Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, read all about a burgeoning New York rivalry:  While tension might end with supporters verbally sparring at a subway stop – or in a scuffle outside a New Jersey bar – one glaring caveat is the derby’s absence of history. After all, City have only just embarked upon their second season, after a disappointing inaugural campaign left the club short of the playoffs. So far, the Red Bulls have coasted to victory in all three derbies, but their fans still feel overshadowed by the presence of a new team that have encroached upon their territory.  For Red Bulls fans, many of whom followed the team as the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars in the 1990s, the club owed its roots to the very first awakening of American soccer fervor. At a time when the modest MLS was overshadowed by towering American sports figures like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter and Emmitt Smith, the Empire Supporters Club gathered at Giants Stadium to support a team that existed in obscurity.  The ESC was established in 1995 by young socialists and political radicals, many of whom fought to keep a developing tide of far right-wing extremism out of American soccer leagues. The ESC not only claims to be the oldest MLS supporters group, but the rightful heirs of New York City’s developing soccer kingdom.  Steve Ferrezza, a board member of the ESC, recalls the early days, when seats at Giants Stadium were largely empty but hearts were full, as the seeds of early fandom were planted. “I remember the days at Giants Stadium when there were only 2,000 people in the stadium. I would have to take the subway to Jersey Transit to a shuttle bus, and then run across the parking lot to get to the tailgate in time to pick up my ticket,” he says.  While things have changed, and notably for the better – the Red Bulls no longer play at the since-demolished Giants Stadium, but at their own arena in Harrison, New Jersey – Ferrezza likens the emergence of City to a privileged neighbor stealing whatever limelight the Red Bulls battled for decades to attain.  “No pun intended, but [City supporters] were basically born on third base. They didn’t have to fight for anything,” says Ferrezza.  Related: New York City FC host the Red Bulls in a rivalry fuelled by increasing disdain
Patrick Vieira’s side host their rivals in a Hudson River derby at Yankee Stadium. Can NYC FC continue their good run of form? Find out with Tim Hill