Our son is a freshman at Hope College. Until you have experienced this college, you just don't how amazing it is! Hope has enriched our lives beyond belief, even as a family. The people are the kindest we've ever met. Standards are high. Values are important. The students are the kind of kids that parents dream about. Hope is the most nurturing, positive environment that anyone could ask for.
1
Were it not for the Calvin / Hope rivalry, it is likely that the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America would be reunited by now.
I joke: the two denominations are very close and becoming closer all the time. Can't speak to the general West Michigan culture. I'm sure it's much more insular and homogeneous than almost anywhere in New York State but all the Hope and Calvin alumni I have known are generous, fun people.
I joke: the two denominations are very close and becoming closer all the time. Can't speak to the general West Michigan culture. I'm sure it's much more insular and homogeneous than almost anywhere in New York State but all the Hope and Calvin alumni I have known are generous, fun people.
1
It seems like every 5-10 years this game pictured in this article is printed in a newspaper, never thought NY Times. In high school went to Reformed church but Christian school. I decided to go to Hope while all my basketball cronies went to Calvin. My parents friends were always wished I do well, but Calvin was their school. I guess I disappointed a lot of their friends as I made 2 free throws in a double overtime 104-102 victory in a MIAA Championship game in 1965 as a freshmen. BLW many years later I married a Calvin Grad. Who says Hope and Calvin can't get along
1
Then there's the age old question: What do you call a person who doesn't care who wins a Hope/Calvin basketball game? An atheist!
1
Shooting some serious hoops!
1
These two schools have a great tradition of excellence and are two warm and welcoming communities. The Rivalry is always strong, and has become intense and fun-- most of which can be jokingly water under the bridge. Les is pretty far off the mark-- They are nothing like Bob Jones-- there are no strict dress codes, no absurd rules of codes of conduct that students must sign, people speak with free conscious and openly about what they think, and all the while with respect for others. Two great schools, two great communities, separate but close like two cousins.
5
I've been watching this rivalry, mostly via TV, for more than 60 years. In covering it, one requirement for the press and the announcers seems to be that they wet their pants over the relatively low difference in points over the years. But – given the similarities in size and recruiting base – isn't that exactly what a statistician would expect after 189 matchups?
THERE'S NO HOPE.
But actually - as a proud Calvin Alumnus and a former student athlete there, I have loved being a part of this great rivalry. The competitiveness and the fire running through it makes for exceptional competition and better athletes. The cross country team does something called the 'rival relay' where we do a relay run from Grand Rapids to Holland and then spend the day on Lake Michigan getting to know our rivals who we will do everything in our power to beat come the fall season. So happy to see this getting national coverage!
But actually - as a proud Calvin Alumnus and a former student athlete there, I have loved being a part of this great rivalry. The competitiveness and the fire running through it makes for exceptional competition and better athletes. The cross country team does something called the 'rival relay' where we do a relay run from Grand Rapids to Holland and then spend the day on Lake Michigan getting to know our rivals who we will do everything in our power to beat come the fall season. So happy to see this getting national coverage!
Brian Powell's dunk was by far the best thing I have witnessed at a live sporting event. EVERYONE was flipping out. so good.
GO CALVIN!
GO CALVIN!
At least the coaches don't earn more than the college president. Perhaps there is hope for college athletics at schools like these two.
5
THIS is what college sports should be about - not the utter charade of importing "student-athletes" to represent schools they have absolutely no interest in and most certainly will not graduate from
5
In 1969 I was member of the Calvin freshman basketball team. Being from Denver, the Calvin/Hope rivalry was not familiar to me. When we arrived at the Holland Civic Center that first frigid night in 1969, I couldn't understand what everyone was so excited about. As freshmen, we beat Hope that night. In the remaining 7 Calvin/Hope games that I was part of by my senior year in 1972, we never lost to Hope. By then I knew about the rivalry, and I still cite this story whenever a current colleague ribs me about the occasional Hope victory these days.
Greg Mitchell, Hope's first year head coach also played at Hope. Great guy, excellent coach.
Nice article. While the intensity may become a bit much, you captured the light hearted side as well. The community can be somewhat provincial, but they have made nice contributions to the West Michigan area.
