It’s that time of year again, when I start to ponder the question of which team will be Orlando City’s most hated rival. I could just write what I think (and I will), but we’re going to ask for your input as well. So, which team is Orlando City’s greatest rival? Will the addition of Los Angeles FC have any impact at all? We shall find out, but first, let’s take a look back at what you thought the last few years.

2015

Just as Orlando City was joining MLS, we compiled our first list of potential MLS rivals. That year we projected that New York City FC, D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls, the New England Revolution, and the Seattle Sounders were the top five candidates to be Orlando City’s most hated rival. It’s no surprise that NYCFC won the vote in our poll that year, given they were Orlando City’s first opponent and entered the league at the same time.

NYCFC maintained its lead after that season, as a league-wide hate index, powered by Ranker, showed our fans down voting New York City FC to the bottom of the list, followed by Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy, D.C., Toronto FC, and the Columbus Crew.

2016

In the club’s second year, New England found its way onto our list, as fans seemed to not worry as much about Columbus. It may have had something to do with the trade of striker Kei Kamara from the Crew to the Revolution. In case you forgot, Kamara tried to shush The Wall in 2015, walked across the Lions’ emblem at midfield at Camping World Stadium in 2016, and was generally annoying. Despite all of that, NYCFC continued to draw our ire despite Orlando City generally getting results against them. It was around this time that we started discussing the arrival of Don Garber’s favorite new team, Atlanta United. Little were we to know the worst was yet to come.

2017

There’s no doubt that the northerners in Atlanta (and MLS in general) tried really hard to bill this as the “new” rivalry. There were those of us that were on board, while others wanted to dismiss the team Arthur Blank bought. It ultimately did feel like a rivalry (even if partially manufactured) when the posers bought a billboard in Orlando prior to the first match. They also topped our poll, with 55% of the vote to second place NYCFC’s 30% to start the season. Orlando City earned the first road points in Atlanta’s new home thanks to a 3-3 draw, which might have solidified the hatred of this new rivalry. NYCFC was still hated, but the Pigeons seemed to be focusing more on their “in-town” rival, the New York Red Bulls.

2018

That brings us to this coming season! Let’s see if there are any surprises in this year’s rival poll or if it will turn out the way I think it will. Here are the contenders!

Los Angeles FC

They’re new! They’re shiny! They’re all the way across the country! Sure, the Lions only play them once this coming season, but they have to travel to California to play that one game. Add in that they’re another big city bought type of team, and there’s certainly reason to want to hate them.

Atlanta United FC

Here we go. Last year’s most hated. Can they retain the title? Will we let them become a true rival? They are Don Garber’s golden children, sufficiently full of themselves after making the playoffs their first year, and definitely annoying. They are the team with no history that pretends they are great and Orlando plays them three times this season.

New York City FC

Orlando’s oldest foe in MLS. Do you still have a deep-seated hate for the team that entered the league with the Lions? Have the matches here and in that baseball stadium they call a soccer pitch entertained you enough to get them back on top of the hate board?

Toronto FC

The champs. They really took it to us last year, and they aren’t really losing any firepower in 2018. That being said, Orlando City had the best off-season of any team in MLS, let alone the Eastern Conference. Is this the year the lads in purple can challenge the best? Will the Lions have to go through Toronto to prove it?

They were the last team to beat Orlando City. Sure the season was done. No, the Lions had no chance at the playoffs, but to lose to the Union that badly in the season’s last game was certainly humiliating. Does it still sting? Do you want revenge for that loss enough to call them a rival?

There you have it. Please make sure to vote in the poll below or, if you want, feel free to propose another potential rival in the comments. Go City!