There's nothing quite like taking on your biggest local rival.
The tension, the passion and a desire to defend your own turf make these tussles 'must-see' events, a point surely not lost on those who earlier this month attended either the Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic or Arsenal fronting up to Tottenham Hotspur in the 196th north London derby.
On a bone-chilling Tuesday night in south Yorkshire, as temperatures hover just above zero, another derby is taking place. And while Hallam versus Sheffield FC will never compete with the tribalism of Glasgow or the glamour of the English capital, it does possess the unique boast of being the oldest derby in world football.
Way back on December 26, 1860, the two clubs met for the first time at the same Sandygate ground where a sell-out crowd of 1,496 assembled to watch a Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup quarter-final.
Sheffield FC, the world's oldest club after forming three years earlier, triumphed 2-0 in that inaugural meeting. Far more importantly in terms of football's future development, the blueprint had been set for all derbies.
"There's a sense of pride when watching, say, Rangers-Celtic and thinking that it all came out of Sandygate in 1860," Hallam FC chairman Richard Pillinger tells The Athletic.
"This is where it all started, where all derbies began. And from the moment the draw was made, the interest has been phenomenal. There are people who have bought tickets to watch this match from all around the world. Sweden, Denmark, the U.S... we've even had enquiries from Cuba."
Richard Tims, chairman of visitors Sheffield FC, concurs. "A game like this is good for the city," he says, "as it's a further pointer towards Sheffield being the 'Home of Football'.
"As the oldest club in the world, we have 6,000 members from 54 different countries. It's really grown with the onset of social media, with Brazil always something of a hotspot, then Germany, Italy, Spain, plus a few random ones, such as Kazakhstan."
This is the first competitive meeting between the two clubs in 13 years and all tickets sold out quickly, with Hallam's new online portal shifting 200 inside the first 77 seconds of them being on sale. Club officials estimate up to 5,000 could have been sold if the ground was big enough, such was the demand as fans from near and far clamoured to witness a slice of history.
Sheffield, once dubbed "football's first city" by FIFA, can lay claim to almost 50 footballing 'firsts', including being where the game's original set of detailed rules were drawn up in 1858. Key aspects of the modern game, such as corners, throw-ins, free kicks and crossbars, can all be traced back to this time.
Sandygate is also the world's oldest stadium, while Sheffield FC's pioneering spirit was recognised on the 150th anniversary of their founding when Pele was guest of honour at a friendly against Inter played at Bramall Lane in 2007.
This desire to break new ground explains why the world's inaugural derby clash took place on this very spot back when Queen Victoria was barely two-thirds of the way into her eventual 63-year reign.
The first derby was played under those 'Sheffield Rules', which did differ slightly from today in that there was no provision for penalty kicks or one designated goalkeeper. Nor were players prevented from handling the ball.
Sheffield FC won that trail-blazing derby "in the presence of a large number of spectators", according to The Sheffield Daily Telegraph. Any readers hoping for more detail on such an auspicious occasion, however, were left disappointed due to the same local newspaper proclaiming in the following day's report that "it would be invidious to single out the play of any particular gentleman when all did well".
High above Sheffield in the leafy district of Crosspool, Hallam's home sits snugly behind a stone wall.
There's a small main stand stretching along half of one touchline that vividly illustrates just how much the Sandygate pitch slopes, plus a small covered terrace at the 'Shed End'. The bottom end offers just a thin vantage point for spectators, while the fourth side is taken up solely by a cricket field first used in 1804, with locals insisting it is the oldest still in use north of London's River Thames.
For weekend games, sweeping views of the countryside can be enjoyed along with the football. Tonight, however, there's little to see at kick-off but the mist of fans' breath against the black of the night.
With Hallam the second-oldest club in the world behind tonight's visitors from the division above, there could have been a Buzz Aldrin/Neil Armstrong vibe to proceedings. Instead, the hosts stamp their mark on this latest instalment of football's most enduring rivalry.
James Cadman puts the home side ahead inside five minutes with a deft finish from eight yards. As he wheels away to launch into a cartwheel of celebration, two blue flares are let off in the 'Shed' that gives that end of Sandygate its name.
By now, the sell-out crowd has started to creep down the usually unoccupied cricket field side of the ground, ignoring the 'do not pass this point' signs in the quest to get a decent view. The reward for those whose allegiances lay with Sheffield comes when Connor Cutts equalises with a drilled shot from 20 yards.
Judging by some of the bruising tackles on display, bragging rights still matter hugely, but tempers never threaten to boil over, which somehow feels fitting considering the rather quaint 'Gentlemen -- No Swearing Please' sign hanging on the side of the dugouts.
This latest instalment of the 'Rules Derby' is ultimately settled by Hallam's Leon Howarth, his 48th-minute strike typical of the home side's enterprising play in a second half they dominate on the way to a deserved 2-1 victory. Again, blue smoke fills the air courtesy of pyrotechnics smuggled in by the younger element among the home support.
Twenty or so minutes after the final whistle, the players file into the 1860 Suite clubhouse that sits to the side of the main stand, refurbished a few years ago thanks to a donation left in the will of lifelong fan Roger Bell.
There's no denying the satisfaction felt by Hallam at progressing to the last four. Really, though, it's a city that, in the past, has always seemed strangely reluctant to talk up its rich football heritage that may yet prove to be the real winner.
"Sheffield should shout more about itself as a city," adds Pillinger, who along with everyone else at Hallam is a volunteer. "We're the home of stainless steel and yet there's no sign anywhere saying this is where it was invented.
"Same with football and the city having the oldest ground, the oldest football club and so on. Contrast that with Liverpool, where you drive down the main road and there are these two big signs that say, 'Liverpool -- The Home of Music'.
"Why haven't we got one that says 'The Home of Football'? Hopefully, a game like this can help people realise what we have here."
Despite Sheffield FC propping up the Northern Premier League Division One East (the eighth tier of the English football pyramid) with just 15 points from 25 matches, there are grounds for optimism at the world's oldest club.
Plans are afoot to build a 5,000-capacity stadium that will be shared with Sheffield Eagles rugby league club. Providing it gets the go-ahead -- Sheffield City Council recently extended the deadline to make a decision until the end of March, meaning it will be a year since the application was lodged -- it will bring a long overdue return to the city after spending the past couple of decades in nearby Dronfield.
"What's it like to play in Sheff?!" was the chant from Hallam's fans, taunting their visitors.
"It would be a massive game-changer," says Tims, whose 27-year tenure has seen crowds rise from "one man and his dog at the Don Valley (Athletics) Stadium" in the 1990s to an average of around 450.
"Suddenly, everything is on a different level. Our home in Dronfield has been good for the last 20 years, but it's very restricted in terms of income generation. A new stadium would totally change that.
"There's also the wider benefits to the city, in terms of making Sheffield a visitor attraction for football fans. There's a number of places you can visit but, ultimately, we're the jewel in the crown."
Hallam's attendances are also up in the Northern Counties East Premier Division from an average of 246 in 2021-22 to almost 600 this time around. A crowd of 1,287 watched last season's FA Vase fifth-round exit to Lincoln United, while such is the interest from abroad that the match ball at a recent game was sponsored by a group from Belgium.
"People come up here all the time, even when there's no game," adds Hallam chairman Pillinger. "Two weeks ago, the groundsman was marking the lines on a midweek morning when someone from Sweden wandered in.
"He ended up showing him around the place. People just want to see the world's oldest football ground."