1
I don't usually read sports stories, but did read this really interesting one for two reasons. One is that for 36 years I taught at one of the other MIAA colleges, Adrian College. The other is that my Great Uncle, Albert Muyskens, was not only a long-time math professor at Calvin but also their very successful basketball coach for a number of years, and I wondered if he would be mentioned. He was.
1
This series is awesome! Keep it up. I love reading about these rivalries.
3
These two schools represent the major divisiveness within the American culture. I lived in Grand Rapids for seven years and never before had I encountered such intolerance as I found in a community dominated by the Christian reformed religion. Fortunately many people in that area have learned to ignore their chastisement and attempt to practice other beliefs. Calvin and Hope are indeed two of a kind, very similar in fact to Bob Jones U.
4
Insular , yes, but the schools mentioned here are very different than Bob Jones, theologically and culturally. I'm a transplant to Grand Rapids from NY. The tightly knit connections here have often frustrated me, but I've also been surprised by the strong emphasis here on social justice.
1
Similar to Bob Jones? Right. Since when did Hope & Calvin regulate what movies students can watch & what music they can listen to (including prohibitions against jazz, rock, hip hop, etc.), require chaperoned dating off-campus, and prohibit all physical contact between unmarried students? (http://www.bju.edu/life-faith/student-handbook.pdf) In terms of their religious perspectives, Hope & Calvin are not even in the same universe as BJU.
9
Oh, I have to disagree completely. Yes, West Michigan is a conservative Christian enclave with a strong Dutch heritage, and that can certainly be hard at times, especially for outsiders (I'm not from West Michigan but have lived in Holland for the past 10 years), but I have not encountered the intolerance or judgementalism that you mention. People are genuinely welcoming and warm, honest and hard working. It has been a great place to work and raise a family, and one of the most beautiful areas in the country.
As far as the Bob Jones U comparison, well, that needs to be researched a bit more carefully. Hope is quite different than Calvin, and both are significantly different than Bob Jones. I would not lump the three together at all.
As far as the Bob Jones U comparison, well, that needs to be researched a bit more carefully. Hope is quite different than Calvin, and both are significantly different than Bob Jones. I would not lump the three together at all.
2
GO Hope! PRoud alum....great rivalry.
class of 80
class of 80
5
Les,
Forgive me for correcting your first sentence, but, as the article states, these schools are in the same general theological ballpark. As for the pain you suffered, living in GR for 7 years, I'd like to bring you up to speed about how much worse this could have been for you. I was raised by a Calvinist minister and am a philosophy major, pre-seminary grad (long ago) of Calvin - I left the fold some 45 years ago and am still recovering from the impact of that history. I wouldn't encourage you to read Calvin's Institutes, but, were you to do so, you might reach a better understanding of from where that "intolerance" originates and from whence the belief in guilt, original sin, personal unworthiness and all the rest comes. I will say that, in defense of Calvin College, I met and studied under many wonderful, wise and open-minded educators; I was and continue to be struck by the endless tension that exists between the conservative but progressive stance of Calvin's academic community and the regressive, intolerant, judgmental place of so much of the Calvin practicing community.
Oh, yeah - basketball. Those were exciting times. I never missed a home game. Go Calvin, and Hope - you represent what is best in college sport rivalry.
Forgive me for correcting your first sentence, but, as the article states, these schools are in the same general theological ballpark. As for the pain you suffered, living in GR for 7 years, I'd like to bring you up to speed about how much worse this could have been for you. I was raised by a Calvinist minister and am a philosophy major, pre-seminary grad (long ago) of Calvin - I left the fold some 45 years ago and am still recovering from the impact of that history. I wouldn't encourage you to read Calvin's Institutes, but, were you to do so, you might reach a better understanding of from where that "intolerance" originates and from whence the belief in guilt, original sin, personal unworthiness and all the rest comes. I will say that, in defense of Calvin College, I met and studied under many wonderful, wise and open-minded educators; I was and continue to be struck by the endless tension that exists between the conservative but progressive stance of Calvin's academic community and the regressive, intolerant, judgmental place of so much of the Calvin practicing community.
Oh, yeah - basketball. Those were exciting times. I never missed a home game. Go Calvin, and Hope - you represent what is best in college sport rivalry.
2