Anatomy of a rivalry: What makes a good football rivalry? Which are the best offered in eastern Idaho

Skyline football players and fans paint the Ravsten Stadium goalposts blue after the Grizzlies beat the Idaho Falls Tigers in the annual Emotion Bowl for the 10th time in 11 matchups, last season. Skyline added another victory to its tally when the two teams met this season. | Allan Steele, EastIdahoSports.com Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy and thanks again for coming along on this journey. EASTERN IDAHO — We at East Idaho Sports recently asked the members of our public Facebook group which high school football rivalry they found most compelling. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the responses were scattered, with Rigby-Madison earning a majority vote. Then, earlier this week, MaxPreps published, again on Facebook, that it had selected Skyline-Idaho Falls as the state’s top sports rivalry. All this discussion begs the question: What makes a rivalry? Sure, having a trophy, or some other type of prize — like painting the goalposts — is great, but rivalries are about so much more than the tangible. Every great rivalry has an element of animosity — just a little bit of hatred. Take, for example, last year’s 5A football state championship. After the Hillcrest Knights beat the rival Skyline Grizzlies, player of the game Ryan Mecham wasted no time telling EastIdahoSports.com that he and his teammates took offense to some of the comments made by Skyline players ahead of the game, and used that to drive them on the field. Hillcrest quarterback Tyson Sweetwood breaks away from the Skyline defense as the Knights earned a 25-19 victory over the Grizz this year. | Photo courtesy Amy Ward Claims that Skyline made, being Hillcrest’s ‘big brother’, were printed and plastered all over the Hillcrest weight room, Mecham said. RELATED | Hillcrest shows they’re no one’s ‘little brother’ in dominating Skyline to earn 5A banner In the 3A title game, the kickoff hadn’t even occurred yet when tempers flared between the West Side Pirates and Declo Hornets, as the two teams met at midfield during pregame announcements for a shout-off and had to be separated by officials. Anger fuels a good rivalry. So what breeds that anger? Part one of that equation is continuity. Two teams don’t need to be in the same conference, but do need to play regularly. There are definitely bonus points for regular meetings in the playoffs — because nothing breathes life into a rivalry like a game with extra meaning. One of the things that made that Declo-West Side game so intriguing is that was the sixth times the two teams were meeting in three seasons — three in the playoffs, two of those in the championship game. Hillcrest and Skyline have met in the playoffs a bit recently, as have Highland and Rigby. Rockland-Dietrich is one example of out-of-conference foes who meet often enough, in the regular season and playoffs, to develop the hatred of a rivalry It doesn’t matter how often two teams play each other, though, if there is no competitive balance. As one commenter on the MaxPreps post, Steven Faircloth III, put it: “… as of late (Skyline-Idaho Falls has) not really been much of anything. One-sided success kills a rivalry, and its interest, faster than anything else. That’s why few teams jump to mind immediately when thinking of Sugar-Salem rivalries: no team has been able to consistently matchup with the Diggers in 4A. Some matchups, however, produce enough of that hatred circumvent win-loss imbalance. Highland has beaten Pocatello 15 straight times, but their matchups move the needle in the Gate City more than when Rigby comes to town. Fans show up en masse for the “Black and Blue Bowl,” despite the matchup being, as Rams lineman Porter Burrows put it, “Hashtag, not a rivalry.” So perhaps there is something to be said about a catchy rivalry name. Would immense interest in the Madison-Rigby rivalry have survived the Trojans’ current 6-1 run if fans of one school refused to even mention the other by name — “That team up north?” Probably, but we don’t know for sure, because Rigby and its fans refuse to say “Madison” when discussing football. The same can be said of the “Emotion Bowl” — between Skyline and Idaho Falls — and, to a lesser extent, the “Battle of the Dam” — between American Falls and Aberdeen. The Rigby defense lines up against the Highland offense during the Trojans’ 33-3 victory at Highland last year. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoSports.com Perhaps its proximity that keeps the hatred between those fanbases strong. Seeing the team colors of your rivalry while you’re out grocery shopping keeps that hate alive and well. So, take all those factors into account and you have an interesting equation. Proximity + some level of success + playing regularly + occasionally losing + a fun name = a healthy hate = an intense rivalry. Using that equation, here are eastern Idaho’s 10 best high school football rivalries (in no particular order) — most you’ll know, while some with which you may not be familiar. Madison-Rigby: With 43% of our Facebook poll vote, this is the area’s top rivalry. Idaho Falls-Skyline: Coming in second with 26% of the vote, and owner of the name/prize combo. Hillcrest-Skyline: The one that has decided some things in 5A in recent years. Declo-West Side: The class of the 3A division and two teams that truly do not like each other. Highland-Pocatello: Still a fun game, bringing large crowds to two excellent venues annually. Century-Preston: Two teams who apparently are trying to push Poky from the conference perch got a little surge when they met this year and some disrespectful comments led to on-field scuffles and penalties. This one could be emerging. Aberdeen-American Falls: A couple of perennial playoff teams, yet the 4A beavers cannot seem to solve the 3A Tigers. Highland-Rigby: The two 6A powers have met in the playoffs, they’ve met in the championship game, but the outcomes have been streaky, perhaps zapping some of the intrigue. Firth-North Fremont: For years, the Cougars and Huskies have battled for 3A D6 supremacy — though Ririe has emerged recently as another challenger. Century-Pocatello: Poky has bullied their crosstown rival in the past, but all the other factors are in place for this to be a top-tier rivalry. Expect some fireworks when the two teams meet Friday in the season finale.The post Anatomy of a rivalry: What makes a good football rivalry? Which are the best offered in eastern Idaho appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com