Mark Knopfler’s song, “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero,” provides Newcastle United fans with a sense of local pride. While not as mainstream as Premier League football, Tufts host communities of the Medford/Somerville area — and beyond — provide plenty of intense rivalries from the professional stage down to the local community. All of which, in the eyes of some fans, define the true meaning of a ‘local hero.’ In the same spirit, I’ve compiled a guide of the greatest local sports games happening within the local area fit for Tufts students, as well as Medford, Somerville and Arlington residents alike, to attend.
Turkey Bowl
High school Thanksgiving football and Massachusetts have been synonymous for over a century. Although the rivalry between Medford and Somerville was discontinued in 2010 after a reorganization of the Greater Boston league, both rivals have since regained their respective Thanksgiving day opponents, with Somerville High set to face off against Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Since the reorganization, Medford High has historically played Malden High on Thanksgiving day, with kickoff for both games set for 10 a.m. on the holiday.
The oldest standing high school football matchup in the entire country is also conveniently located within suburban Boston. Needham High and Wellesley High began their Thanksgiving rivalry back in 1882. Wellesley leads the three-century spanning series 66–61–9.
The Beanpot
Our Division I university Boston counterparts compete in The Beanpot, an annual college hockey tournament at TD Garden. The Beanpot is a single-elimination hockey tournament that includes Boston University, Boston College, Harvard University and Northeastern University. In the tournament’s history dating back to 1952, Boston University has been the most successful of the programs within the tournament, winning the cup a staggering 32 times since its inception.
High School Basketball
Like Thanksgiving football, the Tufts Classic is another high school rivalry between both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams of the Medford and Somerville high schools. Both sets of teams get to simulate the atmosphere of the Tufts varsity teams by playing in Cousens Gymnasium.
While the game hasn’t been scheduled yet, expect the 2026 game to be the first weekend back for the spring semester.
The Rivalry
The rivalry to end all rivalries. We wouldn’t have done our due diligence if we had not mentioned this one. New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox is a storied rivalry in professional sports ever since the ‘Curse of the Bambino,’ where Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees, leading to an 86-year Red Sox championship drought. While there was no ‘Red October’ for that period of time, the rivalry has only grown and remains the most historic in U.S. professional sports history.
While the sun might have set on the 2025 Red Sox season after a Wild Card exit against the Bronx Bombers, look out for plenty of rivalry series scheduled next year, both at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.
From century-old Thanksgiving football matchups to the icy battles of The Beanpot and the timeless clash between the Red Sox and Yankees, local rivalries are embedded in New England sports culture from the professional down to the local level. Local high schoolers carry decades of pride before them in their unassumingly storied sports history and these games embody what it means to be a true local hero — rooted in community, competition and unwavering passion.
