There is nothing wrong with a rivalry. In fact, high school sports are better because of them. When two neighboring schools meet, stands fill a little quicker, players compete a little harder and bragging rights mean a little more.
Friday night’s football matchup between the Midway Raiders and Clinton Dark Horses had plenty of that intensity. For much of the night, it was what a local rivalry should be — competitive, emotional and meaningful to the young men on the field and the communities represented in the stands.
Unfortunately, some of what surrounded the game crossed a line. Trash talk happens in sports, and anyone who has played, coached or spent much time around competitive athletics understands that. Emotions run high, players jaw at one another and fans cheer loudly for their side while occasionally letting the other side know exactly how they feel.
But there is a difference between competitive banter and directing expletives and slurs at others, just as there is a difference between school pride and disrespect. When that behavior comes not only from young people on the field but from some of those in the stands — and then continues through arguments and insults on social media after the final whistle — we have lost sight of what Friday nights are supposed to represent.
Midway and Clinton should want to beat each other. That’s part of the fun. Raiders should be proud to wear blue and white just as Dark Horses should be proud to wear gold and black. Students should pack the student sections, alumni should talk a little friendly trash and both communities should circle this matchup on the calendar. Pride in your school, however, does not require disrespecting someone else’s.
Perhaps most troubling is when the rhetoric surrounding a football game begins to resemble divisions our community should have left behind long ago. Sampson County does not need a high school sporting event reopening old wounds or creating new ones.
These are neighboring communities, and these young people will see one another away from the football field. They will attend college together, work together, worship together and raise families in the same county. A scoreboard should never make us forget that.
We also have to remember something remarkably simple: It is a game. Yes, athletics can change a young person’s life. A scholarship can open doors that otherwise may have remained closed, and a talented athlete can even change the financial trajectory of an entire family. Sports teach discipline, perseverance, teamwork and accountability, but even with all that potential, the contest itself remains a game.
There will be another kickoff, another season and another Midway-Clinton matchup, hopefully. What young athletes learn from the adults and communities surrounding them can last much longer.
That is why the responsibility for sportsmanship does not rest solely with teenagers wearing helmets and shoulder pads. Coaches set the tone, administrators set expectations, and parents, alumni and fans have a responsibility, too. When we tell young athletes to control their emotions while adults in the stands or behind phone screens cannot control theirs, the message rings hollow.
Cheer loudly, be proud, defend your school colors, celebrate touchdowns and feel disappointed after a loss. Enjoy the rivalry for everything that makes high school football special, but remember where the line is. When the game ends, shake hands, and when you leave the stadium, leave the hostility there with it.
Midway and Clinton have too much to be proud of for one of Sampson County’s marquee matchups to be remembered for ugly words instead of good football. Rivalries should bring out our competitive spirit, but they should never bring out the worst in us.