THE BELL
It was not until 1950 that the game earned its official name. A local fan, Lewis Rhoades, donated a bell from an old C&W Railway Engine to be used as a trophy; the winning team from that game forward, would take the bell, painting the cart that holds it with school colors and display it at their school for the year leading up to the next game.
The bell has a sort of "ceremony" where it is exchanged at midfield. "If the defending winner loses, the captain of the cheer team must carry the bell to midfield and hand it personally to their opposing captain." This is step one in a two step process. Typically there are numerous people around to ensure the safety of all people involved since this rivalry is as heated as it is historic.Once the bell is given back to the school another tradition begins. The frame the bell rests on may need to be reconstructed from the ringing. Thanks to the Facebook page, Pueblo Bell Game Victory Bell, we were able to get pictures of a unnamed master welder rebuilding the frame for the bell.
The second protocol put in place is, the winning team is granted the right to take the Bell back to their school for display and paint it their school colors. However, there is a "two-inch strip" in the middle which the winning team must paint in the opponent’s school color. This is done as a sign of respect, to ensure that a mutual rivalry is sustained. This is symbolic, as this type of mutual respect has been utilized to solve various problems and resolve bitter rivalries. In this case to ease tensions in a High school football game, in other examples its been used to solve wars, and ease tensions between neighboring countries.
