Huntingtown vs Northern – But Why?

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Kate Massey, Staff Writer

It’s your first year at Huntingtown. Football has been going on for weeks now, but tonight is all anyone is talking about. A game against Northern. You convince your friends to come with you, decked out in Blue, Black, and White. You show up just as the game starts and take your seat in the roaring crowd. People yell and cheer, throwing things and raising signs in the air. Suddenly the buzzer sounds, and we have won. The crowd goes wild as music blares in your ears. The feeling is exhilarating, and you now understand why people have talked about this moment, but you can’t help but wonder why we are so aggressive against this team.

When asked if anyone knew why HHS and NHS are so competitive, I got many different answers – however, most of them rooted back to geography, or “just because,” Even NHS’S principal agrees. When I asked our own principal what he thought. I got an answer that I hadn’t heard yet. Mr. Weber, Huntingtown’s Principal is quoted saying “the rivalry stemmed back to when Huntingtown first opened, many northern students and even some teachers moved to Huntingtown, so naturally they needed to prove themselves and because of this that mentality was never lost.”

As we all know, we are most competitive when it comes to sports, but what we don’t realize is that there is competition for quite literally everything. The school canned foods drive was turned into a way to see which school could feed more, homecoming turned into who had the best decorations and themes, grades turn into contests, theater programs turn into a way to flaunt just how much more talented our young actors are, and school spirit is warped into parades of people decked out in school colors and smiles. There’s always a good opportunity for a competitive spirit!

Most of us know by now that social media is often rooted at the center of it all, allowing us all to communicate, back and forth about wins and losses.  I’m sure we’ve all seen a post or two about a good win or to congratulate the winning team, however, it’s always good to remember how far being kind to others can go as I’m also sure we’ve all seen some unkind words tossed back and forth. A rivalry can be a very good thing, but we must remember to be kind and have good sportsmanship. Our confit is a beneficial one, we push each other to do better thus creating a name for ourselves. Our rivalry generates school spirit, and it’s an opportunity for us to show our talents and hard work.