Every great team has a rival. The Yankees have the Red Sox, Duke has North Carolina, but for as long as the student body can remember, the Red Knights have had no clear rival.
St. Louis Park needs to be looked at. It is the classic inter-city, public versus private school rivalry. The only problem is that it is completely one-sided. Since the start of the 2010-2011 school year, BSM has won every game in football, boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, boys’ hockey, girls’ hockey, baseball, and boys’ lacrosse, which leads them to hate us, and leads us to love playing them.
Another school that could be mentioned is Orono. The schools are comparatively sized and many BSM students live in the Orono school district. BSM doesn’t play Orono on a regular basis in all sports, but they tend to show up at the worst time, being a major roadblock on the path to State for both soccer teams.
The Blake school also gives BSM headaches come lacrosse sections time. Over the last two seasons, they have been the only team to beat the Red Knights. BSM beat Blake in both the 2010 and 2011 section championship game, winning the latter in overtime.
Benilde High School was originally built to accommodate the students on the waiting list to get into DeLaSalle. Now, the two schools have one of the best boys’ basketball rivalries in the state, with the yearly game between the two generally being considered the most important game of the year by the players.
The rivalry with Minnetonka first started in 2004 when boys’ hockey coach Mr. Ken Pauly moved west on Highway 7 to coach the Skippers, only to return in 2007. Since then, both hockey teams have gone to State, while crushing the other’s championship hopes in the process. There have also been intense regular season match-ups, with BSM winning the last two by one goal each.
There is one problem with the Minnetonka rivalry: we play them in only a few sports. The basketball and hockey games are some of the best games of the year, but other sports don’t get to see Minnetonka on a regular basis.
This leads to a school that fits all of the criteria: Totino-Grace. The two schools are almost identical in size, private, and draw from the northern part of the Twin Cities.
The rivalry is furthered by the fact that they both compete in the North Suburban Conference. Every sport battles it out with the Eagles at least once a season.
But playing them isn’t enough. You need a reason to hate them. We beat them in some sports (hockey, basketball), they beat us in some sports (football, baseball), and we’re both similar at some sports (soccer, boy’s lacrosse). This mix of dominance and parity leads to the ultimate rivalry.
