One of the longest rivalries in high school sports history all started with a fire hydrant. The common goal for all ETHS athletes is to beat New Trier. It doesn’t matter how, just that it happens. The Evanston boys soccer team fights for something more than bragging rights, however – they fight for the hydrant.
The infamous fire hydrant used to be the dividing line between Wilmette and Evanston. Decades ago, in the 1960s, New Trier and Evanston boys soccer decided they would fight for this fire hydrant on the field. Whoever won the game would get to show their school pride and paint the fire hydrant their school colors. Eventually, the fire hydrant stopped working and the two cities decided to make it portable. Now, at every soccer game between the rival teams, the original fire hydrant is brought along and displayed as a trophy. After two years of losing the trophy, Evanston strived to bring it home on October 1, 2024.
For decades, it has served as motivation for the two teams.
“When you heard about the fire hydrant, you wanted to play. You wanted to keep it hoisted around. You wanted to paint it your colors. You wanted your name on it. So it’s been a special thing for me and for all of us that come from the soccer program,” commented alumni and sophomore boys coach Marx Success, who played for the Evanston soccer team from 1979 to 1983.
However, even without the hydrant, the rivalry has been fierce.
“To be clear, and to be honest, if there was no fire hydrant, it is still an incredible feeling just playing New Trier. The fire hydrant, and having that as a trophy just made it that much more special, but just the rival of New Trier alone, there’s no hatred-friendly competition,” Success said.
At any New Trier game, for any sport, the energy is unfathomable. Fans on both sides get decked out in their school colors and gear. Chants are created especially for the other team. The players feel this energy and this pressure from the stands. While this energy from fans and players contributes to the rivalry it is important to remember that New Trier is not the only team the boys’ soccer team will have to beat this season.
“I’ve been here 36 years, I’ve seen it that you beat New Trier, but after that, you don’t move on past anybody else. And sometimes athletes … are satisfied,” said Success. “ … We beat New Trier for the season. We don’t ever want that to be all. So [the rivalry] unites us to come out and give 110% [against New Trier], but after that we need to move on.”
That is exactly what this year’s boys’ soccer team plans to do: beat New Trier, win the fire hydrant and move on to beat more teams. Last year, boys’ soccer experienced an unfortunate loss of 2-1 to the Trevians in the sectional semifinals, ending their season and leaving the field without the hydrant in hand.
“We’re not going to change anything, we’re just going to keep playing and hopefully out-score them this time,” stated head coach Franz Calixte. “Last year we outplayed them in the first game and we lost.”
Traditions like the fire hydrant bring teams together. They shape the culture and unity of a team, and they tie them to alumni. Without traditions like the hydrant, high school sports competitions would not be as thrilling or meaningful.
“I think traditions are important for all sports. That’s why you play high school soccer. That’s why you play high school sports. They’re your classmates and your family. It’s totally different from any club sport,” Calixte said. “I played on a nationally ranked club team, and we were a top team in the country. But if you asked me if I ever talked to my teammates from the club after our last season it’s a no.”
This game against New Trier is important not only for current players who are ready for revenge. It is also important to all the alumni who have played in the past.
“We are playing for all the ghosts that played before,” Calixte emphasized.
Not all teams have long-lasting and meaningful traditions like boys’ soccer, but what they do have is each other and their ancestors.
As an alumnus and a coach, Success is passionate about Evanston winning the game on October 1. He believes it is time for Evanston to get the hydrant back.
“Embrace the tradition, embrace the rivalry. You know, represent ETHS well, and keep it going. But embrace it. Give all you’ve got to it, and keep the hydrant in Evanston, for crying out,” Success remarked. “You don’t do anything else. Do not give that thing up over there to be painted green and white and whatever those other colors. Keep it orange and blue!”
In the end, the rivalry and the hydrant aren’t what is most important. It’s whoever wins the game.
“It’s Evanston, it’s New Trier, and it’s the fire hydrant.”
