 "Photo: Illustration by Trevor Amsberry")
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Move over mix martial artist Chuck Liddell, there's a bigger battle in the cage.
The "hella" boring cow-tipping, squirrel-infested hicks take on the bleach-blond, materialistic gnarly-surfing bros in the division championship fight: Nor Cal versus So Cal.
The rules: Knock out the opponent in an infinite amount of rounds, aiming to belittle their values, hobbies, slang and style, while hyping up your region.
While Chico State belongs to Northern California, the rising number of Southern California students influence the lifestyle, creating a bitter dynamic, said junior Nora Abdo of Folsom.
The ongoing tug-of-war has become a tedious and foolish tradition between regional foreigners, but there is a level of understanding about wanting to duke it out, Abdo said.
"They are two different worlds with big differences," she said. "It's about wanting to represent."
While both have their benefits, rope burn is inevitable on either side, Abdo said. Nor Cal provides a greener, environment-friendly atmosphere with less traffic and smog, but So Cal is the place to be for shopping, excitement and yearlong tans.
Bickering over the two is a "dumb sport" because both are brought up with different cultures and lifestyles, said junior Eric Beals, who lived in Newport Beach for 10 years before moving to Roseville for another 10 years.
"People fight about it to seem cooler," Beals said. "They want to look better with proof. It's what our society strives for."
By representing a slice of California, students are supporting their roots and identity, he said. When outsiders put down their region, it becomes a personal attack.
California has become a two-part structure comprised strictly of Northern and Southern California, leaving central California a myth to students, Beals said.
"It's the armpit of California," he said. "It's just kind of there, and no one really knows why."
The border between the north and south creates confusion among students, said sophomore Allie Hubbard of Moorpark.
Southern California residents tend to think of Northern California as everything from the Grapevine up - the ridge route through the Tejon Pass, and definitely Fresno and above, she said. But if the invisible border separates the two regions near Los Angeles, Nor Cal wins most of California's territory leaving the smog and crowded freeways for So Cal.
Despite Los Angeles' long commutes for short distances, Nor Cal's unattractive roads are worse than bumper-to-bumper traffic, Hubbard said.
"You can avoid traffic sometimes, but the drive (from Los Angeles to Chico) makes my butt go numb," she said. "And it doesn't change scenery no matter what people say."
With nonstop traffic and ugly roads debatable, some So Cal residents would be the first to agree that people in Northern California are more friendly and welcoming than people in the south, Hubbard said.
But with welcome hugs from Nor Cal and welcome snubs from the south, Hubbard didn't know the battle existed until coming north, she said.
People in So Cal don't go around with their own stickers and don't realize people hate them until they come north, she said.
"But once you cross over to either side the battle line is clearly drawn," she said.
Taylor Flores can be reached at tflores@theorion.com
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