EL PASO, Texas – Think about the elements that are a must-have to develop a serious rivalry between two clubs.

Regional proximity. History. Heroes and villains. Intense competition. Passionate fans.

This weekend, numerous contests that fall into those categories will be played, from El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain to the Superclasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors in Argentina, to the Derby della Capitale between AS Roma and Lazio in Italy, and the Clasico Regio between Tigres and Monterrey in Mexico.

The rivalry between El Paso Locomotive FC and New Mexico United might not have that profile but make no mistake; the intensity of feeling between the two teams and sets of fans has quickly developed into the best rivalry the USL Championship has to offer.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the fans. If you look at El Paso’s fans and then New Mexico United’s fans, we have great fans within the league, so it always starts there,” said New Mexico defender Sam Hamilton. “Then just how often we’ve seen each other. We played each other six times in 2020, we always see them in preseason, and so I guess if you’re around somebody long enough, you start to not like them.”

The next chapter of the rivalry will play out this Saturday night on a national stage as Locomotive FC hosts United at Southwest University Park on ESPN Deportes (8 p.m. ET), giving fans across the United States the chance to enjoy the passion on display from the teams on the field and fans in the stands. As has become the norm for this fixture, a large travelling contingent of New Mexico support will be making its way across the Texas border to bring an exuberant atmosphere to what has historically been a tight series. Each team has won twice officially in 11 meetings, with seven games ending drawn, and the contests have regularly featured late-game heroics that have tilted results and the course of the rivalry.

It’s also meant picking a side. For Tina McNeely, who was born and raised in Las Cruces and was a longtime soccer fan before the clubs arrived, there was the thought that going to games in El Paso and its shorter drive time than to Albuquerque could be possible. On Saturday, she will be in the visiting supporters’ section, joined by friends and family cheering for United.

“I remember thinking, ‘I’ll go to a game in Albuquerque when I’m in town, but El Paso’s right there. I love soccer, I’ll drive to El Paso and watch the games,’” said McNeely. “We went to the first United home game and that was it. We were United fans. We weren’t going to be going to El Paso games unless it was a United game in El Paso.”

The irony, of course, is that both clubs – and both regions – have more in common than they are different. McNeely points to the characterization of New Mexico as a state that has eternally had a chip on its shoulder, a characteristic she believes El Paso shares as the westernmost city in Texas, separate from the major hubs in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston.

For Rodriguez, the passion the fans have brought, and that the players have quickly picked up on, has made any meeting between the teams intense. When the sides met in El Paso during preseason in February, it wasn’t your typical warm-up contest, with flashpoints and scuffles occurring as both teams let the other know there wouldn’t be any backing down, even in an exhibition.  

“That didn’t surprise anybody, because I think the players know, so it’s something really great for the USL Championship, I think it’s really great for the region in soccer terms,” said Rodriguez. “They get excited for it, they circle the calendar for it the same way we do. It’s the one game, twice a year, that we look forward to the most.”

If there’s been a central character to that, it’s been Locomotive FC defender Yuma. While El Paso fans have had players like former goalkeeper Cody Mizell and forward Devon Sandoval, whom 8th Notch heckled after he cut off his trademark dreadlocks last season, Yuma’s history in the series – from a red card in the first meeting between the teams in May 2019 to his constant presence, playing in all 11 prior meetings – made him the lightning rod for New Mexico fans’ ire.

“I think somewhere along the way – there is mutual respect between the clubs, because they both came in at the same time, they’ve both been fighting for this for so long, they feel like they have something to prove – but yeah, there is that one guy on the other side that just makes your blood boil for some reason,” said McNeely. “It’s funny, because when I see it on social media I’ll say, ‘guys, come on, calm down, that’ll just feed his ego, that’ll just feed his passion.’ It’s absolutely fun.”

“He seems to be in the middle of every situation, he seems to get under the skin of a lot of players,” added Rodriguez. “We love him, but every time whether he’s here or away, he’s always in the middle of some scuffle at some point in the game, and I think he just knows how to play those mind games throughout the match. As it goes on and gets kind of stressful at the end of the match it does catch up to some players, but we love Yuma, and I’m sure if you asked rival fans they’d say they probably don’t like him at all.”

For his part, Yuma has tuned out the opinions of others – asked what it meant to be viewed that way by New Mexico fans, he answered, “I don’t think about that at all. I care that the people of El Paso love me,” – but as in all rivalries there is something special about earning a victory over the team your fans love to beat the most.

As the league returns to a full conference-wide schedule this season, making Saturday’s game the first of two this regular season compared to four each of the past two years, the stakes for both clubs will rise. After the changes at both clubs this offseason – including the introduction of new Head Coaches John Hutchinson for El Paso and Zach Prince for New Mexico – the games between the two clubs will continue to be the yardstick each measures itself by.

“They’re a good team, and when it’s that much more important to the fans to get a result against them, there’s that much more importance to the game,” said Hamilton. “Whenever we beat them, we know the state is happy and our fans are happy, and if we lose, it’s a terrible feeling.”

That emotion before, during and after will be on full display on Saturday, continuing a rivalry worth serious celebration.