Screaming fans are waving signs, blowing air horns and shaking milk jugs filled with any noise--making material they could find. Fans who bleed purple line one side of the arena while a sea of people dressed in maroon and gold covers the other side. Not a seat goes unfilled and a piece of tissue paper wouldn't fit between any two fans who came hours early just to get a seat. The noise is deafening and it's nearly impossible to move, but each half of the crowd is so intent on the game and rooting for its beloved team that no one notices.\nThis is not a scene from a professional sports game, or even a college game. It's a typical scene from a sporting event between Bloomington's two public high schools, Bloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South, and perfectly describes South's Fred Huff Memorial field where South won the city's football bragging rights 28-10 last Friday.\nEvery year thousands of diehard fans from the community and each school come to cross--town sports events to support the intense rivalry that exists between the schools. To residents of Bloomington, this may be old news, but many IU students may not understand this rivalry. Think IU and Purdue -- separated by less than five miles.\n"Even if North and South were playing tiddlywinks it would be competitive," said Jay True, an assistant principal and 1977 South alumnus.
How It All Started\nThe rivalry between the two schools evolved from the rivalry between the smaller University High School and Bloomington High School, which is now South. In 1973, the rivalry began to grow and intensify when Bloomington High School North was built to replace University High School and incorporate students from other areas of the community. It became even stronger once North began to challenge South in athletics.\n"South was the No. 1 football school in the state and we had a 50--game winning streak," said True, who also played football for South at the time. "It took North three years to beat the powerhouse. When that happened it opened everyone's eyes and the rivalry was on."\nSince then, South has maintained its reputation as a dominant football school, nurturing the talents of many young players, including Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, and North has thrived as a dominant basketball school, developing young stars such as NBA starter Jared Jeffries and first-round draft pick Sean May. The schools are also extremely competitive in all other sports, as well as in music and academic competitions, such as Science Olympiad.
Keepin' it Competitive\nThe fact that neither school has completely dominated the other across the board, along with the schools' proximity to each other, keeps the interest in the schools' rivalry strong, said 2004 South graduate Nick DauSchmidt.\n"If one side was dominant all the time there might still be a rivalry but it wouldn't be as strong because you'd know who would win," he said. "The fact that we beat them in some things and they beat us in others (makes it exciting)."\nStudents get pumped for each chance to compete against each other and do whatever it takes to show their support. North senior Nick Sovinski came to Friday's game covered in maroon and gold body paint and said he and his friends had a "tailgate party" before the game.\n"(The rivalry) means everything to me," he said. "It's my life."\nNorth sophomore Sasha Hanna admitted she and her friends had been "preparing for a week" for the football game.\n"It's about having pride for your school," she said. "We made shirts and got all dressed up. It's something to get excited about."\nIn the heat of competition, it's easy to go too far. True said there have only been "isolated" incidents of questionable behavior in the past, including the distribution of fliers with inappropriate messages before a recent swim meet, acts of vandalism at the schools and at private homes and fire alarm pulls. \nThere have also been some unkind words and confrontations. At the 2003 football game, tension escalated when North students came to the South student section to cheer their team onto its first football victory over South in 17 meetings. Extra security came to the stands and students exchanged words but nothing serious occurred. South principal Mark Fletcher attributed the incident to "a supervision problem, rather than a problem with the students." Since then both sides have worked to ensure that fans stay separated.
A 'Healthy' Rivalry\nAdministrators from both schools agree that the rivalry is a "healthy" one.\n"It's competitive on the field and then kids remain friends afterwards," Fletcher said. "Good sportsmanship has always been demonstrated."\nNorth assistant principal Marcus Debro said the administration encourages the rivalry as long as students "act appropriately" and he thinks students benefit from the rivalry because it gives students another reason to work harder to improve so that they can "come out stronger" the next year.\nNorth and South, however, are not always opponents. In boys' and girls' rugby, hockey and lacrosse, the two schools have teamed up to make Bloomington teams. Students from Martinsville and Edgewood (Ellettsville) high schools also participate in the hockey team, Bloomington Blades. \nDuring his high school career, DauSchmidt participated in all three of these sports.\n"We joked around but there was no animosity," he said, describing the chemistry of the combined teams. "Sometimes we would play against each other in scrimmages, but (combining the schools) was very positive."\nFormer North and South athletes have also become teammates in college. North graduate Adam Steinmetz and South graduate Miles Johnson found themselves on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage until their freshman year at Wabash College where they played football for the same team. The two "became good friends" in high school because they knew they were going to be teammates in college, said Steinmetz.\n"Sometimes (the rivalry came out)," he said. "There was always the talk that we won senior year but he won the three years before."\nJohnson said if Steinmetz hadn't been a friend, he "never would've brought (the rivalry) up." Johnson said he doesn't feel strongly about the rivalry anymore.\n"What happened has already happened," he said. "I still want South to win because of friends on the teams and because I love the idea of the Panthers being one of the biggest names in the state, but I can get over it a lot easier now if we lose."\nFor many alumni like True, the rivalry never subsides.\n"It's 30 years later and it still gets me pumped up, North playing South," True said. "When people talk about a game eight months in advance, I think that's a great thing. If you've got a lot of passion for South (or North), then you have a lot of passion for the rivalry"
