Darien and New Canaan’s rivalry has been traced back to 95 years ago, evolving into a fight today that is periodically taken to extremes.

1928 marked the start of an annual tradition called the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl, a football game between Darien and New Canaan. The Turkey Bowl is more than a game between two opposing teams – it’s an event that unites the entire community, alumni and students, and generations of the past. The teams are not only fighting for bragging rights, but they are fighting for their town and everyone in it. This first matchup in 1928 was the start of the serious rivalry between Darien and New Canaan, one that still exists strongly today. This contest has had an immense impact on all other meetings between the two teams, propelling both sides to work hard and keep focus in preparation for the chance to defeat the enemy. While this opposition has kept both positive and motivating for decades, there have been several instances in which players and fans have taken the rivalry to extremes. 

“Darien and New Canaan. Saying the two names together is enough to conjure memories and feelings of past battles in the everlasting war that these two townships fight. A war that has spanned a century. Rivalries are born over time and carried on through generations. In Connecticut, there’s no rivalry quite like this one…. It doesn’t matter the sport, it doesn’t matter the circumstance, but this always lives up to the hype… Separated by just four miles but divided by more than a century of rivalry, this annual high school tradition renews….” Braden Schenck ’23, Darien Athletic Foundation Announcer.

One of the greatest things to come out of a rivalry is the incentive to become a better team in order to defeat the enemy. This involves tasks such as increasing commitment, devoting more time, and maintaining determination, all done in order to defeat the enemy. 

Jamie Tropsa, the Darien Girls Varsity Hockey Coach stated, “Whenever you put New Canaan and Darien together in any sport, it’s always great stuff… they [always pour] their hearts out…”

Just as Tropsa stated, the competitions are always great between rival towns Darien and New Canaan due to the rivalry itself; the rivalry fuels both teams to become stronger in preparation for their matchups, and allows the players to fully immerse themselves when it comes to gametime. Although, recently the rivalry has evolved to entail more than just friendly competition.

Not only have players from both towns engaged in several unacceptable acts, such as vandalizing the opposing school’s grounds with spray-painted game scores and symbols, as well as assaulting the opposing team’s players before a big matchup, but community members have also taken the rivalry too far. After one hockey matchup in 2008 between the boys varsity teams, a fight broke out in the parking lot after the game between the opposing teams’ fans resulting in ejections from the game, charges of assault, and seven arrests. 

The rivalry is so strong between Darien and New Canaan that it not only involves students and players, but it also engages community members in dishonorable acts. As a result of several instances where this rivalry has been taken to unnecessary measures, there are now rules enacted for games between the two towns. 

John Kuczo, the executive secretary of the Fairfield County Athletic Conference stated, “…we’re going to stop it, even if it means playing the games at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.” Kuczo also asserted that the outlaw of hosting postseason games at night would not apply to any other schools in the league, only to Darien and New Canaan.

Throughout the decades since 1928, the rivalry between Darien and New Canaan has undeniably progressed. As Darien’s Jim Bryson ’83 proved by denying that the rivalry entailed any extremes back when he played football for Darien, it is evident that the rivalry has seemingly changed for the worse, although the topic is still open for debate. One thing that is known is that the rivalry is no longer solely a beneficial factor in each team’s development; it has also become an inappropriate and unnecessary battle between two innocent towns who should both know better.  

Darien and New Canaan are located 5.4 miles apart.