- The Record Archives
- Volume CXVIII, No. XXI - November 17, 2005 - opinion
The UST/SJU rivalry continues
Coke vs. Pepsi, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Shredder, paper vs. plastic.
They're all great rivalries, but none of them compare to the bitter hatred that is felt when St. John's clashes helmets with St. Thomas on the gridiron.
The rivalry means a lot to the typical Johnnie or Tommie, but it means even more to me.
The Johnnies' 48-14 victory Saturday saved me a whole year of ridicule at family functions.
I have five uncles and aunts who graduated from St. Thomas, not to mention a cousin who is currently enrolled there.
Figuratively speaking, I am the lone Johnnie Rat in a pack of tomcats.
I noticed the first signs of this family rivalry the summer before I came to St. John's.
I was playing on my uncle's softball team, and it was the last game I would be attending.
My uncle made a point of saying, "Guys say goodbye to the Pete we all know, he's going to St. John's so he will become a jerk."
If he wanted to take this friendly rivalry to the next level, I was fine with that.
One of the first things I did when I got to St. John's was get a Johnnie Rat stuffed animal from the bookstore.
I gave the rat to my uncle's 4-year-old son.
It still brings my uncle pain to see his son playing with a piece of St. John's paraphernalia.
One of the best things about the Tommie/Johnnie rivalry being a family affair is that the game becomes an event that most of my relatives attend.
I had the luxury of tailgating at my cousin's house at St. Thomas before the game on Saturday.
For the most part my cousin and her friends were nice hosts to my Johnnie friends and I.
However, they did pull one small prank on me.
A couple of Tommie guys were giving out shots, and they offered me one.
Being the polite guy I am, I took it and spilled more than a third of it all over the front of my white T-shirt.
The shot glass was a "split shot" with a divider in the middle.
I was not warned of this and lined the glass up wrong, which immediately resulted in humiliation.
My parents and I had some friends and family over to our house to eat after the game.
Despite an equal mix of Johnnies and Tommies, no brawls broke out.
Nevertheless, I did feel a strong animosity between the Bennie and Tommie women.
Some Tommie women were wearing the infamous "Save a Whale, Ride a Bennie" shirts.
My Bennie friends refused to meet the Tommie women because of this.
Personally, I think those shirts stepped over the line and were degrading.
Be humorous in your quest to squelch Tommie Pride, but don't sink to their level.
Vince Lombardi once said, "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
If all else fails, just say that to all of your Tommie acquaintances after they insist they don't care they just lost.
This is the opinion of Peter Larson, a sophomore English major at SJU. Contact him at pjlarson@csbsju.edu.