Is it possible to have a rival in the D-League? I have no idea. Let’s say, yes, there is a possibility that you can have a rival in the D-League. If this seems ridiculous, I will point you to the time a minor league pitcher for the Peoria Chiefs hurled a fastball at the opposing team’s dugout, hit a fan, got tagged with a felony and there was a huge brawl at the time of the incident. I think that I have demonstrated that both, a) a minor league sports team, and b) a sporting event in the state of Illinois, resulted in some super high intensity shenanigans.
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In the search for a rival, the gaze must be turned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The Mad Ants are the D-League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, a divisional foe of the Chicago Bulls. The Pacers aren’t the least likeable team in the league, even within the division they aren’t the worst team to deal with on a regular basis. There are some reasons, however, to consider them a rival.
The most obvious reason is affiliation. Fort Wayne is affiliated with the Indian Pacers. Bulls fans want their team to go undefeated. In particular, it would be ideal if the Bulls beat all of their divisional opponents by 40 points each time they played each other. In reality, the Pacers are probably at least equal to the Bulls at this point in time and, perhaps, the superior side. If you can’t hang with the division’s best, beat up on the D-League teams like the rest. Well, maybe that isn’t how the saying goes, but close enough.
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Not convinced that this is a rival game, a first look at the neighbors and chief antagonist? Try this on for size – the Mad Ants have a way cooler D-League name than the Windy City Bulls. The confusion will be endless when trying to have a discussion with friends and co-workers when discussing how the Bulls did against the Raptors or how the Bulls did against the Raptors (905). It could have been so, so, so much worse, but Bulls is still a bit of a dud.
At least the Windy City part is a winner. Fort Wayne, however, reigns supreme among team names for Mad Ants. Jealously of a cool name is a legitimate reason for a rivalry. My high school had a “rivalry” with another school that was vastly superior to us, but they had the same mascot, panther, and that made it a rivalry. Maybe the Bulls and the Bulls can become rivals? Only time will tell.
The Bulls and Mad Ants will play their first game against each other on Saturday, December 3, at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Again, the Mad Ants have a better name, this time for where their games are played.
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