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Duking It Out: Reno Better Than Las Vegas?

UNLV celebrates around the Fremont Cannon in the locker room following an NCAA football game against Nevada in Reno, Nev., on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. UNLV defeated Nevada 27-22.
AP Photo/Cathleen Allison

UNLV celebrates around the Fremont Cannon in the locker room following an NCAA football game against Nevada in Reno, Nev., on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. UNLV defeated Nevada 27-22.

Over the weekend, UNLV Rebels Football team beat UNR's Wolf Pack.

But does anyone care?

Put another way, is there a rivalry between the two schools?

Many believe southern Nevada, which provides most of the tax revenue for the state to operate, has gotten jobbed by northern lawmakers for decades, especially when it comes to school funding.

But do they grumble and move on, or do they look to the sports programs at UNLV and University of Nevada Reno to fight it out for the final say on who is better?

Chris Murray, of the Reno-Gazette Journal, wrote a column in 2014 that the newspaper re-ran last week highlighting why Reno is better.

Murray said some people were down right mean about the article he wrote, bashing it and him personally in the paper's online comment section and through social media. 

"I think that it shows, just based on an article I wrote 14 months ago that to have that strong of a reaction to it this week. it shows that there is some passion certainly between the two cities and the two football programs," Murray said.

As an example of just how powerful the north-south rivalry is, Murray said the weekend loss to UNLV, which turned the Fremont Cannon red, was huge. 

"You have people saying that this season cannot be a success no matter what Nevada does from this point forward," he said.

He also said there are about 10,000 people who only go to this game. They don't attend any other game that Nevada plays.

Ray Brewer, sports writer for the Las Vegas Sun, replied with his own column on why Las Vegas rules.

"Reno is a great community that takes pride in its university, but in comparing the two cities, I mean they're a small town and we in Las Vegas are a big city"

Brewer points out that Las Vegas is a city that people from around the world visit. 

He also believes Las Vegas does have a sense of community, but it is just different than Reno. He also believes the community is proud of the Rebels, even when they're losing. 

"For us locals, for us second-generation Las Vegans, who are raising our families here, we have that sense of pride," he said. "We have that sense of community. We care what happens in the cannon game. We care what happens in the basketball season"

Murray says despite the rivalry anyone who dislikes the other city simply because of where they grew up is missing the point.

"If you're from Reno and you hate Las Vegas because you're from Reno or you're from Las Vegas and you hate Reno because you're from Las Vegas you're kind of a loser. That is not how you build a great state," Murray said.

Chris Murray, columnist, Reno-Gazette Journal; Ray Brewer, sports writer, Las Vegas Sun

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Joe Schoenmann joined Nevada Public Radio in 2014. He works with a talented team of producers at State of Nevada who explore the casino industry, sports, politics, public health and everything in between.