Another chapter ended when the Selma Bears football team met with the Kingsburg Vikings last Friday, with Kingsburg winning 44-6.
The game marked the culmination of Rivalry Week, a longstanding tradition between the two towns. Selma celebrated the occasion through the multifarious “dress-up days,” in which administration encourages students to participate. Students showed their school spirit and eagerness for the game through these customary activities.
Another notable feature of Rivalry Week is the rally, taking place during the school day of the big game. It’s designed to be the final encouragement for spirit in students and serves as a way to honor the fall season athletes.
Schools have been known to include the destruction of their rivals’ effigies at rallies as well. A recent post on Instagram by the Vikings portrays several students striking a car painted with Selma’s orange and black with a sledge hammer. This tradition has been noted nationally, and helps lift fans’ and athletes’ spirits prior to the game.
The rally comprises many engaging activities to enrapture the audience. They vary yearly, but are to provide a fun escape from the sometimes-dull classroom.
At the rally, student groups, such as the Selma Black Bear Brigade and cheer, performed pieces and routines long practiced for, with the goal of uplifting the athletes before the big game.
The football game serves as the final frontier of Rivalry Week, with all the aforementioned activities meant to encourage participation and attendance.
The last time the Bears made it to the playoffs was during the 2018-2019 football season, but was prevented from going further due to their loss with Kingsburg.
Now, out of the 91 games between the two high school teams, the historical record is 53-36, in favor of Kingsburg, including the most recent one.
According to Maxpreps.com, the most recent game in which Selma beat Kingsburg in football was six years ago during the 2017-2018 season, 27-0 in an utter shutout. At the time, the Bears had a league record of 2-3 and 8-3 overall. The game was probably met with much of the intensity viewers can expect now.
The recent game in 2023 was announced by two long standing commentators, Randy McFarland and Will Goldbeck. Both have been notable callers and statisticians for Selma and its neighboring communities.
“I think it was always a rivalry. It was a rivalry back in the 60s when I was in high school in Fowler. It’s just a natural with the two towns right next to each other,” McFarland mentioned.
Goldbeck recalled the intensity of the competitiveness between Selma and Kingsburg, and how it cost him his job as the Vikings’ commentator.
“I did stats my eighth-grade year in 1967. I caught my first game. I knew about it [the rivalry],” he said. “And later on, in 2015, they didn’t allow me to announce in Kingsburg because they thought I was too pro-Selma.”
Although the rivalry can become too heated at times, it motivates students on both sides to succeed when healthy.
Art Francis, the coach of the Bears’ Varsity football team, expressed his experience with such immense rivalries.
“I come from Clovis. I know about rivalries between schools,” said Art Francis, as his second year culminates as head coach. He has over 20 years of experience as a coach.
During the game, Selma High cheerleaders diligently worked to motivate the crowd and athletes, while the band’s music helped pump up fans and players.
The team fell to 1-9 in the overall record, and 0-4 in league, but the coaches and players look confidently to another season. Like many other student-athletes for the Bears, they learn more than just the sport, such as coordination, time management, sportsmanship, diligence and discipline. These aspects ensure they are ready to not only be successful in their sports careers, but also in their life endeavors.
