Been following since late 70s and mainly rivalry with Millwall back in the day. They are by far the scummiest supporters I have had the misfortune to witness and the old den was by far the worst ground to visit. Some of the stuff that went on there was a disgrace and the stewards would all turn a blind eye.

As for Brighton, there have been a few occasions at the old Godstone Ground that were unpleasant too, but no where near the levels of Millwall.

However, as time has moved on, I have come to realise Millwall would pick a fight with pretty much anyone and therefore do not see us as a main rival, whereas Brighton seems to have continued and the hatred has grown. Personally I am over it and now just see them as a side I enjoy to see lose, and only feel real passion when we play them which is a rarity.

As for Charlton, during the ground share days there was a little rivalry, but just like then, I see them as a tin pot club with a sad fan base that is coached in from all areas. They are 'clowns' and will always been seen as this in my eyes.

It is always good to have a rival as it does add a little spark to the matches, however that is all it needs to be and sometimes can be taken way too far.

Some people are like Slinkies … not really good for anything, but you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.

Haha, I had spotted it and chuckled to myself.

I know I've said before, but my hatred of Brighton is because of where I live as much as anything. I work in an office (Midlands Eagle - for your benefit I should say I don't "work" here, I just occupy a desk) spitting distance from where the Goldstone was and although it has died down in the close season, there was a lot of (perfectly acceptable, I admit) joy and flag waving here. I have heard a lot of conversations along the lines of "I don't know who I'll be supporting when Brighton play Liverpool next season" for example, because of the multiple clubs most people here support.

And the final nail in the coffin was that I was constantly accused by a couple of Brighton fans for being "obsessive" about the rivalry for posting perhaps 2-3 bits of Brighton banter on my Facebook page during the season. Yet somehow they decided it was fine to post the stats in 2016 when Palace had the worst year of the top 5 leagues. Something that must be true of somebody every year, there'll always be a team that is bottom of the points chart for a 12 month period, yet when it was Palace those stats suddenly became readily available for knob head Brighton fans.

Stuff 'em I say. I couldn't give a sod as to whether I am old enough to recognise the original rivalry, they have the highest concentration of w**ker fans (close behind are Manchester United and Crawley Town) I have ever encountered. That's why I'm going to hate them.

Edited by Part Time James (17 Jul 2017 10.30am)

Going to be funny seeing top 6 sides' goals being celebrated by fans behind their goal on tv several times, hopefully, if any are seated there. Should see loads of half and half scarves. Cringe.

COYP

Ah cool. I'll try not to keep the digression going, but I've always found that the Palace/Brighton divide is the border between Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill. When I lived in HH the platforms were lined with Palace fans every weekend (Crawley had a large number too for obvious reasons) yet from Burgess Hill heading South it's all Brighton.

Yep whenever I go to a match from Worthing it starts with loads of Seaweed who get off at Hove then a few more until HH which is friendly territory and then Palace all the way.

The way back is crap as all the Palace desert the train and you end up surrounded by the Tesco bags.

In a way I wish they weren't our rivals. I'd be able to celebrate my local team doing well.
If I lived in say Exeter I could even go along to a few games and be genuinely pleased when they had a good run.

As it here there's just loads of Seaweed kits and car stickers. A very sad state of affairs.

You fed me, you bred me, I'll remember your name.