Massachusetts is too often a state divided along internal battle lines. A notorious parochialism splits the Commonwealth into separate parts, each with an attempt to subjugate another with geography, history, and identity. It's why there are clear definitions between the North Shore, the South Shore, the city, and Metrowest. It's why Worcester is in "Western Mass" to people from Boston, even though it's the central city to the state, and it's why people from anywhere near Route 128 don't think twice about the Berkshires.
Its sports landscape is no different, and sibling rivalries play out annually through ancient matchups.