Prep is too afraid to compete in the WCAC where it should compete.

Its 500 + boys dwarfs the enrollments of the other IAC school. Prep IMO has really outgrown the IAC by a fair amount.

The hatred towards Landon is simply because Landon in the 70's, 80's and 90's was really the only school in the IAC that poised a threat to GP's rich athletic history.

The previous poster assessment is accurate with regards to Bullis. If Bullis continues its dominate ways in athletics, GP's resentment might shift towards falls road.

I attended the Bullis - GP lax game with my son and there was nearly a bench clearing brawl with under 4 mins left in the game.

The past few Landon - GP lax games have been quite tame on the field.

If the chippiness of recent Bullis-Prep games is any indication, a similar hostility may develop between those two schools if Bullis continues its winning ways. One thing Prep can't handle is IAC schools, particularly non Christian ones, threatening is athletic superiority complex.

Anonymous wrote:+1
One thing that drove Prep crazy was that, once it decided to start a lax program, it couldn't get over the hump and beat Landon for years. The Prep community was outraged and incredulous that it couldn't overcome that hurdle. That frustration of Prep's side and the threat to dominance on Landon's side fueled a lot of the intensity. Hopefully that has subsided. It's really silly when you step back from it all.

While what you say is correct, the great animosity pre-dates the lacrosse rivalry that began in the late 1990's many years. For
GP the lacrosse rivalry was layered upon an already existent dislike.

The low point of this relationship was occurred when members of the "Landon Army" beat some GP boys the beach so badly at least one had to be hospitalized.

As GP lax improved, the Landon coaching staff began scouting every GP game, home and away. One of these two coaching staffs seemed obsessed. You can decide which.

Without the Landon dragon to slay, GP lax would have stayed at the level it was, a third tier sport played by football players trying to stay in shape but with few stick skills.

This apparent debt has never translated into any positive feelings towards the school, players, coaches or students that anyone has ever seen.

+1
One thing that drove Prep crazy was that, once it decided to start a lax program, it couldn't get over the hump and beat Landon for years. The Prep community was outraged and incredulous that it couldn't overcome that hurdle. That frustration of Prep's side and the threat to dominance on Landon's side fueled a lot of the intensity. Hopefully that has subsided. It's really silly when you step back from it all.

GP has traditionally had the overall strongest athletic program in the IAC. Landon has at times challenged Prep some sports despite a smaller student body and investment in facilities, hence the animosity. STA used to have a better program, but the rivalry may not have been as strong since STA is more dc centric and waspy (maybe easier to handle a challenge from a less ethnically and religiously diverse school than landon).
If Bullis continues its trajectory, I'm sure that Prep will be just as resentful of any threat to its historical athletic dominance.

On another note, I have heard the anecdotes about college roommates switching etc. Those are rare instances where we don't know the entire story. Many IAC grads become friends and coworkers after the nonsense of petty high school rivalries. And nowadays, the students from various schools have much more interactions where they ge to know and appreciate each other well. It's too bad that spirit doesn't apply to this site.

Why does that bother you?

They are obviously very happy with things the way they are and the way they have been.

Do you think everyone should be the same?

Do your feel left out?

Does this clannishness by other groups cause you to have the same level of concern?

I really pity you. You sound very un-educated. Good to know your Jesuit education has taught you to be "men for others"

Anonymous wrote:my son currently goes to Landon and views Bullis as more of a rival than GP.

maybe times have changed....

That's good news for the Prep people. Being the reason for existence for the Landon athletic program has been a burden they would like to be relieved of.(

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prep parents tend to be bigots.... have never really ventured outside The DC area other than . College for 4 years and thus tend to be very insular and have a black / white way of viewing

While most kids in this way move on with their lives, there is something to be said about the Prep and Gonzaga community that never really moved on with life other than D.C. hence they are obsessed with other schools.

+1 The prep community attend the same schools, churches, country clubs and summer areas. It's like Groundhog Day.

Why does that bother you?

They are obviously very happy with things the way they are and the way they have been.

Do you think everyone should be the same?

Do your feel left out?

Does this clannishness by other groups cause you to have the same level of concern?

my son currently goes to Landon and views Bullis as more of a rival than GP.

maybe times have changed....

Anonymous wrote:Thats the absurdity of this rivalry. The antipathy is fueled by the non athletes, families and institutions. While the athletes compete fiercely against each other, they respect each other and often end up having a lot in common as decent human beings and student athletes. they used to become good friends in college when they really got to know each other. now, with club sports, they get to know each other earlier and become friendly.

Which uis it?

The animosity doesn't exist as the poster with the beach house says? Or the animosity is fueled by non-athletes?

It probably isn't as bad as it used to be when weekend fistfights were commonplace. But that a few athletes played together in college doesn't say much about the overall relationship.

I know of examples where teammates in college from the two schools barely acknowledged one another. And where schools had assigned players from the two schools had assigne to be room mates and one of them called the coach and had his room assignment changed.

Anonymous wrote:The Catholic "word known to all but forbidden here because they complained to Jeff" is among the most insular subcultures anywhere. For them, it's all about the HS bumper sticker, not the college bumper sticker.

Doesn't matter where you go, because they expect you to come home and willingly accept a job in commercial real estate that they have set up for you. Then you can proceed with that jr membership at Columbia or Congressional.

Wash, rinse, repeat with the next generation. Make sure you act like an animal on the sidelines - that's expected behavior.

I'm jealous. That sounds kind of nice to have a home and go to heaven when you die as a bonus.

Anonymous wrote:The Catholic "word known to all but forbidden here because they complained to Jeff" is among the most insular subcultures anywhere. For them, it's all about the HS bumper sticker, not the college bumper sticker.

Doesn't matter where you go, because they expect you to come home and willingly accept a job in commercial real estate that they have set up for you. Then you can proceed with that jr membership at Columbia or Congressional.

Wash, rinse, repeat with the next generation. Make sure you act like an animal on the sidelines - that's expected behavior.

All of what you say may be true and it obviously doesn't sit well with you.

But it does little to explain --- at least to me --- why the GP people hate every thing Landon quite so much.

The other IAC teams and even Gonzaga don't even come close as targets of dislike. They are just other schools in the Conference and teams on their athletic schedules.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a Catholic vs non catholic thing.

Anti semitism, as previously mentioned.

If that were true, than wouldn't Prep people (players, students, alumni and staff) also view Bullis and St Albans in the same negative light.

That's not the case. There is something about Landon and the Prep-Landon relationship that is "special" and this explains the vitriol and long-standing animosity.

The Catholic "word known to all but forbidden here because they complained to Jeff" is among the most insular subcultures anywhere. For them, it's all about the HS bumper sticker, not the college bumper sticker.

Doesn't matter where you go, because they expect you to come home and willingly accept a job in commercial real estate that they have set up for you. Then you can proceed with that jr membership at Columbia or Congressional.

Wash, rinse, repeat with the next generation. Make sure you act like an animal on the sidelines - that's expected behavior.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prep parents tend to be bigots.... have never really ventured outside The DC area other than . College for 4 years and thus tend to be very insular and have a black / white way of viewing

While most kids in this way move on with their lives, there is something to be said about the Prep and Gonzaga community that never really moved on with life other than D.C. hence they are obsessed with other schools.

+1 The prep community attend the same schools, churches, country clubs and summer areas. It's like Groundhog Day.

And they all go to the same heaven. Jesus said " They hated me and they will hate you because you don't belong to this Earth."