Colorado eventually won the trophy in 2005 after besting Real in the three subsequent matches that season, officially clinching the Cup at their final meeting of the year at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Prior to the 2006 MLS season, the two clubs swapped players in a trade, exchanging forward Jeff Cunningham and midfielder Clint Mathis.

The repercussions of the trade surfaced in an August 10 match in which RSL humiliated Colorado 4–1 at INVESCO Field, punctuated by a stellar performance by Cunningham in which he earned two goals and an assist.

Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni removed his shirt, stuffed it down his shorts, and began making gestures at the Salt Lake fans.

After the match, Colorado midfielder Kyle Beckerman made remarks towards RSL supporters and their reaction towards the controversy of the previous September: "It definitely comes from their fans.

The Rapids needed only a draw to secure the cup for a third year, but Real grabbed a late win when Robbie Findley scored in the 87th minute.

The victory for Real Salt Lake won the club their first Rocky Mountain Cup, and also brought a painful end to one of Colorado's worst-ever seasons.

However, the stakes were higher, with a win for either side guaranteeing a playoff spot along with the Rocky Mountain Cup (Real could also prevail with a draw).

The result was quite possibly RSL's greatest moment in club history: retaining the Cup for a second year, clinching their first-ever postseason berth, and denying Rapids of the playoffs on their own turf.

Salt Lake fans celebrated by throwing a number of smoke bombs onto the pitch after the final whistle, adding insult to injury for the stunned Colorado supporters.

In the first leg, held September 27 at RSL's Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake fielded a squad of mostly reserves in the middle of a busy stretch of their schedule including 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League group stage matches.

Conditions after the match became ugly when several RSL players made obscene gestures towards the Colorado supporters' terrace and were consequently showered with beer cups and other projectiles.