlantic Division, and last season I read an article that broke down all their biggest rivalries and named their top rival. It was the New York Rangers.
That did make sense, especially since the Flyers never beat the Rangers in a single game last season, and due to the Winter Classic battle, which the Rangers also won. The Rangers have always been a huge rivalry for the team. Back in the ‘70s, there were even Rangers fans who would sit in the blue seats and throw sugar cubes at then Flyers captain Bobby Clarke because he is diabetic.
The rivalry is still pretty strong, but it’s not the strongest for the Flyers at this point. So who is the Flyers biggest rival?
If you saw Wednesday’s game at the Pittsburgh Penguins, you’d know the answer to that.
These two teams genuinely do not like each other, in fact they really hate each other. We saw that last season during the playoffs in how Sidney Crosby acted so childishly around Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, which made Flyers fans hate Crosby even more.
Also, there were some line brawls during this series, which included Penguins’ coach Dan Bylsma and Flyers’ coach Peter Laviolette yelling at each other from their benches. What other rivalry has produced such an entertaining playoff series? None.
Winning against the Penguins is always really exciting for the Flyers, and it gives fans a good reason to brag. The games are always exciting with fights, lots of chirping and ridiculous goals, like in Wednesday’s game. I for one cannot wait for the next Flyers-Penguins game. You have to admit, win or lose, those games are always entertaining.
Let’s go Flyers!
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers contributor for www.rantsports.com. You can follow her on Twitter @Dmvasso.