However when the freshman volleyball team dressed to play up the reputation of its opponent, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, the Student Activities Office was a scene of punishment and disappointment.
“We were called into the office during Saxon Time that day. Coach Shifflett and one of the administrators talked to us about how disappointed they were. They told us that dressing up showed a lack of respect for TJ, and that we were not portraying ourselves in a positive way,” said freshman volleyball player, Ashley Tseng.
“In sports you never want to disrespect you’re opponent. It just doesn’t get much worse than that,” said Director of Student Activities Corey Bowerman.
Is playing up the widely-known reputations of other schools really disrespectful? If you go to urbandictionary.com, a site popular with teens, Langley High School is defined as “a high school in Virginia that the O.C. was based off of. A school filled with rich, good- looking people.” We all know this is just a stereotype, but we joke about it anyways.
These freshmen are certainly not the first to engage in such behavior—all around Fairfax County, sports teams often dress up as their opponents on game day. At Madison High School, the varsity tennis girls deck themselves out in preppy attire for matches against Langley.
“I wouldn’t take something like this personally. Naturally, people tend to portray their opponents in a negative way. It’s about what happens on the field or court that actually matters. This is just all in good fun,” said senior Kelly Tyroler, a member of the Madison Tennis Team.
Sometimes, the only way to get the student body fired up is to unite against the enemy—our rivalry with the Highlanders is a prime example. The McLean games consistently have the biggest showing of Saxon spirit.
Dressing up to poke fun at opponents shouldn’t be a big deal. In fact, it’s turned into an inside joke between the teams of the Liberty District. Ironic how a bit of teasing can unify a bunch of preps and nerds.