As the Foothill vs. Amador rivalry game approaches, Amador’s Leadership and ASB teams are working to bring back rivalry shirts. Rivalry shirts were a longstanding tradition that brought school spirit to football games – a tradition Leadership hopes to bring back.
“It’s kind of different from what we’ve done in past years. We’re trying to really add a rivalry appeal to the shirts,” said ASB officer Lucie Apard (’26).
Rivalry shirts are worn during rivalry games as a fun way to show school spirit. In 2019, a photo of an Amador football player gained notoriety amongst the student body. In the photo, he planted the school flag on the field wearing an Amador shirt that “bled” purple. After Amador won that year’s rivalry game, a student attempted to recreate the photo, sparking a riot amongst students on the field. The incident resulted in stricter rules around the Amador-Foothill rivalry, discontinuing rivalry shirts alongside other restrictions.
“This year, we’re trying to build more of a healthy rivalry. We’re trying to not have anything derogatory on the shirt, [and] build a little bit more spirit within each school,” said ASB president Biruk Menna (’26).
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Amador students had two different shirt designs to choose from.
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Students decked out in their spirit wear, painting the student section purple for rivalry.
Behind the designs
The decision process for rivalry shirts begins with Leadership workshopping a design. Then, they must receive approval from the administration, before collaborating with Foothill’s administration. When both schools’ shirts are approved, ASB will order blank t-shirts and print their designs to sell.
“It’s in the purple theme, the theme of really promoting Amador and tying us all together in a fun way against Foothill,” said Apard (’26).
ASB has met with Foothill’s administrators several times to come to a consensus on keeping rivalry shirts respectful. Currently, many Amador rivalry t-shirts have been rejected by Foothill’s administration. This could mean that rivalry shirts will remain the same as the design from previous years. Nevertheless, the leadership and ASB teams have continued to advocate for new designs.
“There are still a couple of designs that we’re really excited about, and we really hope the student body enjoys them as much as we do,” said Menna (’26).
Rivalry shirts heighten the excitement for the student body during rivalry games. It brightens the atmosphere and brings school spirit, while also maintaining respect.
“I think when you can get a fun, creative shirt, and see a large number of people wearing those on the campus, it brings kids together that might not know one another,” said Leadership teacher Wendy Connelly.
