In an LAHS win against Mountain View High School on Tuesday, January 26, the rivalry between the schools seemed to be the most intense it’s been in a long time. Fans filled the stands, the noise was constant and even the players had a hard time hiding their emotions.

With possibly the best attendance for a basketball game so far this year, students seemed (for one night) to actually have school spirit.

After it became obvious that they had sealed a victory, Eagle fans stood up and started to sing and chant their own version of a European soccer song by inserting “LA” into the lyrics. And if you didn’t know any better, you might think that LAHS was a school that prided itself on its spirit.

This excitement and intensity is exactly what the schools should be aiming for, and the best way for this to happen is by establishing an actual rivalry between MVHS and LAHS.

Rival schools are supposed to pull pranks on each other, hold rallies before the big games and are supposed to care about their respective schools.

The school needs to realize that a love-hate relationship is not something to fear. The students have proven that they want to have a rivalry like the one seen at the game on Tuesday, and it would be a shame to shut it down.

Fans have the most fun at the games that are between teams that they love to hate, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, Stanford vs. Cal and even Bellarmine vs. Saint Francis.

If you haven’t been to a Bellarmine-Saint Francis game, ask any of the students at the schools–they hate the other school with a burning passion, and there is nothing they’d rather do than go to a sporting event against them. There is no personal hatred between the students of the different schools; rather, both sides share a love for the game.

CCS rules mandate that fans cannot cheer against the other team and can only cheer for their own team.

This is reasonable to an extent; chanting and yelling at sports games is part of the experience and should never be taken personally. If students are clever enough to bend the rules and get around them in a fun and exciting manner, why stop them?

This type of passion that can be found in sports is exactly what the school needs, and it is obvious that competition fuels students more than anything. Whoever said that LAHS was incapable of having pride in itself has a serious misconception of our student body, but without the help of the administration this competitive side will never be seen.