When people think of the word rivalry, they think of a fierce competition between two determined sports teams vying for the winning score so that they may tout their victory until their next meeting. However, if you take a step back and examine this term in further detail, you will realize that rivalries can go much further than just the players playing the game.
“Rivalries can involve everyone into a little healthy competition,” senior Mikey Bowers said. “Students, siblings, and even parents can get actively involved when playing teams that we don’t like. It’s just a lot of fun to get into, especially when you know that anything can happen against rival teams.”
Rivalries typically span generations between two relatively close towns with sports teams who usually have good close games. While they are most common on the high school level, they are also prevalent among colleges, and even sometimes in professional sports.
“As a sports player, I can tell you that most rivalries are all hype until you get between those lines,” senior Tate Coomer, a football and baseball player, said. “But as soon as that game starts, I honestly don’t care who you are, or where you come from, all I want to do is to beat you up and get that win.”
While bad blood is often a theme in rivalry games, they often produce good sportsmanship. Because of this good players often improve morally and get better at their sports.
“For me, rivalries are always a big game, no matter what the sport is,” senior Clayton Baldwin said. “People are always talking noise before the game, but when all is said and done, the sweetest feeling is beating them above anyone else that that team plays.”
Lindale has two main rivals, Van in non-district play and Whitehouse in district play. These teams have been frequent opponents over these last few years in numerous sports and are always big games.
“When I played for Lindale, my favorite games to play were against Whitehouse and Van every year,” former Lindale student Zack Huseth said. “Those games were always hyped up so much, so that as soon as the tip off happened you could just feel the energy coursing through your veins. The atmosphere was always alive, and that is a feeling that I will always remember.”
