Can "The Battle of the Expressway" catch on?
By Zach West
In an effort to increase interest in their long-standing rivalry, Putnam City and Putnam City North have christened their annual game ‘The Battle of Expressway.’ The game takes its name from Northwest Expressway, which is the dividing line between the two school districts. The two teams – both undefeated – will face off in the first official ‘Battle of the Expressway’ Friday night at 7:30 at Putnam City Stadium.
UPDATE: Here’s some T-shirt designs from the schools’ week-long promotion of the game.
While I have to give the two schools props for attempting to jump-start a new tradition, I can’t decide if I like the name or not. The first “Battle” hasn’t even been played yet, and already it has several things going against it. We’ll start with length. Some of the catchier nicknames in the state are short and sweet. The ‘Soul Bowl’ between Millwood and Douglass, The ‘Polo Bowl’ between Casady and Heritage Hall, the ‘Backyard Brawl’ between Jenks and Tulsa Union – all roll off the tongue. “The Battle of the Expressway,” unfortunately, rolls off the tongue about as well as peanut butter.
The aformentioned rivalry game nicknames also do a great job of describing the schools involved. The second you hear the name, and an image of the schools and rivalry almost immediately comes to mind (i.e. The Soul Bowl has awesome bands/music. The Polo Bowl will assuredly have more popped collars than the rest of the state combined). About the only thing “The Battle of the Expressway” brings to mind is everyone’s most hated rush-hour commute – not a good mental image.
Also, unless the game’s being played on Northwest Expressway (now THAT would be a sight), shouldn’t it be “The Battle for Northwest Expressway? (i.e. the winning team theoretically would have control of the dividing line, kind of like the Red River Rivalry).
