The Battle of I-10: The Rivalry between the fans
EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- "We're friends and coworkers. Yeah, but we're rivals today. Yeah, yeah. And then on Monday, we're back to normal," said Liz Aragon during pre-game.
The Battle of I-10 has been a rivalry for 110 years, dating back to 1914. The teams have battled it out since then, but the fans have been just as involved.
"Really for the alumni, for the fanbase, coming into this last game, you know what, we're playing none other than our I-10 rivals UTEP, and y'all boutta get beat down, humbly, humbly, respectfully," said Lui Fa'amasino, an NMSU alum.
ABC-7 was able to talk to Loma McNeese, an NMSU soccer player who has participated in The Battle of I-10 themselves and they spoke to us about how they feel watching their final one.
"Wow, oh my gosh, it means the world, it's cool to watch the boys have their rivarly cause we know what it means too, but it's times a million, we got the crowd out here, it's going to be great."
Despite the coaching changes for both teams, and a conference change for UTEP coming in 2026, the fans will never lose their fire for The Battle of I-10.
"It's it's still the same. It's, it's I-10, the battle of I-10. It'll always be there. It'll always be here. If we play each other, it's always going to have that rivalry. No matter if they're in a different conference or not."
