As a Minnesota Monarch prospect, I am a little bit unfamiliar to the team's current big rivals, but based on what I am seeing, it is very likely to be the San Fran Pride, who are at times the closest level opponent in the western conference, while also being the best measure of how our team is fairing at the same time. As both the Monarchs and the Pride are in the long rebuilding stages of the league, it is always a closely contested matchup, which can be few and far between at times for both teams. If either of us want to do well in a season, the first step of that is taking the close games off each other, making the matchup extremely important to both teams and always a game to make sure to focus on. I personally hope we can pull out of seeing the Pride as a rival, as that would mean we are getting stronger as a team, but as things are now, the matchup is one neither team wants to lose. 179