By: Robbie McAnelly
While school rivalry does much to encourage students to partake in school spirit and athletes to push their limits, the true meaning of such rivalry can be easily forgotten by pointless trash talk.
All high schools fall victim to the plague of high school rivalry. NAHS students would likely identify with someone chanting such terminology as “Hate Blue” or “Beat the Skirts.” While the rivalry can be entertaining in certain doses, there is a fine line dividing school spirit and unnecessary harshness.
“I think [school rivalry] is good,” Floyd Central High School senior Evan Pearce said. “It promotes school spirit and a good atmosphere in the week leading up to the game and at the game itself. The negative drawbacks are constant Facebook fighting. Trash talk is okay as long as it doesn’t go too far.”
NAHS senior Brandon Peavler holds a similar view of school rivalry.
“I think a strong rivalry is vital to big games,” Peavler said. “It forces the athletes to play that much harder because more is on the line.”
No matter how harsh the rivalry may become, most students from NAHS can openly admit to having no problem with either of the other two schools besides the week before a big game. On a typical school day, a student from any of the three schools is likely thinking of more important things than the subjects brought up in trash talk. The week before a big game merely serves as a prime opportunity for one school to point out the other school’s flaws; however, when the game is played and over with, one could probably care less about the other school’s flaws.
“I don’t have a problem with any school besides the week Providence plays them,” Providence High School senior Kayla Meisner said. “In fact, I sometimes root for one school when they are playing another.”
After the big game, most students go right back to being friends with one another. Insignificant exchanging of words over various social networking mediums could harm no true friendship. It proves how silly trash talk is and proves how easily the true meaning of school rivalry is forgotten.
“A lot of my close friends go to schools other than Providence,” Meisner said. “If we lose, it’s definitely a sore spot that you hope no one brings up. If we win, I don’t rub it in their face either. I love the bragging rights but that’s not more important than my friendships.”
The epitome of competitive rivalry has been blurred by unnecessary trash talk. In what way does the education a student may receive at any one school affect the outcome of a sporting event? The rivalry should really only serve as a school spirit and player motivation method, not an excuse to put people down.
“The rivalry works on me positively,” Pearce said. “I love playing against New Albany and Jeffersonville. [The trash talk] doesn’t affect me because I try to let my playing do the talking for me.”
Meisner shares a similar attitude towards rivalry in high school sports.
“I view school rivalry as an appropriate motivation for achievement in any sporting or academic event,” Meisner said. “Nothing more than pure competition between people that have a burning passion for something. I wouldn’t say [trash talk] is necessarily hard on the athlete, just a lot of pressure. Not only do you have your school pride that you’re fighting for but you have your friends, family, and the whole community behind you. It always made me play harder and give 110%.”
Peavler agreed with Pearce and Meisner in regard to trash talking.
“Trash talk in context definitely represents school spirit,” Peavler said. “It is a great feeling for the athlete when they know that the fans are passionate and actually care about the game, but when fans trash talk just for the sake of trash talking, it doesn’t contribute anything positive to the game. It just makes the entire school look bad.”
School rivalry can be a great thing if used in moderation. The rivalry should be used to motivate, not to put people down. The week before a sporting event should do nothing more than encourage each student of each respective school to root that much more for their own school. The trash talk serves no point. We will all be friends again eventually, so why bother tarnishing the true meaning of school rivalry? As a student, concentrate on how school rivalry can be represented in a more positive light. That’s what school rivalry is all about. Let the players do the talking.
