Tonight the annual New Trier vs Evanston boys and girls basketball games are taking place at Northwestern. The heated rivalry between these two schools has been going on since the early 20th century. I never really thought about it before, but now I am 'wondering' what fuels a rivalry in the first place. Both Evanston and New Trier participate in the Central Suburban South conference for athletics, and as such this is probably the most logical reason why the rivalry exists. So, location is one important factor in creating a rivalry.
After location is taken into account, it seems like competition takes over. The desire to win and to be better than another team sparks a rivalry. Being the best certainly results with an enormous amount of pride, another motivator for competition. This pride often leads to a sense of superiority. I know there will be lots of insults coming from both teams tonight in an attempt to gain this pride. The effects of a rivalry appear to result in pompous attitudes that I think are sometimes a little too disrespectful. I'm not saying that rivalries are a bad thing, because rivalry games are always really fun, but occasionally things are taken too far.
What do you think about rivalries? Should there be a moral component with a rivalry or not? What are some other causes for rivalries?
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