An unnamed e-mailer pointed out to me Monday that he/she was sending a “letter to the editor” in regard to my using the term “Blackhaven Classic” in Saturday morning’s story about the Whitehaven-Fairley game at J.P. Freeman.

I want to point out that I put serious consideration into whether I should use the term at all in the story, and actually hadn’t used it in a preview story about the game that ran in Friday’s paper.

However, once I got out to Freeman that night, I saw people, white and black, wearing “Blackhaven Classic” T-Shirts they’d bought before and during the game. The actual trophy that Tiger running back Marcus Hightower hoisted above his head following Whitehaven’s 35-6 win also had the term “Blackhaven Classic” imprinted on its base. To not have used the term at all in the story, would have been to ignore a large detail that’s become part of a neighborhood rivalry that goes back more than two decades.

The e-mailer told me he/she thought it was an insult to the Whitehaven community, me using the term “Blackhaven Classic.” However, I beg to differ. The term “Blackhaven” is obviously one associated with a sense of pride in the Whitehaven community, or else it wouldn’t have been printed on t-shirts or trophies. Go into Whitehaven and ask whether most folks are offended by the term, and I’d venture to say you’d find very few that view it as an insult.

Anyway. I’m still looking forward to reading the e-mailer’s letter to the editor.

Until next time…