Though the Battle of Freret Street is about basketball, the fans in the crowd said that this year things got a little rowdier than usual.

The Battle of Freret is an annual game in which the Loyola men’s basketball team takes on their Division 1 neighbor, Tulane University, at the Delvin Fieldhouse.

This year, the Wolf Pack fell to Tulane with a final score of 103-74 in the Nov. 3 game. Because Tulane and Loyola belong to two different sports divisions, the game has no effect on either team’s official record for the season.

“Tulane started to get way ahead on the score board and Loyola fans’ excitement died down,” Loyola cheerleader and psychology freshman Jennifer Spada said. “The only people really excited about the game were the annoying group of men chanting rude remarks at Loyola players.”

Fans said that, as the Loyola men’s basketball team was being presented, a group of Tulane students took out newspapers, crossed their legs, and pretended to be ignoring the names of the Loyola players. After each name was read over the intercom, the group then proceeded to yell out loudly in sync, “Who cares?”

Spada said she heard the jeers from the sidelines.

“There was a group of Tulane guys, probably about ten of them, that were very rude and obnoxious,” Spada said.

Loyola cheerleader and biology freshman Sawyer Joseph also remarked on the sportsmanship of the Tulane fans.

“I heard them yelling a lot. I couldn’t really understand them at first. I thought they were just cheering nicely for their team, then I realized what they were saying and I thought, thats not cool,” Joseph said.

Economics junior Luke Livaudais thought differently.

“The Tulane fans didn’t say anything unexpected from typical basketball fans,” Livaudais said. “Heckling makes sporting events more fun and shouldn’t be regulated.”

Mike Senna, A’04 and former basketball player for the Wolf Pack, was present at the Battle of Freret game.

When there’s a rivalry in sports, emotions tend to run high, Senna said. Yelling out during the game is not unusual in the least bit.

“When you have a school this close, there’s naturally going to be a rivalry,” Senna said. “It shows character when you can hold down emotion.”

Whether the Tulane or Loyola fan’s behavior in the stands could be considered excessive is debatable, philosophy senior Stephen Lee said.

“It’s the whole aspect of sports,” Lee said. “People will say really crazy stuff.”

Lee said he has been to every Loyola vs. Tulane game since he has been in college. He said he believes there’s a bit of a double standard imposed on a team, especially when playing on another school’s home court.

“It’s not cool, but everyone does it in their own way,” Lee said. “Whether public or private.”

Though the audience experiences the game in a certain light, the players on the court have a completely different mindset.

“I really enjoy cheering from Loyola fans,” Loyola forward and mass communications senior Cameron Hill said. “I feel the support we receive from the students, cheerleaders and the dance team really shows that the school is behind us.”

As he prepared for a free throw, a group of Tulane students started ridiculing Hill from the audience, asking why he had transferred schools.

Much to the dismay of his haters, Hill barely even noticed.

“I don’t really pay attention to the negative things that are said,” Hill said. “If I do listen, I can’t help but smile and laugh. Dealing with hostile crowds is just something that comes with the territory.”

Cami Cruz Thomas can be reached at [email protected]