Even if none of the four reasons already given existed, respect would still flow between the clubs and their supporters due to the tragedy which took place at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989 and the actions which followed.
There are a couple of misconceptions about the events at Hillsborough that I want to clear up before I go any further.
Firstly, people believe that this was a football tragedy. Secondly, they believe that this was a tragedy which affected only Liverpool Football Club as it was their fans who lost their lives on that day.
Both of these trains of thought are completely wrong and should not be uttered aloud.
The Hillsborough tragedy was a human tragedy.
Ninety-six people lost their lives that day as a result of police negligence and incompetence. Hundreds more were injured and thousands upon thousands were affected by it.
The event also affected the entire city of Liverpool. Children of the city, many of whom were literally children, never returned home. Husbands, fathers, sons and daughters never made it home that day. They went to a football match and were failed by those they put their trust in. As a result of these failings they lost their lives.
The city of Liverpool was brought to its knees that day due to the loss of life and the subsequent cover-up and smear campaign that followed. The city begged its government for help and it's government turned their back and looked away.
Such was the level of that cover-up that it is only now, 23 years later, that the truth has finally come out. A truth which has always been known within the city, is now known around the world.
When Thatcher and her cohorts turned their back on Liverpool, the people of the city came together in a show of defiance the likes of which had never before been witnessed in the United Kingdom. A city smeared became a city united. The people of Liverpool decided that they would not simply accept what had happened, and move on.
No matter how many doors were slammed in their faces, they kept fighting for the truth and for justice.
Now the truth is out and justice is coming. Those who have committed crimes during and after the tragedy are going to finally get their long overdue comeuppance.
It would never have gotten this far if it had simply been Liverpool fans fighting for this cause.
The campaign for justice has been dependent on donations and volunteers, and while the fans of many other clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Sunderland have all done fantastic work, Everton Football Club and their fans have been truly incredible.
Everton fans lost friends and loved ones in the tragedy. They experienced the grief which gripped the city first-hand. They felt the tarnish of the smear campaign which hung like a cloud over the city for more than two decades. They stood side by side with their red counterparts and refused to back down.
Throughout the 23 years since Hillsborough they have never wavered in their support of the quest to find justice for the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy.
And it is this reason, more than anything else, that has build an unbreakable respect between the fans of Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club.
Justice for the 96.
If you haven't read the report published by the Hillsborough Independent Panel and want to learn more about their findings, as well as view all the disclosed documentation that was assessed during their research, I suggest you follow this link.
