If you don't like rivalries, then I'm not sure how you like sports.  Last week, Warren County and Coffee County showed what makes rivalries - especially small-town border battles - the absolute best. There was a war of words, taunting T-shirts, four battles in the span of seven days and, most importantly, communities coming together to do some special things.

Coffee County may have won all the bragging rights on the court - sweeping on the hardwood in both Manchester and McMinnville - but Warren County got plenty of satisfaction by raising over $14,000 (and it may be more by the time the money is all counted) for McMinnville Special Games.

I don't want to spend the whole column rehashing last week's events - especially since Bethany Porter did a good job summing it up Friday in her front-page story - but the gist of it was Thunder Radio (the top dog in Coffee County radio) made a T-shirt people didn't like locally in hopes of turning a profit for a scholarship fund, Warren County answered by launching into a huge fundraiser for Special Games and every point, free throw and 3-pointer by the Pioneers and Lady Pioneers was big money Friday night.  Those points - 75 to be exact - didn't result in wins for Warren County, but the impact should be felt for many months to come for great local athletes. 

I love that the outcome was so positive for Special Games but I also loved that sports could bring back some fire in our community. It was electric in Charlie Dalton Gym, with people packing the stands 30 minutes before the girls game. There were so many people trying to get into the game that they actually had to start turning people back shortly after tip-off at 6 p.m. Seriously, it may have been  the biggest crowd in Charlie Dalton Gym history.

Why was it such a big deal? Well, both teams - and communities - don't like each other that much (when it comes to sports). Because of the animosity, people packed the house to support their great and wonderful kids and be classy and positive fans against the trashy, classless bunch on the other side. (Notice how I didn't identity which was which there - it's because every fanbase has loud, obnoxious people that are turds in the punch bowl ... including Warren County). The intensity was palpable, every point was celebrated like people just won the lottery (and for two charities, they kind of did) and it got so wild that the lights went out at one point of the boys game. 

Now, did somebody just bump into a switch? Probably. But I'm just going to say that it was because the building was so overloaded with energy a breaker flipped. That's the atmosphere I wish our high school kids played in every single game in every single sport. It's the one I love covering the most. 

Winning a game like that isn't just to get one step closer to a district title or a better record (well, it does do those things), it's a badge of honor for the whole community. It bands together thousands of people to a common cause, which for Warren County Friday was hating Coffee County.

If you were calling the things going on last week during a fierce rivalry childish or classless, then you're just going to have to buckle up or get off the ride. The Red Raiders and Pioneers are going to continue to clash in every sport every year for the foreseeable future. We're four wins down ...let's get them back in the district tourney.