The most renowned high school football rivalry in Indiana? (Indianapolis: home, neighborhood)

[Doughboy1918]

Of course, if Indiana is famous for anything it is it’s love affair for high school basketball, commonly known locally of course as “Hoosier Hysteria”. However though, is there an equivalent for high school football in any part of the state (much akin say to something like the Massillon-McKinley HS football rivalry in Ohio or Odessa-Midland in Texas for example)?

I wondered because aside from the Indianan passion for basketball, people often forget that the state is also home to Notre Dame, the university with the most beloved and celebrated college football team in the entire country, arguably even more so than Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama.

[Toxic Toast]

Reitz-Mater Dei in Evansville is the most intense football rivalry I know of, though that might be my pro-Evansville bias sneaking in here.

The two schools share a football stadium at Reitz High School. Check that, Reitz has a football stadium that Mater Dei rents for their home games. This means every other year, Mater Dei plays a "home" game at the Reitz Bowl against Reitz. I've seen people get into shouting matches in the stands because Reitz season ticket holders try to sit in their own seats inside their own stadium that belong to Mater Dei season ticket holders for that one game. The same happens when it is the Reitz home game with MD fans. People decorate their yards in the neighborhood around Reitz High School in the week leading up to the game. The west side of Evansville is pretty homogeneous in terms of family lineages, so you have generations of families go after each other and playing against each other year after year. Evansville in general has loved high school football more than high school basketball, even before Peyton Manning came to Indiana and started to somewhat flip the script on that.

I've lived in Indianapolis now for quite some time, there's nothing around here that's quite on the level of Reitz-Mater Dei. Carmel/Center Grove, Ben Davis/Warren Central, these are good rivalries for an assortment of reasons. However, that west side of Evansville dynamic makes Reitz-Mater Dei a little more special.

[rrah]

Originally Posted by Doughboy1918

I wondered because aside from the Indianan passion for basketball,

People from Indiana are called Hoosiers.

[Doughboy1918]

Originally Posted by rrah

People from Indiana are called Hoosiers.

I know, I just thought not to use it twice in the same post.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

Reitz-Mater Dei in Evansville is the most intense football rivalry I know of, though that might be my pro-Evansville bias sneaking in here.

The two schools share a football stadium at Reitz High School. Check that, Reitz has a football stadium that Mater Dei rents for their home games. This means every other year, Mater Dei plays a "home" game at the Reitz Bowl against Reitz. I've seen people get into shouting matches in the stands because Reitz season ticket holders try to sit in their own seats inside their own stadium that belong to Mater Dei season ticket holders for that one game. The same happens when it is the Reitz home game with MD fans. People decorate their yards in the neighborhood around Reitz High School in the week leading up to the game. The west side of Evansville is pretty homogeneous in terms of family lineages, so you have generations of families go after each other and playing against each other year after year. Evansville in general has loved high school football more than high school basketball, even before Peyton Manning came to Indiana and started to somewhat flip the script on that.

I've lived in Indianapolis now for quite some time, there's nothing around here that's quite on the level of Reitz-Mater Dei. Carmel/Center Grove, Ben Davis/Warren Central, these are good rivalries for an assortment of reasons. However, that west side of Evansville dynamic makes Reitz-Mater Dei a little more special.

I am from Evansville and agree. Evansville is different from the rest of Indiana in that high school football is #1 over basketball. Especially on the west side. And Reitz Bowl is a pretty great stadium for High School. Its kind of a varsity blues movie mentality. People don't really care about professional sports and aren't passionate about any other sports other than IU basketball or cardinals baseball. People pretend to support the colts and pacers but really don't care that much.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by Berteau

I am from Evansville and agree. Evansville is different from the rest of Indiana in that high school football is #1 over basketball. Especially on the west side. And Reitz Bowl is a pretty great stadium for High School. Its kind of a varsity blues movie mentality. People don't really care about professional sports and aren't passionate about any other sports other than IU basketball or cardinals baseball. People pretend to support the colts and pacers but really don't care that much.

Sounds kind of like a mini Cincinnati. Cool. Never knew.

[Doughboy1918]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

Sounds kind of like a mini Cincinnati. Cool. Never knew.

What do you mean?