Reyes Salinas is facing a dilemma that he never could have imagined while growing up in the Rio Grande Valley town of Lyford. He couldn’t have even imagined it six months ago.
Salinas has lived in San Antonio for the past eight years, and is a San Antonio FC supporter. When SAFC hosts the RGV Toros on Wednesday at Toyota Field, Salinas has to decide between rooting for his team or rooting for his home town.
“I’m a little bit on the fence,” Salinas said when SAFC faced RGV on May 7. “Soccer is everything in the Valley. It’s cultural. I think that’s why this rivalry can mean so much.”
The South Texas Derby pits San Antonio against The Valley, a cluster of cities about by the Texas-Mexico border where soccer is the pastime.
The rivalry began two weeks ago at Toyota Field. If the first match was any indication, the regional intensity is real. RGV won 3-2, with the five goals coming in the final 25 minutes. After RGV took a 2-0 lead, San Antonio FC got goals from Manolo Sanchez and Shawn Chin to equalize, but RGV scored in stoppage time to take three points.
“If we’ve got three more matches like that to come, I think both coaches are going to need to get their blood pressure checked at the end of the year,” SAFC coach Darren Powell said after the first match. “That’s what rivalry games are, and that’s what you want from them.”
The first match was a windy night at Toyota Field, but nothing like the winds that can sweep across Brownsville, McAllen and the rest of The Valley.
RGV is San Antonio FC’s only in-state rival for now, as the team will travel 250 miles south to The Valley for road matches on June 4 and Sept. 24.
About 100 tickets have gone to RGV fans for each match in San Antonio, while more San Antonio fans are expected to make the Valley trip.
“There are a lot of ingredients that go into great rivalries,” said SAFC Managing Director Tim Holt. “Geography tends to be a common denominator on those, so we have a natural rivalry with RGV from the beginning. We’re curious to see how it evolves over time.”
And with two nearby cities facing off, there are fans torn between two homes.
Salinas’ father, Rick, is a coach at Progreso, a Valley school that recently reached the Texas 4A boys soccer state championship game. Salinas, like many of his friends, moved to San Antonio for college and stayed, while most of his family is still in the Valley.
“I think it’s going to be more like a sibling rivalry, because so many people move from the Valley to San Antonio,” Salinas said. “I absolutely love that we’ll have pro soccer matches to talk about whenever I go home.”
Joshua Sanchez is originally from Mission in the Valley, and has lived in San Antonio for 11 years. He said he’s loved the way San Antonio has rallied around the Spurs and would love to see that happen with soccer – both in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.
“We’re going to root against each other at games, but after it’s over we’re family again,” Sanchez said. “That’s what sports are about.”
Reyes Salinas is facing a dilemma that he never could have imagined while growing up in the Rio Grande Valley town of Lyford. He couldn’t have even imagined it six months ago.
Salinas has lived in San Antonio for the past eight years, and is a San Antonio FC supporter. When SAFC hosts the RGV Toros on Wednesday at Toyota Field, Salinas has to decide between rooting for his team or rooting for his home town.
“I’m a little bit on the fence,” Salinas said when SAFC faced RGV on May 7. “Soccer is everything in the Valley. It’s cultural. I think that’s why this rivalry can mean so much.”
The South Texas Derby pits San Antonio against The Valley, a cluster of cities about by the Texas-Mexico border where soccer is the pastime.
The rivalry began two weeks ago at Toyota Field. If the first match was any indication, the regional intensity is real. RGV won 3-2, with the five goals coming in the final 25 minutes. After RGV took a 2-0 lead, San Antonio FC got goals from Manolo Sanchez and Shawn Chin to equalize, but RGV scored in stoppage time to take three points.
“If we’ve got three more matches like that to come, I think both coaches are going to need to get their blood pressure checked at the end of the year,” SAFC coach Darren Powell said after the first match. “That’s what rivalry games are, and that’s what you want from them.”
The first match was a windy night at Toyota Field, but nothing like the winds that can sweep across Brownsville, McAllen and the rest of The Valley.
RGV is San Antonio FC’s only in-state rival for now, as the team will travel 250 miles south to The Valley for road matches on June 4 and Sept. 24.
About 100 tickets have gone to RGV fans for each match in San Antonio, while more San Antonio fans are expected to make the Valley trip.
“There are a lot of ingredients that go into great rivalries,” said SAFC Managing Director Tim Holt. “Geography tends to be a common denominator on those, so we have a natural rivalry with RGV from the beginning. We’re curious to see how it evolves over time.”
And with two nearby cities facing off, there are fans torn between two homes.
Salinas’ father, Rick, is a coach at Progreso, a Valley school that recently reached the Texas 4A boys soccer state championship game. Salinas, like many of his friends, moved to San Antonio for college and stayed, while most of his family is still in the Valley.
“I think it’s going to be more like a sibling rivalry, because so many people move from the Valley to San Antonio,” Salinas said. “I absolutely love that we’ll have pro soccer matches to talk about whenever I go home.”
Joshua Sanchez is originally from Mission in the Valley, and has lived in San Antonio for 11 years. He said he’s loved the way San Antonio has rallied around the Spurs and would love to see that happen with soccer – both in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.
“We’re going to root against each other at games, but after it’s over we’re family again,” Sanchez said. “That’s what sports are about.”