There really is nothing like a solid high school athletic rivalry.
One could certainly make the argument that college rivalries—Duke/Carolina, USC/UCLA—are more exciting than high school rivalries.
One could also make an equally compelling argument that professional rivalries—Red Sox/Yankees, Lakers/Celtics—take the cake.
But here’s where those arguments fall flat: no athlete loves a sport, no athlete pursues a sport for such pure reasons, as a high school kid.
Meanwhile, no fan feels as intrinsically connected to the people on the field as does the high school student.
End of story.
In high school an athlete doesn’t have the financial incentives most next-level athletes have; instead, each athlete in HS has only three things on his or her mind when taking the field: making the school proud, impressing the boy or girl on whom they are currently crushing, and perhaps—and only in the rare case of extreme talent—winning a scholarship someday.
Consequently, when two in-town rivals are pitted against one another– two teams with players and families that live within 5 miles of one another– it becomes an all-out battle.
Bragging rights are on the line.
I bring this up because tonight at 7 PM in my hometown, High Point Central and High Point Andrews will hit the gridiron to settle bragging rights for the coming year.
And to say this is a rivalry is an understatement.
Here in High Point we are known for three things: (1) Being the furniture capital of the world, (2) Being the hometown of Fantasia Barrino, and (3) Being the home of the High Point Central/High Point Andrews football rivalry.
I promise you I am not blowing this out of proportion.
Things got so heated in this rivalry in the mid-90s that people literally feared coming. News coverage was everywhere, police coverage had to be quadrupled, and fans were not allowed—under any circumstance— to cross sides to the opposing section.
There were knives, guns, and fights galore.
On those nights, if you happened to have friends from the opposing school—which many of us did—it was understood that you were not friends that night.
Through the years this rivalry has produced some crazy-talented athletes. Between them, they have won 4 state championships and produced numerous NFL players, most notably Adrian Wilson, the Pro Bowl safety for the Arizona Cardinals. (Click here to see Adrian put on a stupefying display of athleticism.)
I will never forget my freshman year at Central when Andre Weathers blistered around five tacklers, found the open field, and dove into the corner of the end zone to cement Central’s first victory over Andrews in twelve years. He scored three touchdowns that game and set a series rushing-record that still stands today.
Central went on to dominate the series over the next decade, and Andre Weathers, who ultimately won two 1-AA national chamionships at Georgia Southern, went on to become the first name to come to mind whenever I land in a conversation about all-time best quarterbacks.
And while I’m obviously being hyperbolic, this is what makes high school rivalries so wonderful: the legends live on in the community’s mind long after the players and students grow up and move away. In fact, the further one gets from the moment, the more epic the games and players become in his mind.
In those bleachers tonight will be hordes of young students just like I was: pining for their side to win, holding their school’s star players on a pedestal, secretly praying they won’t be in striking distance if a scuffle breaks out in the parking lot.
Meanwhile, over half the city will, like I, come out to this game tonight—likely it will be the only game any of us will attend all season—to proudly pull for the school we once so purely and passionately supported.
Obviously, I will be pulling for Central, but not just for the kids on the field. I will be pulling for the memory of guys like Andre Weathers and Antwan Smarr and Antwan “Mook” Stevenson and Eric “Big Bal” Ballard; guys like Atari Burke and Ricky Haywood and Chuckie Reed and Rashad “Roach” Stevenson.
Guys like my best friends Robbie Hall and Antoine Bailey.
In other words, I will be pulling for names most of you have never heard of, but names that, for those reading this from High Point, will immediately turn back the clock and put a smile on their faces.
And what makes this story so important is its unimportance to everyone else. It is important because it only matters to a select group of people.
Our people.
This is our story.
High Point’s story.
And what makes high school sports so beautiful is that everyone, everywhere, has a story just like this one to tell.
A story that is important to you because it’s unimportant to everyone else.
It’s your story.
Tonight, all across the country, stories like this one are being written. And I am thrilled to be heading out to AJ Simeon Stadium to see a group of young High Point boys write a story that, in the end, will only matter to those of us who have ever called High Point home.
Ultimately, it is their story, our story, that makes high school rivalries the best kind of rivalry in sports.
I write and speak about life, faith, and culture. Read more about 
