Students from LASA and McCallum share their views on the rivalry
The Shield: What fuels your rivalry against LBJ?
Senior Nico Madrid: I highly dislike how there’s a separation of LASA and LBJ students. When you ask kids that go to LASA like, ‘Oh do you go to LBJ?’ They’ll say, ‘Oh no I go to LASA.’ But then when we talk about sports, they’re like, ‘Oh no we play for LBJ.’ And I’m just like, ‘Ok make a distinction already, you can’t just choose one when you want to.’
TS: As a former LASA student, how does McCallum compare to LASA?
NM: Better in every single way. I mean I was just unhappy, I didn’t like the people, and there were pretty much two groups. At LASA there were nerds and jocks and so if you didn’t fit into either of those groups then you were just kind of left out; I didn’t like the jocks, and I couldn’t really have fun with the nerds, so I booked.
TS: What’s it like after we lose a game?
NM: It was devastating. I was just so done with football after that. I was like, ‘Alright just end the season. Just count us out.’
The Shield: What fuels your rivalry against LBJ?
Senior Claire Sanford: Well, I went to Kealing Middle School, and it feels like half of us went to McCallum, and half of us went to L
BJ and I just feel the need to beat them. Like it’s pretty playful because I am friends with a lot of them, but I want to beat them.
TS: Does the rivalry continue outside of sports?
CS: Definitely. If we’re at a friend’s house, and there’s LBJ and McCallum kids, there’s definitely some tension sometimes in the room in social aspects. It never gets too serious, but we’ve had some rap battles outside of sports. I mean it’s definitely there; the tension’s there.
TS: What’s it like after you lose a game?
CS: Honestly, I get really salty. It just feels like complete disappointment. I don’t even know how to describe it; it’s just the biggest letdown.
The Shield: What personal rivalries do you have with LASA?
Freshman Griffin Smith: My cousin, Fox. I think playing against him will be interesting because he plays striker; I play center back. So not only will we be playing him, but I’ll be marking him. So I mean I’ve played a lot with him before, but not like this.
TS: Is LASA your top team to beat for soccer?
GS: In our district, LASA is a good team, but I think there are also other teams that are better. But LASA is definitely our biggest rival. I think a lot of people who went to McCallum and LASA came from middle schools together, and since they’re so close together, a lot of the students were zoned [together], so they know each other really well and there’s a lot of history that goes back personally between the different players on the teams. So that’s why I think it’s so intense.
TS: What do you dislike the most about LASA?
GS:I just don’t like it in general, I mean the idea of all that work: it sounds like torture.
The Shield: What’s it like playing against people you know?
LASA senior Andreas Toprac: I just try to hurt them as much as possible because I know them. So I just try to go out there and break their legs because it’s fun. I mean they definitely try to hurt us back.
The Shield: What’s it like when y’all lose to McCallum?
LASA senior Isaac Ramirez: Honestly it’s heartbreaking. I wanted to cry the night of the football game when we lost to McCallum. Honestly it’s like, ‘Dang we lost to McCallum, but we just have to get them in the next game because usually we play them in two sports.’ And like even when we did lose I was like, ‘Well I know we’re going to come back senior year and beat them at House Park.’
TS: What makes you most mad about McCallum?
IR: They stole all the pretty girls and boys. Look who I’m working with! But seriously, I mean we know people from there; it’s fun to fight friends.
The Shield: What’s it like after you lose a game against LBJ?
Senior James Sullivan: It’s really sad. You go out to eat, and you just want to eat yourself to death, and you go home and look yourself in the mirror and go, ‘You’re better than this!’ It’s pretty rough.
TS: What happens when you win a game?
JS: You just want to go out and celebrate. It’s a really big confidence booster, and you think, ‘I’m on top of the world. I’m that guy.’
TS: Is the rivalry ever intense off the field?
JS: With the actual players, yes it is. Like the other night I saw LBJ’s point guard at the gym, and we just didn’t say a word to each other. We just stared at each other.
The Shield: What’s it like playing against people you know?
Senior Josephine Smith: It’s fun; you really get into the game. We always play a lot better against teams who challenge us, so I guess they can challenge us in that way, and since we know people, it’s fun to play against them and tackle them.
TS: So do you try to hurt them?
JS: I mean we’re not trying to intentionally hurt anyone. I mean we give it our all. But if someone gets a foul, I mean, what happens, happens.
TS: For soccer how intense do you think the rivalry is compared to other teams?
JS: It’s definitely our biggest rivalry. Like that’s the game we look forward to the most and the most people come to it to support us.
