I'd always thought Milwaukee/ Chicago was worse than Milwaukee/ Rockford, maybe just because it's been going on longer. Either way, the fans in Milwaukee do not like the visiting FIB's, that's for sure.
What they don't like is people from Chicago who come up here, shove people in the concourse, throw bottles onto the ice or start a brawl outside the arena after a game.
I personally witnessed all of those incidents during the Bradley Center days, which were 1988 to 2016. The Wolves started playing in the IHL in 1994. It took about 3 seasons to become a rivalry. Before that, it was a very one sided series with the Admirals winning a lot of the games. Starting in 1997, Chicago was a much better and much less penalized team.
I have seen none of those incidents repeated at the UWM Panther Area in the last 4 seasons. We also get a lot fewer Chicago Wolves fans versus 10 or 15 years ago.
The Rockford fans were initially supportive because of the UHL days. Some of their players were called up to the Admirals. I don't recall any issues with their fans.
We did have the April Fools Day Brawl that was triggered by Rob Flick attacking Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith in his net during a TV time out. The problem was Rockford's Head Coach Ted Dent, who was a cement head. He almost re-ignited the brawl by standing on top of the boards and screaming at several Admirals who skated past as they returned to their bench. The fight started in period 2, so Smith was at the south end of the BC, away from his team's bench.
BTW: People from Milwaukee don't refer to people from Rockford as "hillbillies". It is a minority of Wolves fans that do so.
I think that there is more of a rivalry between Rockford and Chicago than between Rockford and Milwaukee. Part of that has to do with the Blackhawks versus Wolves.