In Rick Reilly’s Your Team, My Team he shows how loyalty and pride can completely change the way people see the same game. What one fan calls a foul, the other calls good defense, what one side thinks is unfair, the other thinks is just part of playing hard. It’s all about where you’re sitting and who you’re cheering for. Whether it’s sports teams, clubs, or even just different grades, everyone thinks their side works harder or has it tougher. But if you look at it from someone else’s point of view, things start to look different. Just like in Reilly’s story, it’s all about perspective—how your “team” shapes the way you see what’s happening around you.

In Ms. Kelley’s AP Language class, we have been exploring the power of language to show drastically different perspectives about the same situation. By mimicking Reilly’s Your Team, My Team we created the following collaborative piece: My School, Your School. While some of these may seem extreme, the purpose isn’t to make people take sides. The purpose is to get people to meet in the middle. 

“Your School, My School” – ISB 2025

Your community has more smuggling, thievery and crime than the worst parts of Compton.
My community has members taking advantage of their opportunities. 

Your student body wears school merch like it’s a cult. You think wearing school-themed pajama pants all the time, as if you are at a permanent sleepover, will bring you victory when your team is clearly inferior.
My student body is spirited.

Your school library is a showroom for rejected chairs.
My school library provides unconventional seating.

Your school treats sports like a luxury – gear, facilities, coaches – because nothing screams team spirit like a multi-million baht budget.
My school invests in athletic excellence.

Your coach has aged 20 years in one season, lost his voice screaming at refs, and now only communicates in hand gestures.
My coach is dedicated.

Your admin make so many unstructured and out-of-the-blue changes that by this time next week, your uniform will consist of overalls and a porkpie hat, and a schedule based on the Mesopotamian calendar.
My admin are flexible and open to change.

Your school’s students are exclusive cliques that would build a wall if they could.
My school’s students have established friend groups.

Your gym has overpriced drinks, grip sprays and protein bars, and you wonder why your wallet was recently diagnosed with depression.
My gym has prices that reflect the quality of the products.

Your theater took so long to build everyone thought the builders forgot to finish it.
My theater, like a masterpiece, took time.

Your school wifi is complete and utter garbage, sometimes people wonder if an electrician had a stroke right before plugging it in.
My school wifi allows for a balance of internet and social life.

Your private school is packed to the brim with rich, spoiled kids who stomp their feet when they don’t get what they want.
My private school has people who advocate for their needs.

Your student body is full of overprivileged and bratty trust fund babies who clearly have an allergy to touching grass.
My student body has a bright and secure future.

Your teachers are obnoxious know-it-alls that can’t handle criticism from anybody.
My teachers prefer self-criticism.

Your golf cart is inconsistent, sometimes doesn’t start, and squeaks like an 80-year-old’s knees.
My golf cart is vocal about its thoughts, so our drives feel like a conversation.

Your community has more smuggling, thievery and crime than the worst parts of Compton.
My community knows how to give space.