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Uploaded: Saturday, September 22, 2012, 8:04 AM                                             

Paly continues streak against Gunn with 48-0 win  

Posted by just mean, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2012 at 10:36 am

I know players on both Gunn and Paly,great kids,great athletes. Paly showed how much better of a team they are, but they also showed zero class in the first half. Onside kicks up 20-0 ,really? Hope Paly all the best in the rest of the season,but killing kids multiple divisons below them just for being in the same town is honestly just mean.

Posted by rapido, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2012 at 10:44 am

Do you really think Gunn would have appreciated being gifted anything?

Posted by embarassed, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Sep 22, 2012 at 10:48 am

48-0 is pretty embarrassing

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2012 at 11:21 am

Better football team? True. Zero class - absolutely. Not only on the field, but OFF the field in a major way. Embarrassing?- yes, but not for Gunn!

These are two teams in different divisions. For a reason. A good reason. I'd like to see the administration(s) grow a pair and cancel Paly-Gunn matchups until the day that they find themselves in same division, with some reasonable expectation of having a fair meeting.

(And then when Paly (or Gunn) grounds the other one in the ground, they would have something to brag about. As it is now, its like the older brother playing a game of 'dunk' on his baby brother, and then running around pounding his chest like he accomplished some big feat. It's chump.

But because Paly can't compete with sportsmanship, and Gunn's "B" level team isn't even an approximate matchup, they shouldn't be asked to complete with Paly's "D-1" level team...

Note: I don't use "A" team to refer to Paly, because "A" connotes excellence, which Paly's overall failure of sportsmanship on the field and in the stands, absolutely does not qualify for.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2012 at 11:39 am

Here's an SI piece on sportsmanship...

"When Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema elected to go for a two-point conversion (it failed) while holding a 41-16 lead with 4:26 remaining in Saturday's game, he broke an unwritten rule of sportsmanship. You don't run it up. You don't rub it in. You don't kick somebody who's down. You don't humiliate an opponent who is beaten.

Perhaps you remember unwritten rules. They're the ones that everyone pays lip service to but few follow anymore. They're all but gone, lost to the greater gods of looking good and getting yourself in SportsCenter. Hold a one-man I-am-the-world parade after making a tackle. Grab your jersey and show it to the crowd after dunking on someone. Stand at home plate and admire your shot to left-center, then take five minutes to complete your home run trot. It's all part of it."

Read more: Web Link

I truly hope the administration of the district (since the coaches/ADs don't seem to have the sense to do this themselves) puts Paly out of the miserable position of having to embarrass themselves with their 'one-man-we-are-the-world parades" while standing over clearly unmatched opponents.

Posted by Who cares about a football loss, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2012 at 12:05 pm

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by Student, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Sep 22, 2012 at 12:26 pm

I apologize for the briefly long post, but I feel that there are some serious issues that must be addressed in regards to this rival matchup.

I am a senior from Gunn High School, one who appreciates our football program, the players and the cheerleaders, and commends them for their infallible effort on and off the field. This being said, I have close ties to those from Paly as well and the Gunn v. Paly game is a great opportunity for everyone from the City of Palo Alto to come and support the football programs. But the lack of sportsmanship from the Paly side was by far the worse I've ever seen.

While the 48-0 score obviously reflects a difference in caliber, the score got way out of hand. After the victor of the night became apparent, the Paly team kept going for disrespectful 2 point conversions and drove the score higher and higher. Despite this show of unsportsmanlike conduct, the Gunn football players never gave up, never stopped, and even seemed to gain fight as the game went on. The score got higher but the drive never faltered, and as Yogi Berra once said "it ain't over till its over."

I went over to the Paly side multiple times only to hear very negative comments about our players and our cheerleaders, even our school.

How is it that a blown out football game determines the integrity of the students? Being a student at a competitive Palo Alto school, the performance of our sports teams doesn't define the value of our high schools, as I overheard many claiming.

And lastly, the fans were rude and disrespectful. During halftime, when the Dance Teams from both Paly and Gunn collaborated to perform a combined routine, (one which would have taken lots of practice, together) the Paly fans booed the cheerleaders. BOOED the cheerleaders who were only there to dance and represent the unity that we should all feel as Palo Alto students. It made me sick to watch high school kids from Paly behave so childish and immature. It made me embarrassed and for the first time at a Gunn v. Paly rival game, I was proud to be part of the Gunn community, one that strives to embrace differences and tries to make everyone feel welcome. I would never have wished to go to Paly if that was the type of behavior that I would have been taught.

There is no way I would rather be at Paly. A great football team can only get you so far. But high school comes to an end, and at the end of it all you have is the lessons you learned from the adults and peers you were surrounded by. And I feel like I have grown up much better by being a part of Gunn, even if our sports team don't win state championships. I wouldn't trade the lessons I've learned for a winning sports team, ever.

Go Titans!

Posted by village fool, a resident of another community, on Sep 22, 2012 at 10:05 pm
village fool is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

At this point it is pretty clear that enabling comments only to registered users stops the flood of comments.

Student - reading your report, assuming it is accurate, the word - education - comes to mind (some old people believe that schools are tightly connected to education, or at least should be). I am sorry to read about unsportsmanlike behavior - especially the disrespectful behavior at halftime during the combined performance of the cheerleaders. We all should be concerned. My guess that this type of behavior is limited only to the football field, and may reflect some lessons learned prior.

Posted by village fool, a resident of another community, on Sep 22, 2012 at 10:09 pm
village fool is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

sorry - my last sentence above should read- My guess is that this type of behavior is NOT limited only to the football field, and may reflect some lessons learned prior.

Posted by Emma Isabella, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Sep 25, 2012 at 10:36 am
Emma Isabella is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

To all of the Gunn Complainers/Paly Haters --

1) The Paly coaches called for a 2 point conversion exactly once after missing the PAT on their first touchdown to make the score 14-0 (a common occurrence in the game of football)

2) Paly only attempted 17 passes, far fewer than their first 2 games (Otherwise could have scored far more points)

3) Paly practicing an onside kick in a game situation, a very difficult play to master, but one that can be the difference maker in a close game, is hardly unsportsmanlike

4) Paly pulled their starters in the 3rd quarter (Otherwise could have scored far more points)

5) Every fan around me was clapping and cheering for the Paly/Gunn dance routine. If a few teenagers were acting ignorant, what do you expect from teenagers? (I have heard awful things come out of the mouths of Gunn kids at sporting events too, I just don't cry about it in Palo Alto Online)

6) There was no unsportsmanlike conduct on the field just two teams playing hard (Although one team was much better than the other)

7) Playing Gunn hurt Paly's state rankings, so they don't get any benefit from continuing this game either, other than it is a community tradition

8) If there is no crying in baseball, there is definitely no crying in football!