On October 9, students walked through the hallways of Community High School as if it was a normal day. They acted as if they didn’t see the conflicting jerseys, purple and white clashing with green and gold. But this was not a normal day, because October 9, 2009 was a rivalry game.
The Huron vs. Pioneer football game was Friday, October 9, showing a cultural blend of purple and green at Community High. Because those at CHS have quite a dilemma, in terms of deciding which school to root for.
The Huron vs. Pioneer rivalry is extremely visible in the hallways of Community, with (from left) Huron athletes Kyle Morrison, Yasaf Warshai, Matt Valentine, and Tomasso Helwig and Pioneer athletes Julia Raymond, Alec Washburn, Anjela Galemberti, and Garrett Wood.
This decision between schools is reinforced every day, with letter jackets, jerseys, and team T-shirts from each school being present constantly. It’s easy become accustomed to seeing evidence of the rivalry in the hallways.
“I walk around every day and see people wearing crazy things on game days,” said Garrett Wood, a full-time Community student who also plays water polo and lacrosse at Pioneer. “I’m looking at someone, they’re wearing a Pioneer jersey, and then I turn around and see someone dressed up for Huron’s game.”
With so many people that are rivals at each school, however, it is hard to pick just one school to root for. Another student at Community, Oriol Burgos-Tsoffar, spoke about this dilemma.
“I root for whichever team has more of my friends on it. I have lots of friends at each school, maybe more at Pioneer, but I just root for them to do well.”
This attitude was reflected by many CHS students who don’t quite have a set school that they cheer on in rivalry games. Carolyn Buckingham was one of these, despite that fact that she is dual-enrolled with Pioneer.
“I think it’s dumb how much weight people put on the rivalry based on the school they go to,” said Buckingham. “I have great friends at both schools, and cheer for the people, not the school.”
However, there are some intense fans that are extremely passionate about the rivalry. Kyle Aaronson, for one, plays hockey at Huron. “Off the ice, people can be friends and everything. But once you step on the ice, the rivalry is really intense.”
According to Aaronson, hockey is even more intense of a rivalry with Pioneer than most other sports. To illustrate this, Huron’s motto for the current season is 12/12—the date that the two hockey teams meet.
Nathan Queen, a rower and a runner at Huron, feels the same way about the rivalry as a player. “Our goal is beating Pioneer. Well, our first goal is getting first place, but if that can’t happen then we have to beat Pioneer.” According to Queen, in rowing, the rivalry between the two schools is so intense that boats sometimes are broken from crashes in races.
A major question for years to come, however, is how the new high school in Ann Arbor, Skyline High School, will fit into the rivalry. Many student athletes at Community are asking this question, but no answer is in sight. Said Wood, “We’re all waiting to see how Skyline fits into the big picture of high school sports in Ann Arbor. They probably won’t have as big of a rivalry as the River Rats and Pioneers, but hopefully the fact that they’re across town will contribute to future rivalries.”
For now, though, Huron, Community, and Pioneer have something special: a cross-town rivalry with a school that acts as a bridge, allowing rivals on the field to be friends off the field. Hopefully, this attitude will continue in the future, as friends battle each other, trying to get the better of their counterparts just across town.
For questions or comments, Jesse Buchsbaum can be reached at jessebu@gmail.com.