TIGHT LINES
Civil War
with Andrew Spencer

TG happened in 1875. The boys from Harvard met the boys from Yale on the field at Hamilton Park in New Haven, Conn. In the end, the Crimson carried the day, winning by the overwhelming score of 4-0. In the days since, the Game, played every year in November, has seen some pretty amazing moments. For example, there was the 1968 tilt, in which Harvard, a huge underdog that year, found itself behind by 16 points with 42 seconds left to play in the game. Not to be deterred, the boys in crimson managed to score 16 points to tie the game, which is how it ended. The Harvard Crimson newspaper ran the headline "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" the following Monday.

Rivalries are the stuff of stories like that, stories you tell your kids. Or, in yours truly's case, stories you tell your readers because you don't have any kids. Whatever works for you, right? But that's what these contests are all about. And there's not a whole lot of logic to rivalries, when you really sit down and think about it. Case in point, I went to the University of Texas, the sworn enemies of in-state schools like Texas A&M and out-of-state "schools" like the University of Oklahoma. I kid, of course. Calling A&M a school is really a stretch, too.

But despite the nature of the deeprunning hatred that we all felt for one another, I actually had (perish the thought!) friends at both Texas A&M and Oklahoma. In a little-known and rarely talked-about character flaw in my own social life, I've dated alumni from both schools. So what's with the hatred?

Truth be told, it's just the way it is. And it makes the games a lot more entertaining. For example, as a student at Woodberry Forest way back in the day, our Game was against Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. That one got ugly every once in a while, in the way that only high school kids stuck at boarding school in the backwoods of Virginia can be. But the EHS kids deserved every ounce of it they got. Seriously. But the party afterwards was always a lot of fun, regardless of the outcome of the game. We were sworn enemies on the field, then relatively civil to one another (and occasionally even friendly) after the game.

And living in New England has introduced me to a whole new level of rivalry-induced feelings, namely the Boston-New York thing, plus the Boston-Los Angeles thing. I'm guessing the real source of these rivalries stems from Yankees and Lakers players trying to drive in the fair city that is Boston, Mass., an act that can lead anyone to passionate hatred towards that city. But I digress.

All this talk about rivalries has really got my competitive juices going. Maybe it's time we brought this concept to the world of fishing.

Son, you can go to college anywhere in the country you want. If you go to Texas, we'll even let you come home on school vacations. And by the way, that was a segue.

Friends and neighbors, I have to admit that the idea of a fishing rivalry sounds like a great one to me, but I'm not talking about two groups of kids getting together and dancing and singing about how pretty they feel. Nope, I'm talking about real rivalries. I'm talking Harvard-Yale or Red Sox- Yankees kind of thing. I'm talking about fishing for pride and bragging rights, the most important trophies around.

And the Anglers' Club and the Madaket Admiralty Club beat me to it. The two clubs have banded together to host the First Annual East-West Challenge, on June 21 and 22. The tournament is limited to 50 teams, with each team composed of at least one member of either the Anglers' Club or the Admiralty Club. The rules are pretty simple. Each team gets to weigh in two fish per day, one bluefish and one striped bass. You get one point for each pound of fish you bring in. In the event of a tie, the biggest bass wins. Entry fee is $150 per team, but nonparticipants can enjoy the festivities for $25. And junior anglers can get in the game for just $15. There are a whole bunch of cash prizes, including $750 for first place and proceeds from the tournament will benefit each club's scholarship funds. Weigh-in will be held at the Madaket Admiralty Club, where there will also be a cookout and awards ceremony starting at about 5 o'clock on the 22nd.

The battle lines have been drawn, folks, so it's time to pick your side and decide which end of the island you're going to be rooting for. Personally, I'm torn, as I've got friends on both sides. But that's what makes these sorts of rivalries fun, right? We can all fight it out for the win, but then all be friends afterwards. So get in touch with the folks at either club for more information and thanks to both the Anglers' Club and the Madaket Admiralty Club for putting together this great event.

May the best side win!

Tight lines.