Bell High School who?
These past weeks have shown the world various battles between the HP Spartans and the Bell Pigeons (Eagles) such as volleyball, football and cross country games and it seems as though the rivalry is as good as ever.
Huntington Park Spartan and captain of the football team, Jorge Escobar, expressed how he felt about the past football game against Bell where HP unfortunately lost and gave up the Rivalry Trophy saying that,”During the game I felt that we could’ve won because they weren’t that great of a team, but we just had to come out strong and be physical since it was our rival game and I really did feel exhausted during the game because I did everything I could to win and I also felt that some players weren’t trying as hard as they should have.”
HP Spartan and editor-in-chief, Destiny Hulings, also spoke about the Bell rivalry, which she has been deeply engrossed with stating that,
”My overall opinion on the Bell and HP Rivalry is just such a big deal, hands down. I love HP so much for not only its character but it’s history too and this rivalry goes decades back and I think that it is a significant tradition both schools share.”
She also mentioned how, ”I feel like here at HP the spirit has died out the past year or so, and it sucks because this rivalry is something that should always be celebrated.” However, another student had a different perspective on the rivalry. An HP freshman, who wanted to stay anonymous, talked about the rivalry saying that,”It’s cringe because it’s just school so we don’t have to take it seriously.” and they were also asked if they considered the rivalry to be serious between the two schools or if it’s all in good fun and they said that they think, ”it’s a mixture of both. For the athletes, I think it’s more personal, and for other students, it’s more for fun.”
Our very own college counselor, Ms. Argueta, gave her input on the HP and Bell Rivalry from her perspective since she’s been associated with HP for over 14 years. As a former HP student, Argueta talked about the Bell rivalry week when she was a student saying, ”it was the week we were looking forward to.” and “The whole week you would know that HP would be playing Bell and that was the game everyone was looking forward to.” Ms. Argueta also talked about the Bell and HP football game that just passed saying, ”You can see how Bell, for example, they haven’t lost that rivalry mentality because they know HP is their rival.” In the end, it really does seem that the Bell and HP rivalry is still alive and breathing but unfortunately, it could be dying down because of loss of spirit among students. However, I’m sure we are all hoping to see this historic rivalry thrive and grow again in future generations but whether this happens or not there will always be the history of the HP and Bell rivalry engraved in this school and our lives.
By Lucas Mora, Business Manager