[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Demonrail hasn't answered on the American Football thread so I'll ask the question here..

What is there to lose in futbol rivalries like the Superclassico or the Bavarian Derby??

We were discussing the rivalries within the divisional format of NFL and how it gives added meaning to to otherwise less meaningful regular season games. Me and rob mentioned we like NFL rivalries better than futbol rivalries, and demonrail insisted futbol rivalries are more meaningful.

Now aside from IN TOURNAMENTS, what exactly is the substantive meaning of these rivalries in the context of the table system? Again, within divisional format, demonrail mentioned Packers-Bears rivalry, every NFL fan knows the Packers and Bears are going to play each other TWO times every single regular season, and that essentially if a team can win both they clinch the playoffs by taking their division and hurting their rivals chances in the loss column. Even if the they split the games, it could still knock one of them out of the playoffs. Also, say one of them is for sure not making the playoffs, by winning a key division game against a rival they can ensure that NEITHER of them make the playoffs.. So what are otherwise low-importance games become some of the biggest games of the season.

So outside of tournament play, what exactly do Boca Juniors or River Plate stand to lose when playing each other?