Northern California vs. Southern California had already been a major sports rivalry for decades: The University of California (Berkeley) vs. the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the San Francisco Seals vs. the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League, the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco Giants vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Jose Sharks vs. the Los Angeles Kings, and, in the old North American Soccer League, the original version of the San Jose Earthquakes vs. the Los Angeles Aztecs.
When MLS was founded in 1996, both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles area, naturally, got teams. L.A. got the Galaxy, who played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Bay Area got the San Jose Clash, who took up the old Quakes' home of Spartan Stadium, home of San Jose State University. After the 1999 season, the name was changed to the Earthquakes. The rivalry became known as the California Clásico, in honor of "El Clásico," the rivalry between the 2 major teams of Spain, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
In that inaugural 1996 season, the Clash and the Gals faced each other in the 1st round of the Playoffs, and the Gals won. The Clash/Quakes didn't make the Playoffs again until 2001, when they beat the Columbus Crew and the Miami Fusion. The Gals beat the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) and the Chicago Fire. So the team in the country's 2nd-biggest market beat the teams in the 1st and the 3rd, to set up a Final with a team in the 4th.
In that Final, the Gals, led by Cobi Jones and Paul Caligiuri, took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute on a goal by Luis Hernandez. But the Quakes tied it up in the 43rd when Landon Donovan tallied. The game went to extra time, and, with the "golden goal" rule still in effect, Dwyane De Rosario, a Canadian son of Guyanese immigrants, won it in the 96th minute.
In 2003, the Galaxy moved from the Rose Bowl, 10 miles north of downtown L.A., into what's now named Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, 16 miles south. That season, the Quakes eliminated the Gals, and went on to win their 2nd MLS Cup, beating Chicago in the Final -- on the neutral site of the Gals' home field.
But playing at a college football stadium built in 1933, 50 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco, didn't work for the Quakes' owners, and they couldn't get a soccer-specific stadium in a location they liked. So, after the 2005 season, they moved the team, making them the Houston Dynamo. And they won the next 2 MLS Cups, in 2006 and 2007.
A 3rd version of the Earthquakes was established as an expansion team in 2008, and played at Buck Shaw Stadium, home of Santa Clara University. In 2015, they moved to what's now named PayPal Park, adjacent to a CalTrain station for extra convenience. But they've never won the MLS Cup again. In contrast, the Galaxy have won a record 5. (UPDATE: And the newly-established Los Angeles FC won it in 2022.)
Landon Donovan is often considered America's greatest soccer player ever. He played for the Earthquakes from 2001 to 2004, and for the Galaxy from 2005 to 2016. He remains popular with fans of both teams.
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October 21, 2001 was a Sunday. Also on this day, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Atlanta Braves‚ 3-2‚ to win the National League Championship Series and reach the World Series for the 1st time in their history. They got to the Series faster than any expansion team in history‚ doing so in the 4th year of their existence. Randy Johnson got the win for Arizona. Erubiel Durazo's pinch-hit 2-run homer is the key blow. Craig Counsell was named the NLCS MVP.
The New York Yankees took a 3-1 lead in their American League Championship Series matchup with the Seattle Mariners‚ winning by a score of 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. Bret Boone's 8th inning homer broke a scoreless tie‚ but Bernie Williams homered in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score. The Yankees won on Alfonso Soriano's 2-run walkoff dinger in the 9th. Mariano Rivera got the victory in relief.
In spite of this defeat, Mariner manager Lou Piniella mades a bold prediction: His team will win Game 5. "We're going back for Game 6," he tells the media, meaning back to Seattle. Sweet Lou should have known better than to test the Yankees' Ghosts of October. After all, he was one of them.
And these games were played in the NFL:
* The New York Jets lost to the St. Louis Rams, 34-14 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* The re-established Cleveland Browns beat the team that had been the original Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, 24-14 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field).
* The Washington Redskins beat the Carolina Panthers, 17-14 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17-10 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
* The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 20-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-0 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Tennessee Titans beat the Detroit Lions, 27-24 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts, 38-17 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 35-13 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-16 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.
* The San Diego Chargers beat the Denver Broncos, 27-10 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
* The preceding Thursday, the Buffalo Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-10 at Alltel Stadium (now Everbank Stadium) in Jacksonville.
* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 10-9 at Giants Stadium.
* And the Dallas Cowboys, the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks each had a bye week.
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