SAAS, our school’s “biggest rivals” for many years, has moved into a different league this year. If we are no longer required to play games against them, the rivalry may come to an end.
“I think that we’re going to see the SAAS rivalry will start to fade away in three or four years,” Sports coach James Johnson said.
Because SAAS has moved up a league this year, UPrep is no longer required to play them. Now there will be fewer games between the two schools.
“They’re such a bigger school than us now. They’ve grown tremendously, and they moved up to 3A Metro League…I think that is going to take away some of the rivalry that we once had with SAAS,” Johnson said.
If SAAS is no longer our enemy, someone will have to take its spot. Johnson is saying that it may be Bush.
“We’re not required to play them [SAAS] every year like we used to, so I would say now it’s going to turn into Bush,” Johnson said.
PE teacher David Crabb thinks that consistently playing a school is what makes a rivalry.
“Some of it has to do with battling for the top of the league,” Crabb said.
Going up against another school can bring us closer together as a school and community.
“I’ve always enjoyed the rivalries, and it adds to the school spirit. The spirit of the school. and the connectivity that the kids have to being a Puma,” Crab said.
If we don’t think of SAAS as our rival, they won’t think of us like that either. Ila Kisicki, a sixth grader at SAAS easily said that her school’s biggest enemy was,
“UPrep…[their our rivals] because they say we’re their rivals.”
We may still continue to play SAAS, but the games won’t be as competitive.
“I think we’ll start to form other rivalries, that can become a little bit stronger because of that.” Johnson said.