Powderpuff renamed to Upper Classic

Braintree High Administration has changed the name of the traditional fall football game from “Powderpuff” to “Upper Classic”.

When Mr. Riordan, assistant principal, was asked about administration’s rationale for this change, he claimed “the powderpuff name is dated”. Mr. Riordan elaborated and said, “That is certainly not what some of our athletes that participate in this activity want to be seen as or known as,” due to the term Powderpuff referring to a woman putting on makeup. 

Powderpuff football has been an American tradition since the fall of 1945. The term powderpuff comes from the cosmetic powder that many women use to apply makeup. When this event was first created, there was no issue with the name; everyone saw it as a comedic event. However, as time has gone on, women have been treated more seriously, and as our society has become more aware of acceptance, red flags have been raised. Many high schools across the nation that host a game of flag football for female students have begun changing the name of their event, as powderpuff, as a term, has become outdated and considered discriminatory to women.

Quickly, as news was released about the adoption of the name “Upper Classic,” students were buzzing and created strong opinions on this adjustment. When asking senior girls, who have already participated in this tradition with the name Powderpuff, they did not support the reasoning or idea of the name change. 

“It doesn’t really offend anybody, and all the girls seem to rather have it be PowderPuff than Upper Classic,” a senior girl said. Many people this year decided not to partake as it was just “not the same” anymore. When speaking with another senior girl, she expressed confusion as, “The shirts are still pink, it is still all girls, I just don’t understand what changing the name will do,” which has seemed to be a common pattern amongst many students. 

The senior council were the ones who got told by the administration to change the name. Senior class president Mona Ammar said, ”I feel like over the years people are going to forget because it is just the name that is changing.” Overall, she expressed her feeling as moderate as she ended discussions with, ‘It kinda makes sense; it is like a good thing overall, but obviously it was like not exactly necessary.”

The Upper Classic, formally Powder Puff, will take place on Wednesday, November 8th, where the seniors will face off the juniors at 6:00 pm