When you think about rivalries, what comes to mind? I envision intense competition between two parties, often driven by mutual respect but also underlying hatred. At Jackson-Reed, we have many notable rivals, but getting caught up in the madness of these rivalries forces you to ask yourself, who is THE rival?! 

The main indication of a rivalry is through sports. In DCIAA, you could say that our rivals are Coolidge and Dunbar, as we quite literally annihilate them in every sport (except for football), which then gets things heated. Eventually, chaos ensues with a fight 

outside the pool entrance or Whole Foods.

When it comes to our private school rivalries, two main schools immediately come to mind: St. John’s and Sidwell. For starters, both schools are within bus or walking distance and as a result, many of their students hang out in Tenleytown and/or live in the area. Students from both schools mainly came from Deal or Oyster and are some of our good friends who will eventually transfer to JR when they realize the overly strict nature of their schools (no free periods for seniors and after-school detentions is kinda crazy). 

Yet on game day, all the pleasantries quickly disappear. I can’t lie, aside from boys varsity basketball, they kinda own us… Last year, we didn’t play Sidwell, but for years before we lost to them every time, whether that be in the regular season (another fight occurred btw) or the DCSAA championship game. SJC, on the other hand, is a pretty good rivalry. We beat them in close and spirited 2023 DCSAA basketball and girls soccer semis, but they continue to keep the rivalry alive through their prideful nature that makes us want to beat them even more.

When it boils down to it, everyone is our rival. We’re the biggest school in the city and one of the biggest in the DMV. It makes sense that other schools are constantly trying to crush us. Simply put, we are THE rival. •