“Don’t be jealous, but consider others more important than
yourselves." ~ Philippians 2:3
All it takes is two schools, both
with an intense desire to compete and win.
Over a period of time, the repetitive opposition takes on a life of its
own. That's when a rivalry is born.
Throw out the records, demographics, school size and
geography. Just put the ball in play,
blow the whistle and see who wants it more.
For the most part, rivalries are clean, fun competition. Powered by the need to excel, it drives
athletes to work harder and perform better.
Sometimes it can go too far.
The biggest game of the season was only 5 days away, and
rivals Westside and Marshall High Schools were already stoking their respective
competitive ‘fires.’ Both schools planned
rallies, reunions, and harmless pranks.
But after Westside maintenance crews discovered their
school's sculpted Bulldog mascot half-striped in orange and black spray paint,
things went from friendly to irrational quickly. The prank had been an attempt to portray the Bulldog
as a Tiger, Marshall’s mascot.
Joel, a Westside senior, led the retaliatory ‘charge.’ Fueled by raw emotion, he and a team of four
others littered Marshall’s campus, sports complex and football field with
graffiti. Leaving no room for
suggestion, indelible messages scribbled in Westside’s red and black colors
were derogatory, racial and sexual in nature.
In their rush to escape without detection, Joel lost control
of his SUV, flipped a guardrail, and plummeted 50 feet onto the expressway
below. Joel died at the scene; two of
the other four occupants were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The horrific car crash left grief-stricken Westsiders
emotionally paralyzed.
School officials considered cancelling Friday’s “big”
game. The rivalry had perhaps become too
explosive, too toxic, entirely too dangerous.
In the end, they hired additional security personnel instead and prayed
for the best.
The evening of the big game arrived. Tensions ran high; school administrators remained
on high alert for even the slightest hint of a potential altercation.
A sea of jubilant, red-clad Westside fans screamed the
school’s fight song as Marshall school busses approached Westside’s stadium
behind a full police escort. Sherriff’s
deputies in full riot gear lined the pathway to the visitor’s bleachers.
But when Marshall students and faculty stepped off their
busses, the raucous Westside crowd went deathly silent. For instead of wearing their traditional
orange and black colors, Marshall fans were clad in Westside’s colors – red and
black . . . to show support in
Westside’s time of need . . . to end the insanity . . . to transform the rivalry
into something positive again.
As a sports fan, healthy competition is a great thing. But when rivalries become too intense, they
become unhealthy and cloud rational thought.
Practicing sportsmanship beats teaching it!
Lord Jesus, I like to win! But help me to compete fairly, excepting both
victory and defeat with honor. Remind me
to view others as more important than myself; not as a means to an end. Amen
