Sun Bowl to Host Triple-header of 1-4A Action on Nov. 9. But is That Good?

On Saturday, November 9, 2013, Sun Bowl Stadium will host a triple-header of high school football games to close out the regular season in the El Paso-area.  Those will consist of 1-4A games pitting Austin vs El Paso, Irvin vs Andress and Jefferson vs Bowie.

While I agree that most of these will enjoy the fact that could say they played a game in that stadium-- as most probably will have no other chance to do so-- I am not entirely sold on this becoming a tradition or if it even should be considered to become one.  I know I might get some grief for having this opinion, but I just don't think these matchups should be played at the Sun Bowl.

I know Franklin and Coronado play the Westside Bowl at the Sun Bowl every year.  But that made the most sense for two schools that share a stadium for their home games and don't seem to get along well enough with each other to trade home games in a stadium on the campus of Coronado High School.  That is why the Westside Bowl was created at the Sun Bowl was created.

I know that Bowie and Jefferson share a stadium on the Bowie campus, but that storied rivalry has existed for over 80 years.  That game is the highlight of that part of town; a gem to the resilience of these programs and schools-- not to forget the community they represent.  They have been battling for the Helmet for a long time, and it has always happened at Baty-Simmang Stadium.  I feel it should remain that way.

The other two match ups have teams that have their own on-campus stadiums and also are part of extremely old, storied rivalries.  The Battle for the Claw pits two of the three oldest schools in the El Paso area (El Paso High is the oldest, Austin is the third oldest).  Two schools and programs that have a very long history between each other-- and not always a cordial one.

Before Chapin was built and opened to help with the expansion of Northeast El Paso, one of the more entertaining rivalries in El Paso was between the Irvin Rockets and the Andress Eagles.  It may have been a bit lopsided in Andress' favor in recent years, but this is still a storied rivalry and the other Battle for the Helmet game in town.

I witnessed a few years ago as the 4-A schools held a triple-header in the Bi-District round of the playoffs and it was quite a lot of fun to see.  I always secretly hoped that would become a tradition, but it all depends on the availability of the stadium and it hasn't worked out since then.

I am not opposed to there being some more high school football games being played at the Sun Bowl-- especially regular season games.  I am, however, not a big fan of these three rivalry games being played there.  I think these storied rivalries should continue being played with each school hosting the game every other year.