New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, got his start in the Hub. Born in the suburb of Medford in 1942, he got his MBA from Harvard.

"I can tell you that when I lived in the Boston metropolitan area, they did not have a football team. So nobody can accuse me of having been a Patriot fan. I am a New York fan," he said.

When Bloomberg was in graduate school, Fenway Park was home to the Boston Patriots of the old American Football League. At the same time, Yankee Stadium housed the Giants.

Years later, the Giants moved farther into the Northeast, shuttling into the Yale Bowl for a couple of seasons while Yankee Stadium was renovated. Many fans Connecticut still consider the state Giants territory; in fact, the Patriots almost moved to Hartford in the late 1990s.

The most intense matchups between Boston and New York came in other sports.

In 1972, Bobby Orr's goal helped the Bruins beat the New York Rangers for their most recent Stanley Cup title. Around the same time, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens and the Celtics were dueling Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and the Knicks for Eastern Conference crowns.

The Celtics and Knicks haven't met in the postseason since 1990. This season, Boston owns the NBA's best record and the Knicks have one of the worst.

"To really call it a rivalry is not the right statement because I believe rivals are made in the playoffs and championship games," Pierce said.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry might be the most charged in sports, heightened by what's happened in October.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

New York beat Boston in Game 7 of the 2003 American League championship series. The next year, the Red Sox became the only team in baseball history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in the postseason.

After all those years of watching the Yankees win, the Red Sox and their fans can gloat with a pair of World Series titles in four seasons. Their success carries over into other sports.

"Right now the competition between the Red Sox and Yankees kind of parlays into the Rangers and Bruins," Boston defenseman Aaron Ward said. "It's always fun to beat New York. And when I was in New York, it was always fun to beat Boston."

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