University of Virginia Library

the sports scene

Wanted: One Traditional
Rival

by bob Cullen

SUCH RIVALRIES USUALLY extend far beyond the
football field. If you're a Carolina man, you take no pleasure
greater than putting down someone from Duke in any aspect of
endeavor. Traditional rivalries are built on geographical
proximity or institutional prejudice. An Army man wants to
take Navy to demonstrate the inherent superiority of land
power over sea power. Texas men look forward to putting the
Aggies in their place. It matters little what the records of two
rivals are going into the game. The desire to win is based on
other factors.

Virginia has never had such a rival. Each year there may be
one or two games that the team and students point to, but these
are determined almost by chance. One year it may be Georgia
Tech, because Tech is ranked. Another year it may be VPI, but
the Gobblers are on the schedule only sporadically. These games
do not constitute the same kind of rivalries mentioned above,
because the feeling is not always mutual. The Cavaliers might
prize a win over North Carolina more than any other, but for
the Tar Heels, the Big Game is always with Duke.

There are only a few teams with which Virginia has a chance
of developing such a rivalry, if it is indeed possible to develop
one. One obvious candidate is Virginia Tech. The Hokies are
from the same state, but their image is from the other end of
the spectrum. Virginia has in traditional legend represented the
aristocratic southern gentleman, Tech the rednecked farmers.
Contacts between the schools are frequent, amplifying the
chances of developing a healthy grudge. Alumni of the two
institutions are mixed throughout the state, which would help
to develop a state-wide interest in the game. It could be a
natural. Unfortunately Virginia won't be playing Tech very
often in the next 15 years.

ARMY HAS NAVY, Yale has Harvard, North Carolina has
"Duke," Southern Cal has UCLA, Texas has Texas A&M, Ohio
State has Michigan. Auburn has Alabama, Clemson has South
Carolina, Georgia has Georgia Tech. All of these are traditional
end of season rivalries. For any of the above schools, a victory
in this game can make a bad season good, turn a mediocre
record into a great one.

They are games where emotion runs rampant, and where
favorites are beaten more often than they prevail. They are focal
points in a ten game season, games that alumni and students
look forward to. Regionally, they are generally referred to
simply as "The Game."

THAT LEAVES ONLY MARYLAND, Saturday's opponents,
as candidates for such a rivalry. Thus far, not much has
developed, except for a little hankie-waving. Virginia has been
closing its season with the Terps since 1957, but it was only the
1961 game that aroused any emotions. That year, the Terps
came into the game with a 7-2 record needing only a win over
the lightly-regarded Cavaliers to insure a bowl trip. Virginia
upset the Terps 28-16, and as the game ended, fluttering white
handkerchiefs on the Virginia side waved good-bye to Maryland's
bowl bid. The next year Maryland supporters returned
the favor when their team won.

Then in 1966, the Maryland student government asked the
IFC for blanket permission for their students coming down for
the game to attend the Openings Weekend parties. Fearful of
the damage a mob of uncouth Maryland students might do, the
IFC refused.

THE MARYLAND STUDENTS have not forgotten the
insult, and the Maryland football team has not forgotten the
three successive defeats pinned on them in the latest meetings
by the Cavaliers. Maryland will be a hungry team Saturday.
They were last year, and they came uncomfortably close to
pulling a big upset.

Any Virginia student who has visited the Maryland campus
knows how easy it is to develop a healthy distaste for the way
things are done up there. Maryland is one of those places that is
State U all the way. Those people are always the ones whose
downfalls provide the sweetest victories. Virginia will be playing
its final game with the Terps for the next twelve years. It could
be a nice feud.