A Tale of Two Cities: Rivals by History or Why Not All Games Are Created Equal
If you happen to pass by the German town of Hanover this Saturday, better don't get off there. It's derby time and you might run into tens of thousands of football (or soccer for you Americans) fans! As all sports fan will know: Not all games are created equal and some are simply more important than others. Those games may not even be the big championship games, it may also be the game against your local rival and the all important bragging rights until the next time your teams meet. It's no different for this Saturday's match between Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig - but did you know, that their rivalry is deeply rooted in royal history? Politics, history, religion, geography, class - the reasons for a rivalry can be broad and complex. The southern part of the German state of Lower Saxony around the cities of Hanover and Brunswick is the birthplace of football in Germany. In 1874, it was in Brunswick where the first football match on German soil was play...