An LSU fan hated everything about Tulane — the green and the wave, the football team and the fans.He would swerve his car toward Tulane fans on the street and laugh at the looks on their faces afterward.The LSU fan saw a priest walking down the street one day while he was driving and stopped to give the holyman a ride.He then became infuriated by a Tulane-clad pedestrian and — forgetting the priest was in the car — swerved and nearly hit the Green Wave supporter.The LSU fan almost immediately came to his senses and embarrassingly apologized to the priest.”I’m sorry, Father,” the fan said.”Don’t worry, my son,” the priest replied. “I think I got him with the door.”That’s a joke — which is exactly what most LSU students think of Tulane’s football team.But don’t sleep on the Battle for the Tiger Rag.Older LSU fans may actually be more inclined to circle the Tulane-LSU game on their calendars than some Southeastern Conference games.The first football game in LSU history was a 34-0 loss to Tulane 115 years ago.I doubt anyone alive remembers that game — and if they do, Bud Light and Jerit Roser salute you, Mr. Really Old Louisianian — but there still has to be something said for the history there.Whether a game is meaningful in the standings, familiarity breeds contempt. It’s the sort of thing that adds to rivalries like Army-Navy and Lafayette-Lehigh.LSU-Tulane may not be as deeply rooted as those, but the Tigers have faced the Green Wave 96 times — second only to LSU’s 102 matchups with Mississippi State.And the campuses are only about an hour and a half apart — or about 45 minutes if you’re really trying. But who’s counting? Probably the Tulane football team and its faithful.They’ve got to be tired of being overlooked in the grand scheme of Louisiana football.I’m from New Orleans and have a lot of friends who attend or support Tulane, and my text message inbox was anything but pretty when the Green Wave pulled ahead of the Tigers, 9-7, in the second quarter of the teams’ contest last season.Tulane fans might be happy with a 1-11 season if the “1” came against LSU. And that is, or should be, a scary thing for LSU.I don’t expect Tulane to be the No. 1 game on the Tigers’ schedule.LSU’s 16-straight wins in the series make it hard to argue that. But the game still has its share of backyard charm despite the fact Tulane hasn’t won since taking three of four from 1979-1982.And heaven forbid the Tigers let the Tiger Rag make it’s way back to the Big Easy anytime soon. I might not be able to go home for Christmas.—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]