In the build up to this weekend's Devon Expressway derby between Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle, I will now take a closer look at Devon's footballing rivalries.
If you asked me to describe the rivalry to an outsider it would probably go something like this; Torquay United fans dislike both Exeter and Argyle, but hate Exeter more because historically they've played each other more often.
Argyle hate Exeter and see Torquay as sort of country cousin - probably not too different from the way West Ham fans view Leyton Orient for example. Exeter fans hate Argyle with a passion but pretend not to care about Torquay whilst - at the same time - being very bothered about them.
An explanation for this feeling could probably be explained using the relationship between the cities of Plymouth and Exeter. Plymouth of course is Devon's largest city, whereas Exeter is its administrative headquarters.
Also a strong level of competition exists between the cities Rugby Union teams, however in recent years this has cooled as Exeter Chiefs have risen to the Premiership whilst Plymouth Albion have dropped to National League One.
In addition to this, both the cities universities are often competing against each other when university league tables are published.
Torquay, on the other hand, is seen by many as a place to go to for a holiday or a night out, so it doesn't inspire the same level of dislike.
Nevertheless, this rivalry has been in a state of flux since the turn of the century, as both Exeter and Torquay have both had spells in the Conference but have also had spells where they have finished higher in the football pyramid than Argyle.
In the 2011-12 season, the Grecians were playing in a higher league than the Pilgrims whereas Torquay recorded their first league double over Argyle since the 1971-72 campaign.
However, normal service has resumed in recent years with the Pilgrims having finished above Exeter in each of the last three seasons, although in two of the last three seasons the Grecians have completed the double over Argyle.
During this time Torquay have dropped back into the Conference for a second spell and are striving to escape from it.
Relations between the Gulls and the Pilgrims are such that a number of former Greens have swapped Britain's Ocean City for the English Riviera when they have been deemed surplus to requirements at Home Park in recent times.
Around 25 players have made this journey from John Uzzell and John Matthews in 1989 to players like Luke Young and Durrell Berry in more recent times.
In stark contrast, only Darren Rowbotham, Chris Curran, Martin Barlow, Sean McCarthy, Gary Sawyer and Craig Noone - the latter two on loan deals - are the only players to have travelled up the Devon Expressway in the same time scale. Although Jamie Mackie swapped Red and White for Green in January 2008 before going on to Queens Park Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Scotland.
Nevertheless, it promises to be an interesting afternoon for Argyle midfielder David Fox, who arrived at Home Park in the summer from Crewe Alexandra.
Fox, 32, is the son of former Grecians manager Peter Fox, who was in charge at St James Park between 1995 and 2000, and was connected with City until the age of 16 when he joined Manchester United.
