Los Gatos-SHS rivalry overrated; perhaps game should be ended

November 3, 2009 — by Tiffany Tung

The rivalry with Los Gatos has been a part of Saratoga students' lives for the past half century. Sure, Los Gatos may not be a competitor academically, but athletically, the Cats are our major rivals in every sport, even football, where we just racked up our 30th straight regular season loss. Given this depressing statistic, is the LG-Saratoga game worth watching?

The rivalry with Los Gatos has been a part of Saratoga students' lives for the past half century. Sure, Los Gatos may not be a competitor academically, but athletically, the Cats are our major rivals in every sport, even football, where we just racked up our 30th straight regular season loss. Given this depressing statistic, is the LG-Saratoga game worth watching?

Perhaps so. Is the rivalry overrated? Yes, it is. But it's just a football game, the Los Gatos team has been proven to be superior. That's all there is to it. Although we rally on about how we'll beat them in every year, we're always let down. At the very least, we should treat the Los Gatos game just like any other one and not suffer too much when we lose.

After all, there's no denying that when it comes to size, Saratoga is generally lacking in its supply of Godzillas, while Los Gatos consistently churns out footballers that easily could pick up and dropkick most Saratoga players. Along with their intimidating size, Los Gatos players seem to be much faster and stronger than the Falcons. Sometimes they even seem to be made up of bulletproof NFL material. And if this wasn't daunting enough, close observation of the players on the field shows that Los Gatos footballers have only gotten larger through the years, perhaps feeding on the Saratoga spirit that leaks out of the team's tank before, during and after a game.

Though in general SHS has a lack of school spirit, and it would be nice to have more students cheering in the stands, the truth is that the Saratoga vs. Los Gatos football game should not be able to receive any special treatment. If teachers assign less homework on Fridays again Los Gatos to allow students the time to attend the game, they should do it every Friday. If teachers give extra credit to attend the LG football game, they should give extra credit to students who choose to attend any football game.

Friendly competition between schools is good, but this kind of rivalry is another thing. Although Los Gatos has been Enemy No. 1 for ages, there is a time when one must admit defeat. To tell the truth, it might be best to start thinking about ending this lopsided rivalry once and for all.

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