The rivalry between the Downey Vikings and the Warren Bears has been going on as long as can be remembered. Hanging teddy bears at Downey and dragging ducks at Warren symbolize the seriousness of our rivalry. Whether it was who could beat who at what sport, this non-stop fight to see who the greatest school is will never cease to exist. And why should it? Downey was here first.
According to some alumni the rivalry has changed a bit,
“The rivalry was more intense back then,” said Paul Jimenez, “ One year we filled their brand new football field with shaving cream, shampoo, toilet paper and spray painted their bear.”
Of course the warren bears would not just sit around and let the Vikes do this,
“I remember I came to school one day and our entire pool was filled with rubber ducks,” said Frank Molina, a former 2006 student.
“I think this rivalry is a good thing, it propels our school to reach our highest potential,” said teacher Mrs. Meade.
As Downey residents, the Downey Vs. Warren week has become a custom to our everyday lives and will never grow dull.
“I think it’s a great way to get kids into school spirit. Since Warren is nearby, it’s easy to get everyone rooting for their own team,” said ASB member Elena Ortiz.
Alumni, teachers and people from the community are the ones who add the fuel to the fire that creates the rivalry and instills school sprit in us all. In the end, it’s really just about beating those Warren teddy bears.
Stephen Johnson • Oct 30, 2014 at 12:10 AM
In 1964 (50 years now yeesh) the rivalry was intense and the pranks were new. Warren had yet to beat Downey in football and things weren’t expected to change. Downey acted like they were in a league above the new school across town plus they had a CIF championship in their history. Fueling their egos was the fact that Warren had won a total of 0 games overall in the previous two seasons,
It was the second game of the season. Downey had won their game by a wide margin while Warren squeaked by North Torrence 6-0.. Both schools had new coaches but Downey had switched the “single wing” offense which was rage in 1930s and 40s.
Coach Helgeson addressed the Bear team the Monday before the big game. “You know there’s a reason no teams run the single wing anymore. Some coach developed a defense against it and rendered it useless. I wonder if the Downey coach knows that? Anyway we’ll be practicing that defense all week and we’re going to win.” he said.
From the very beginning it was obvious that this was a different year. Warren ran the opening kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown to set the tone for a game that was all Bears. The final score was 19-0 with Downey managing just 3 first downs. Downey struggled with changing to a new offense during a season the rest of the year.
Many members of the Downey team were good friends of mine from back as far as grade school, I took years years of crap from those guys until THAT game. I never heard a peep again.