“$nobs vs. Toads” – A Historic Rivalry Between Beach Towns
Photo Credit: Adapted by the Beachcomber
Windnsea Beach in La Jolla, CA
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February 14, 2012 • Nikki Zanchetta, Staff Reporter
Filed under Opinions, Top Stories
Throughout the years, there has been a mutual rivalry between the San Diego communities of Pacific Beach and La Jolla. Although no one really knows where the rivalry came from, it is still apparent that it exists. The tension may come from jealousy, territorial locals, or it could simply just be tradition. The rivalry between the two towns is mainly between teenagers, however there are some M.B.H.S. alumni and older locals who share this outlook. In most cases, teenage tension comes from high school sports teams, but for La Jolla and Pacific Beach it doesn’t seem plausible, simply for the fact that for the most part La Jolla isn’t a league participant in athletics. This leads one to believe there is more of a history and tradition behind the beach rivalry.
Since these two beach towns are dominated by surfers, it has been known as a territorial dislike. And for those who didn’t know, surfers can be extremely territorial of their towns and surf spots. When there’s an outside threat to their beaches, they take it personally. “I don’t like how they try to come and surf our spots, but they get territorial when we try to surf theirs,” a local surfer and Mission Bay sophomore, Hunter Ketcham said to the Beachcomber. Fellow surfer Declan Saldaña added, “They come here and think they can do whatever they want.”
But how long has this clash of neighboring towns been alive? For generations there has been a generalization that Pacific Beach and La Jolla are “supposed” to “hate” each other, despite what each individual thinks of the other town, “Growing up in PB we are almost taught to not like La Jolla people,” Bridget Beckett, a second generation PB local, expressed when asked about the subject, “we are always going to have this image in our head that they think they are better than us.” Siblings have passed it onto younger siblings and so on; and eventually, like growing up with any value, becomes simply a part of whom they are.
To get a better perspective of how long this rivalry has lasted, the Beachcomber searched for the answer from previous Mission Bay High graduates. “It was there when I graduated , but I really don’t know how it started,” M.B.H.S. alumna, Pam Deitz explained. A fellow alumna, Amy Cheshire added, “I first heard of the rivalry when I was at P.B.J.H. (Pacific Beach Junior High), which I thought was due to the socio-economic gap between the neighboring schools. ($NOB$ vs. Toads)Then I started noticing that the M.J.H. (Muirlands Junior High) and L.J.H.S. (La Jolla High School) girls wore trendier and more expensive fashions before the trends spread to P.B.J.H. and M.B.H.S. girls.” These observations come from the eyes of 1970s graduates, showing the rivalry had already been well established then.
Another reason for this tension is the presence of egos and atmosphere of the towns. The differences of the attitudes in each place are incredibly diverse; and this isn’t just an opinion – many people who aren’t a part of either “group” would say there is an attitude that each town presents. “La Jolla kids think they are above us when in reality they are just in their own little world,” commented Doug Meara, “I feel like they don’t get how things work.”
La Jolla High School hasn’t been a sports rivalry but the school still plays a factor in the town dislike. Many of the Pacific Beach locals are bitter towards “traitors,” who are the kids that live in Pacific Beach but choice into La Jolla, which is a part of the reason there is a concept that La Jolla is better than Pacific Beach and Mission Bay. “La Jolla thinks they’re Mission Bay on steroids,” 2011 graduate Ashley Sims quoted, “you know, richer with better surf.” Adam Lees stated, “…they feel entitled to anything and everything they want,” then added, “but there are some cool ones.”
It’s a rivalry that has been heated for more than 40 years, is still prevalent in the lives of local Mission Bay students, and seems that it’s not close to burning out. For some, it’s a tradition and for others, there have been personal reasons for this tension, however there is no singular reason for the enmity. Luckily, this rivalry hasn’t reached the point of violence, but it is still a significant aspect of Pacific Beach and M.B.H.S. history.
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