Students scrolled through their Twitter feed after the basketball game against Springdale High School Feb. 12. Timelines were filled with students from both schools calling out each other. One of the main reasons was the destruction of the bleachers on the sophomore side of Wildcat Arena.

“They were a bunch of punks and were being disrespectful,” said senior Adam Bowlin.

Forty seats were broken and had to be fixed before the next home game Feb. 19. Not only did the seats have to be replaced, but the screws to hold them as well.

“I had to pick up all of the broken pieces,” said night custodian Jerry Woodson. “Those things aren’t cheap.”

All 40 of the broken seats have been fixed, but students feel SHS should be required to pay for the damage done to the school.

“I think they should have to do something to help pay for them to show what they did was unacceptable,” said junior Caylee Ford.

SHS students responded to tweets explaining that their reasoning for breaking and taking the pieces of the bleachers was because it was “tradition.”

“It originally stated four years ago, they were unbelievably easy to break, and then a lot of people just started to do it,” said SHS senior Matt Cook, who is a leader of the SHS student section. “I wouldn’t consider it a tradition.”

SHS students posted pictures of the bleachers after they were destroyed. One picture showed a piece of the bleachers sitting on top of a mantle. The destruction of property is categorized as criminal mischief according to state law. Consequences vary depending on the amount of damage done to the property, and those involved could be charged with a felony.

“It’s up to the school administration whether or not charges want to be pressed,” said school resource officer Tommy Wooten, “or it could be handled internally.”

Another event that added fuel to the fire was the SHS student section chanting, “this is our town” at the end of the game. Being cross-town rivals, more pride is taken when a game involving these two schools is won. Wildcat fans were caught off guard by the chant.

“At first I was surprised,” said Ford. “We have our court, they have theirs. They have no business saying that.”

Towards the end of the chant, the Wildcat student section began to approach and confront the SHS student section.

“I was offended,” said Bowlin. “If they say it’s their town, they need to show it. They don’t need to shout it unless they can beat us in everything, not just boys basketball.”

The drama that unfolded shows that the rivalry still runs strong in the city.

“Rivalry shows how much pride each student has in their school; however, it usually leads to social media drama that happens every year,” said Cook.