I agree, I live in Teesside and even I don't see it as such. Much more than a normal game, and certainly more to me with Boro fan mates, but not a derby.
I look forward to the Man United games and consider them more of a derby than the Middlesborough games. Sunderland are obviously the main ones by a long long way though.
Petrol: £60, New Boro shirt: £40, Redsquare program: £3... The matchday atmosphere at the Riverside: ****ing worthless!
Just because it isn't as important doesn't mean that it has no importance at all. It must be so much more boring for you lads who don't consider it a derby.
Yeah its about 5 minutes walk from where i live, mind you walking from one end of Guisborough to the other only takes 15 minutes, so everywhere is pretty near. My wife and kids dont like football, mind you thats probably because of only having boro to support lol
Don't get me wrong - I love the games against Boro... and I'm really happy about the cup draw. But for me a derby needs to have that edge which gives bragging rights over/to a local rival... I never got that with Boro games... win or lose it was just another game that was put to rest after a couple of days.
Does anyone like Middlesbrough? I can't stand them, I don't treat it as a derby but I despise the club more than any other, Newcastle is more of a friendly rivalry for me as most of my mates support the Barcodes but the Smogs are just annoying.
I have no negative feelings towards Boro. I don't really have any feelings towards them whatsoever. They're nothing really.
Yes I do consider Boro a derby, but very much a secondary one behind our main one against them who shall not be named...
I think most of them consider it to be a derby as they play us/the Mags more often than Darlo/Hartlepool. Like someone else said, it is a NE derby, just obviously has litlle importance when compared to the big one. I do look forward to playing them mind, more than other clubs but I have no malice towards them in the way that I do the Mags.
It's kinda like Fulham v Spurs, it isn't a derby but it'd be billed as an 'all London clash'. Newcastle/Sunderland v Middlesbrough is more important than Newcastle/Sunderland v Stoke. It's a 'battle of the North East'.