The most intense rivalry in Canadian sport, measured on match data rather than memory, belongs to a soccer club.
CF Montréal versus Chicago Fire scored 81.50 in new research published by Betano, the highest index score recorded anywhere in a study covering the Canadian League, NHL, MLB, NBA and MLS. It ranks first in the entire MLS, not just among Canadian clubs.
Montréal appears three times in the MLS top five
The city’s soccer club does not stop there. CF Montréal versus Orlando City SC ranks seventh league-wide at 70.74, and Atlanta United versus CF Montréal ranks inside the top five Canadian-involved matchups at 61.50.
Three of the five fiercest MLS rivalries involving Canadian teams feature the same club.
The remaining two are FC Cincinnati versus Toronto FC at 64.20, ranked 14th league-wide, and Seattle Sounders versus Vancouver Whitecaps at 56.88. The Sounders and Whitecaps fixture is the closest thing on the list to a traditional regional derby, two clubs a few hours apart on the Pacific coast, and it scores lowest of the five.
A rivalry city by more than one measure
Montréal’s presence in the data is not limited to soccer.
In hockey, Montréal Canadiens versus Ottawa Senators scored 68.10, third among the Canadian NHL matchups the study ranked, ahead of the Canadiens’ fixture against Toronto at 58.24. In the Canadian League, Montréal Alouettes versus Toronto Argonauts scored 62.98, second in the league and the highest-ranked rivalry in the East. Alouettes versus Ottawa RedBlacks adds another top-ten entry at 52.42.
Across three leagues, Montréal clubs turn up near the top of every table they appear in.
“Montréal keeps showing up, and in soccer it is not close,” says a Betano spokesperson. “A club playing in a league Canadians pay relatively little attention to is producing the most intense fixture in the whole study.”
Why the top score sits where it does
The methodology explains part of it. The index rewards matchups that are consistently competitive and eventful rather than simply historic. Attendance, trophies and media coverage do not enter into it.
That method produces results that cut against the usual conversation. The Battle of Alberta, the benchmark for Canadian rivalry, scored 74.83, high enough to rank ninth in the entire NHL but below the Montréal and Chicago number. The Original Six fixture between Montréal and Toronto scored 58.24, last among the six Canadian hockey rivalries measured.
Elsewhere the picture is quieter. The Toronto Blue Jays draw all four of their qualifying rivalries from the AL East, led by Boston at a 34.4 percent close-game rate over 61 meetings. The Toronto Raptors peak at 54.52 against Philadelphia, mid-tier by NBA standards and some way short of the league’s top-ranked matchup between Minnesota and Portland at 88.45.
Canada is the only country outside the United States with teams in five major North American leagues at once. On this evidence, the fiercest of those rivalries is being played out at Stade Saputo.
