In sports, a rivalry is often defined as a competition between two teams in the same geographical area. Here in Oak Park, we are fortunate to have a rivalry, and a juicy one at that. On one hand, we have Oak Park and River Forest High School, a public school that uses the slogan “Locals Only” to emphasize that it is the neighborhood school.
On the other hand, a few blocks south of OPRF on East Avenue, we have Fenwick High School, a private school that draws students not just from Oak Park and River Forest, but from Chicago and nearby suburbs such as Berwyn, Cicero, Elmwood Park, Forest Park, and Riverside.
The athletic competition is, for the most part, hard-fought and doesn’t get decided until the very end. And the student bodies for both schools often turn out in force to root for their classmates.
Of course, friendly banter and chanting back and forth are what make rivalry games fun. But what I witnessed and heard during the Chicago Elite Classic at UIC on Dec. 1 when the OPRF and Fenwick boys basketball teams met disturbed me a lot and compelled me to write this column about it.
OPRF’s school motto is “Those Things That Are Best.” Unfortunately, the Huskies’ student section, known as “The Dog Pound,” didn’t live up to that motto.
They kept yelling, “F– Fenwick,” at the Friars’ student section. I know because I covered the game and the OPRF students were standing directly behind press row. OPRF security staff, along with UIC security, did their best to discourage the vulgar language, but it was an ongoing issue throughout.
What really disgusted me was when the Dog Pound called Fenwick guard Deonte Meeks, who stands 5-feet-6, a midget. That was disparaging and unsportsmanlike. Credit to Meeks for keeping his poise, and he had a very good game (11 points) to help lead the Friars to a 56-47 victory over the Huskies. To me, that is the best way to respond to an awful chant — let your good play serve as the final word.
This is not the first time OPRF students have displayed poor behavior. It’s happened before at OPRF-Fenwick hockey games, too, by numerous accounts. The Dog Pound was even banned a couple of years ago from attending games during the IHSA boys soccer sectional at New Trier due to poor conduct.
Before you say, “Well, Fenwick students do and say the same things; OPRF should not be singled out,” I agree with you. Friar students have had their bad moments as well, but recently they seem to be well-controlled by staff. They responded to the vulgar language by chanting, “Sit down, shut up!” and “Scoreboard, scoreboard,” but nothing worse than that.
The OPRF administration needs to address and remedy poor student conduct at games. I would propose that any student who continues to chant vulgarities after being warned should be ejected and barred from attending future games. Doing so would be a very strong deterrent to bad behavior. Attending games is a privilege, not a right, and OPRF would do well to emphasize that.
When we reached out to the high school, Karin Sullivan, OPRF communication director, responded, “During the past two years, we’ve worked diligently with our students to understand the importance of showing good sportsmanship when competing against a rival. We’ve stressed the value of cheering in a way that shows support for the Huskies without denigrating the opponent, and we’ve made significant strides in a positive direction. Unfortunately, the language choices of some of our student fans at last Friday’s basketball game against Fenwick show we still have a ways to go. We apologize for the inappropriate language that could be heard within the arena. Moving forward, we will be working with our Huskie Student Spirit Council to continue reinforcing that our goal must be to uplift our team, not criticize the other team. We appreciate and rely on the support of our families and the wider school community to help carry this important message as well. Together, we can ensure that sportsmanship and respect remain at the heart of all our athletic events.”
The Chicago Elite Classic is a good showcase event for local high school basketball. OPRF and Fenwick have played in it for years. Here’s hoping this year’s bad OPRF conduct doesn’t lead to the annual showdown being pulled from the lineup.
Finally, while I love the energy and spirit the Dog Pound brings, their behavior simply needs to improve. If they get banished, it’ll make things harder on their classmate athletes to compete without their support.
