In previous eras the primary athletic rival was Lamar High School. American football games were the primary outlet of this rivalry, but it manifested itself in other ways; in 1975 Gregory Curtis of the "Texas Monthly" wrote that "the respective Key Clubs know year by year which club has sold more grapefruit in the Christmas drive and more tickets to the spring Pancake Breakfast." According to Curtis, the rivalry "is as natural as it is intense" because the schools had students from the same social class and general geographic area.