By Rajae McCinek’16
Staff Writer
The decision of making all sports team equal to one point on Blair Day is a controversial one. Some people claim that everyone should be equal on Blair Day. However, this is a faulty argument.
The Potter-Kelley Cup is an extremely cherished honor to the Peddie community. The cup is a pawn between Peddie and Blair that symbolizes the strength of the athletic program and superiority of the winning school. These conditions are only heightened by the fact that the Peddie-Blair rivalry is one of the oldest high school rivalries in the country. Blair Day is highly anticipated throughout fall term, as the expectance of victory is emphasized in chapel, community meeting, and classes. Peddie dedicates the entire week leading to Blair Day to dressing up in different combinations of stripes, plaids, mismatched socks, jumpers and onesies to boost the students’ and faculty’s school spirit and morale.
Therefore, the Potter-Kelley Cup is of utmost importance. The entire student body is aware of this, especially the athletes. Peddie’s athletic success is directly related to the hard work and determination of the students who put forth maximum effort on the fields. To be on a varsity sport at an athletically competitive school such as Peddie, one has to possess exceptional talent as well as a substantial work ethic and passion for the sport. Our varsity athletes have all worked very hard to earn their position on their teams.
A significant percentage of JV and thirds team players are on their teams out of obligation- for example, freshmen fulfilling their athletic requirements. Therefore, a significant portion of JV and thirds players are not as dedicated to their teams as the varsity players are.
Since the class of 2014 has never won the Potter-Kelley Cup in their entire career, the stakes were extremely high this year, as this is the fourth year the cup has been at Blair Academy. According to The Nest, Peddie has won the Potter-Kelley cup 15 out of the 25 annual competitions. If Blair continues winning for five more years, both schools will have 15 years of possessing the Potter Kelley cup, placing Peddie on the same level as Blair. Making every sport on Blair Day all worth one point significantly lowers our chances of winning the cup back.
To conclude, varsity athletes work extremely hard all in preparation to defeat Blair. As a school we must ask ourselves: is it right to grant equal privileges and rights to JV and thirds teams. The goal of Blair Day is to beat Blair. We need victory and we deserve it. We owe victory to our school, the alumni, the parents and ourselves.
