TAMPA, FL-- You’re either Team Blue.

Or Team Green.

A Tiger or a Crusader.

“It feels it’s a major college rivalry, but it’s crazy because it’s a high school,” Jesuit senior Andrew Kynes said.

“That Jesuit-Tampa Catholic game, it’s the one you want to be at,” Jesuit alum and President of the Columbia Restaurant Group.

Jesuit versus Tampa Catholic, a rivalry unlike any other.

“It’s a game that everybody wants to go to - students, parents and the alumni,” Gonzmart said. “We want to wear our colors.”

f you’re a Jesuit Tiger, you bleed blue. A Tampa Catholic Crusader? Green. And you don’t ever mix your colors.

“I can tell you not a day goes by if I put blue on I don’t think about it for a second,” Hillsborough County Property Appraiser and TC grad Bob Henriquez said. “And then going to college, I’m going to become a Princeton Tiger, it was not the easiest thing.

"First time I remember screaming let’s go Tigers, it kind of caught my throat for a second.”

What makes this rivalry so fierce? Is it the school’s proximity to each other? Is it the religion?

"The rivalry is rooted in something real,” said Fr. Richard Hermes, President of Jesuit High School. “Two great Catholic schools with very similar missions, serving the Catholics and others of this city with a great mission.”

Forget keeping up with the Jones. Try keeping up with the Jesuits and Tampa Catholics. Both programs have produced state champions in a variety of sports. Both programs have produced stars in various sports.

“They’re both very competitive athletic programs and competitive people,” Henriquez said. “You’ve got to be willing to compete academically as well as athletically if you’re going to go to either of those two schools.”

The buzz begins early the week of a Jesuit-Tampa Catholic game. There’s a noticeable difference in the energy level on campus.

“You notice the difference at the practices, but you can also feel it in school. You can feel it when we make announcements, telling them when the TC tickets go on sale, you know, there’s just a buildup,” Hermes said. “Doesn’t matter what sport, doesn’t matter what level, it can be varsity, JV or freshman.”

No sport is spared in this rivalry.

“It can be a swim meet, it can be a football game, beating TC will get cheers from the student body like crazy,” Kynes said.

This rivalry pits the Blue Tide versus the Green Locos.

“We’re going to put on a good show for you, whether it’s our offense, our defense, even our crowd,” Tampa Catholic senior Alexa Russo said. “We’re all here for the same reason and that’s to win.”

That hunger to win extends to the pranks each school pulls on the other. Pranks during Jesuit-Tampa Catholic week are legendary, and sometimes quite personal.

“They hung me in effigy, at the school grounds. They set it on fire,” Gonzmart recalled. It’s all in fun.”

Now, instead of pranks, it’s trash talking on social media and in the stands. Wanna tweak the TC crowd? Yell out the number 19.  That’s the win streak Jesuit football owns over its rival. The Crusaders counter with a sweep of the Tigers on the court the past three seasons.

But its more than wins and losses that sustain this rivalry. It’s what packs the stands. It’s what makes them bleed blue and green.

“I’ll share stories and memories because that’s what it’s about,” Gonzmart said. “We’re both proud of our school.”

“It’s special and something we should do everything we can to continue to foster,” Henriquez said.