When I decided that SF State would be my college of choice in the summer of 2003, I didn’t know that I was going to be the butt of every Southern California and Los Angeles Dodgers joke that anyone in the Bay Area could think of. In fact, I didn’t know that there was a “So-Cal/Nor-Cal” rivalry that was going on between the two parts of California until I moved to the Bay.

As soon as I arrived in San Francisco, I was asked why I had on a Dodgers baseball cap, where I was from, or was yelled at on the sidewalk that the Dodgers suck. Five years have passed and the jokes, however old they may have become, keep rolling in. The cynical remarks have always confused me because I’m not a Dodger fan and I hate baseball; I don’t even think I know a die-hard Dodger fan in Southern California. Between professors, students and people I meet outside of school, it amazes me that what I view as a fashion statement can bring such aversion out of people in this area.

“I think there is passion among die-hard Giants fans, who don't just hate the Dodgers because they are supposed to hate a historic rival, but because they play in L.A., and Giants fans see L.A. people as moronic, sun-baked, fickle, celebrity-obsessed, superficial and materialistic,” said Larry Salomon, an ethnic studies lecturer who teaches Race, Sports, and Society at SF State.

According to the Washington Post, these two teams first went at it in 1889, specifically on Oct. 18, when the New York Giants of the National League met the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association in Game 1 of an early version of the World Series.

The Giants won six of the nine games, and the teams have been at it ever since. The Giants were the favorites of Manhattan, and some of the team's supporters looked down on the recent immigrants who made up part of the Brooklyn fan base until the teams moved in 1958. The New York Giants moved to San Francisco and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.

When the teams moved, the rivalry came with them and instead of Brooklyn vs. New York, for the past 40 years the rivalry has been between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The dislike has moved to the two cities as a whole.

“Personally, I don't hate L.A., because I know it is actually a very diverse city with lots of interesting communities and a rich and varied history,” Salomon, said. “I do hate the Dodgers, though—but I might lighten up a little once Jeff Kent retires and Tommy Lasorda dies.”

While Giants fans go to great lengths to show their dislike for Dodger fans, I can’t help but think that L.A. natives are oblivious to the fact that people in the Bay Area can’t stand them. Whether they’re worried more about their looks or their next big break, I think it’s safe to say that not too many people in L.A. care about San Francisco or their Giants, so maybe Giants fans are wasting their breath.