It’s more than JUST a turkey

By: Ian Van Anden
Sports Editor

 As Monmouth moves toward its much heralded goal of 1500 students, the enrollment numbers for the 2006 MC student body have yet to be revealed. The Monmouth College Registrar’s Office will make that official tally before sending the count to the president’s office in the near future.

The preliminary enrollment numbers have been “on the hush” somewhat in response to a report that Knox released the number 1,400 for the Monmouth College enrollment. Again, this is a false number as written in an article last week. Now the big question lingers, why does Knox care about the Monmouth College 2006 enrollment numbers?

There has always been a healthy rivalry between Monmouth and Knox College that goes far beyond the athletic field. The two schools sit just 15 miles apart and are in competition for everything from enrollment, to donated blood, to the famed Bronze Turkey Trophy. Monmouth has successfully defended this bronze trophy for six straight years and hopes for seven consecutive.

At Monmouth, we often pride ourselves on our athletic programs and the programs’ overall dominance of Knox for the past few years. This is especially true in the heavily anticipated Turkey Bowl, which will take place this year at Bobby Woll Athletic Field on Saturday, Nov. 4. This game looks to be another exciting episode in the Turkey Bowl rivalry, as both teams are showing great performance.

The Monmouth Knox rivalry can at times resemble a sibling rivalry. Each school seems to focus on its own strength and where the other institution may be weaker. For instance, several years ago Knox students adorned shirts referencing that MC graduates work at fast food chains. This was a clear attack on Knox’s apparent academic “superiority” to Monmouth. Monmouth does its fair share of Knox knocking, citing the famed and often worn “Knuck Fox” T-shirts.

Each school seems to be heading in the same direction as of the start of the new millennium. Monmouth, which we have all witnessed, has made countless upgrades to its campus and infrastructure. As the Monmouth student body now steadily rises to nearly a school record, just a few heads shy, Knox is also attempting to grow.

Remember the Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan “Anything you can do, I can do better” commercials? Monmouth and Knox have always been in this type of situation. Where one institution attempts to “out-do” the other. Could this also appear in enrollment numbers? Why not?

Over the years Knox and Monmouth have regularly competed for many of the same recruits. Each institution shows off its stronger attributes as well as highlighting what they can offer versus what the other cannot.

This type of rivalry can be seen in Ivy League institutions such as Yale, Harvard, and at times, Princeton. Each institution often competes for the upper echelon of the high school senior class. This type of rivalry does not only take place in rural mid-west Illinois, as can be seen by the diversity of both campuses.

So, in short, why does Knox care about Monmouth’s enrollment numbers, and in turn why does Monmouth “care” about Knox’s false statement of our enrollment numbers? Well, that is just the nature of the relationship and rivalry that has developed between the Prairie Fire and Fighting Scots.

As Monmouth and Knox both have their strengths, as hard as it is for me to say that Knox has strengths being a student fulfilling a legacy at Monmouth College, the two will always be locked in this storied rivalry. This rivalry, for you who don’t yet realize, goes far beyond just a Bronze Turkey.