Rivalry is serious in Little Big Game

"Everyone on either side of the ball will be playing as if their life depends on this game. It's so intense. I expect a hard hitting, physical game," said T. J. Ewing, head coach of the San Mateo Bearcats.

Although the coach is excited about this game and optomistic about the outcome, his team certainly isn't the favorite to grab the paw. Burlingame comes into this game with a 9-0 record and a ticket to the prom, otherwise known as the CCS playoffs. San Mateo is 4-4-1 this season and it's season will end with or without a victory.

The difference in the team's records wasn't on the minds of San Mateo High students during the Orange and Black day celebration on Thursday.

"I'm stoked because we're gonna beat 'em for the first time in 20 years." said student Shawn Landwehr.

What Shawn lacks in detailed knowledge of the rivalry he makes up for in unshakable faith. When asked if he knew the actual records of the teams playing, he responded "Yes. It doesn't matter."

It seems the rest of the student body feels the same. During the school-wide rally - a ceremony to symbolize what San Mateo hopes to do in the Little Big game - a young hero overcomes traps and obstacles, goes to Burlingame High, overcomes a little more, and returns triumphantly with the Paw. The act was called "Raiders of the Lost Paw," and if the cheers the young man received upon returning with the trophy are any indication of what this game means to the students and the community, this is not a game to be missed.

The San Mateo team will get a lot of support from the student body, but not every student is necessarilly interested in what happens in the game. Some students surveyed did not show much spirit in helping their team to victory. When asked whether she would simulate a "challenge" faced by the contestants of the popular TV program Survivor, the act of eating a bug larvae, if it would guarantee a San Mateo victory, one student wanted to know if the bug was "clean," but added she would probably "chicken out anyway." Another student flatly said no and expained "...I'm really more into tennis than football."

One of the truest indicators of the significance of this game comes from talking to Coach Ewing. He's is a big man, few people will deny, but his excitement for the game and the twinkle in his eye as he places his confidence in his team makes him look like a big teddy bear. This is Ewing's second year coaching as the head coach at San Mateo, but he is well versed in the meaning of the game because he grew up in San Mateo and attended Aragon High School. "Being the oldest football rivalry in Northern California, each year just seems to add to the importance of this game. Even when I was attending Aragon, we knew that this was bigger than our game. This was the game."

Ewing is getting his players ready for the game, but he thinks his players are confident. Whether they can beat a Burlingame team that has a strong running game and potent passing game remains to be seen. But the coach is hopeful, and it's obvious this game is the last thing on his mind as he drifts into sleep.

Will there be congratulatory handshakes Saturday afternoon? Ewing clenches his fists, closes his eyes, tilts his head back, and says, "Oh man, I hope. I hope."