Running back Jamaican Dartez hauls in a pass.

12 and Oh-So-Sweet
by Carol Schlueter

Thousands of Green Wave fans also streamed from the parade route into a huge party thrown at the convention center by the Tulane Alumni Association and Tulane athletics. As "our" band merrily played the fight song, 5,000 pompoms filled the air and the faithful celebrated.

At the party were Wave supporters of every kind. A couple from the New Orleans suburb of Gretna, La., said it "was never a question" about whether to go to Memphis. "I started backing Tulane as a kid. I was a Boy Scout and helped usher in the Tulane stadium. I’ve supported Tulane ever since," the fan said.

Another young man, a Tulane College alumnus, met a group of college friends in Memphis, gathering from Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and other cities for a reunion of sorts.

For Coleman Dupre (A&S ’74) and Dennis Delaney (A&S ’75), the Liberty Bowl was a way to relive their own football careers with the Green Wave. Dupre was a wide receiver and Delaney a lineman for a good Tulane team that went to the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl.

"We’re pumped up," Dupre said. "This team has beaten adversity all year long and they’re going all the way."

Game day dawned cold but crystal-clear. The Green Wave fans basked on the sunlit side of the stadium, an ocean of green and blue stretching from top to bottom. Some 10,000 to 12,000 Tulane fans were there to see their undefeated team dominate.

As they watched the Tulane defense toss the BYU quarterback to the turf again and again, and Shaun King tear up and down the field with pinpoint passes and deft running, Tulanians cheered, waved signs, second-lined with tiny umbrellas and celebrated.

Did the Liberty Bowl really run out of beer in the fourth quarter? Rumor is, it did–and BYU is not exactly a hard-drinking school.

The signs indicated the mood of the crowd. "Every sports program said no but we went 12-0." "The perfect season." "Elvis is a Wave fan."

Jamie Hardy (B ’79) of New Orleans was part of a group of 60 people who reunited in Memphis for the game. "I couldn’t be more excited about being here. The excitement, the spirit, the renewed energy…It’s great to be here to support the school."

Nicol Breaux Alipio (N ’91), who lives in the Dallas area, dragged her husband, a Louisiana State University alum, to Memphis.

"I wouldn’t miss this. I’ve never seen so many Tulane people in one place." And she proudly displayed her good luck charm, a small tiger with a rope around its neck. "I have my dead LSU tiger; that’s important."

John Watkins (A&S ’85, G ’88), said, "To look around and see all the fans who came here, it proves Tulane fans will travel to support their team."

As the fourth quarter drew on and the stadium grew colder, a little girl pleaded with her Tulane mom to leave the game. "Your dad would never leave this game early. It’s been too many years," her mom said.

With a 41-27 victory and a Liberty Bowl trophy in its possession, the Tulane team seemed as reluctant to leave the field as the fans were to leave the stadium. One supporter yelled, "We’re the best–we’re undefeated–and we don’t know what to do!"

His friend answered, echoing the thoughts of Wave fans far and wide. "Let’s just hope this happens again in our lifetime."

Carol Schlueter is director of publications at Tulane
and a longtime Green Wave fan.