When talking about rivalries in sports, there are plenty of options. Michigan and Michigan State or Michigan and Ohio State are easy answers for Michiganders. Those aren’t the rivalries the Torch and the Lanthorn have the honor of covering.
Our small, midwestern newspapers get to say that we cover the Anchor Bone Classic. It’s built into the DNA of Bulldogs and Lakers to have the date of the Grand Valley and Ferris game circled, either mentally or physically.
Every fall, the Lanthorn releases an article about the Grand Valley versus Ferris game– an article that encapsulates the antagonism and excitement that repeats with unfaltering intensity. With a corresponding photo on the newspaper’s cover, the yearly edition arguably represents school spirit and what it means to “be a Laker” better than any of our editions.
In pages divided up between the latest news, club features and individual Lakers’ columns, pride for Grand Valley normally takes many forms. But when it comes to the edition highlighting the rivalry game, devotion to school spirit is in one substantial place, taking the form of a two-page blue, black, and white compilation.
Putting the spotlight on the rivalry game allows Grand Valley students to represent the University and its football team with passion. Even if someone standing in the student section isn’t devoted to the complexities of football, it doesn’t matter; representing Grand Valley and giving a voice to the University as a whole is what does.
Leading up to a Grand Valley and Ferris game, the anonymous chat platform YikYak is flooded with posts underlining the eagerness that surrounds the game. While the majority of chatter around the opposition is comical, and a little slanderous of our Michigan college counterpart, the discussion entices students to defend their university wholeheartedly.
The Torch’s coverage of the rivalry is an intimate one. The privilege to be at the heart of one of the best rivalries, if not the best rivalry in DII football, is tremendous.
Its importance to the student body is clear. This year, like any other year, droves of opposing students will make a pilgrimage to their arch rival’s territory. Those droves have one goal: cheer on their team and believe that they can win. Even those who aren’t incredibly football-inclined will make the travel. That’s how much it means.
It’s because of this that the Torch hopes and aims to reflect the feelings of the student body. The rivalry means as much to us as it does to Ferris. The triumphs and defeats of the rivalry are way too big to ignore, not that we would ever want to.
The Torch celebrates this yearly battle like any student does. For us, there’s no better way for us to highlight and emphasize the 52nd annual showdown between the universities than a dedication to what this rivalry means to us, the school and even our adversaries in Allendale.
The Anchor Bone Trophy will continue to swap hands for years, just as it has since 2003. For every euphoric win or gutting loss, the Torch and the Lanthorn will continue to cover, celebrate and highlight this unique battle.
Despite our impartiality, each of our publications and its staff bleed either crimson and gold or blue, black and white. It’s unsurprising where our allegiances lie in the Anchor Bone Classic.
Regardless of the outcome, the words “Grand Valley” and “Ferris” will repeatedly be printed in ink on the pages that are clutched in your hands, as readers.
