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Age old rivalry should be cherished, not forgotten

Date 9/25/2003 12:00 AM | Topic: Sports

I believe in rivalries. I believe that they are good for a school, good for sports, and good for the students who attend the schools involved. I believe in yelling and cursing and screaming at the opposing team's players to try to get into their heads. I believe that, while the game is in progress, you might as well taunt the other team's fans so they can have their money's worth for showing up to support their school.

As of the first day I stepped foot on this campus, I heard of the Luther vs. Wartburg rivalry that exists. Pranks have been traditionally pulled, and there have been times when students have gone too far (see last year).

This rivalry excites me. It is not every day that students get to be involved in something with such a tradition, a rivalry that is embedded in a school's history and very nature. I for one enjoy not liking a school because they merely exist. The thought brings a smile to my face and almost a tear to my eye. There even used to be a tradition that the student body president of the losing team had to give up their pants to the other school.

This Saturday, the Luther football team will play host to the Wartburg Knights. This long standing rival and its students are fun to harass and scream at. But, as I learned last year, the students aren't that bad. I even might have enjoyed a cold beverage with them at a local establishment. They hung out in a crowded bar with many intoxicated people harassing them and still had a good time. They are in college for the same reasons we are.

The point is, don't be stupid. A rivalry is no reason to start fights.besides, we know we are better anyway. Instead, use the rivalry to give you a reason to have an even better Saturday than usual. Enjoy the game, chant stupid things, make a fool out of yourself supporting the "Smurfs," as Wartburg lovingly calls us.

Then, after we win, console their fans by treating them to a good time if they decide to stick around and share a few cold beverages and be a part of a long rivalry as it surely grows deeper.

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Andy Haugen
Sports Editor

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