Hey, everybody! Reader here, and I finally made my way out to Melville to catch a Millionaires home game on Friday night. I’d been wanting to get there all season, but it just never seemed to work out time wise. But the stars aligned on Friday night, and what better time to go… SJHL quarterfinal action between the Mils and their Highway 10 archrivals, the Yorkton Terriers!
(Note that I kept my colours neutral – gray and Rider Green! People around me were asking me who I was cheering for, and I answered the same way my Mom answers, when my three brothers and I ask her whom she loves the most – she’ll never say, only that she loves us all equally!)
There was a huge crowd of just over 1,800 packed into the C.N. Community Centre for Game Four on Friday night, with the majority being fans of the hometown Mils, though there was a vocal contingent of Terrier fans that made the trek down Highway 10 to catch the action.
The home team jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, and never looked back, as Melville skated to a 4-2 victory, to even up the series at two games apiece.
It was a great night in Melville, with a ton of loud fans cheering on their teams, and pushing the 50-50 up over $32,000, meaning the winner took home just over 16 grand! Congrats to the lucky winners!
The two teams got right back at it on Saturday night, back at Westland Arena in Yorkton, where over 1,900 fans saw the Terriers beat the Millionaires, to take a 3-2 lead in the series, with Game Six set for tonight (Monday), back in the Rail City.
The Terriers will be looking to advance to Round Two, while the Mils hope to force a seventh and deciding game, which would be in Yorkton on Wednesday night, if necessary.
The rivalry goes back generations between the two cities, and even though I didn’t grow up in the Parkland, you can definitely feel the energy when these two teams clash.
The only bad thing about this series? It’s happening in the first round, instead of in the championship series. But you know both teams and their fans want this one BAD!
There’s nothing like “sports hate.” Whether it’s geographical proximity, incidents on the field, or players inciting rival fans with spectacular play or dirty deeds, it’s what creates great sports rivalries, like that between my Philadelphia Flyers and their Pennsylvania neighbours, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Yeah, the Pens might have more Stanley Cups that their Keystone State rivals, but we’ve got Gritty!
Or, how about the classic gridiron rivalry between the Green and White and the Blue and Gold, as it’s always fun when the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers tangle!
Just remember who came out on top though, the one time there two teams met in the Grey Cup!
Rider Pride, baby!!!
I really became a big basketball fan in the mid to late 1980’s, when Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls captured my imagination. Their biggest rivals? The “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons.
To this day, I (sports) hate Bill Laimbeer with every fibre of my being!
Those are some of my favourite examples of sports rivalries. What are yours?
In that spirit, here’s one of the Stones’ more aggressive tunes, from the 1980s, when even Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were at each other’s throats. Talk about a rivalry!
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