It’s usually not easy to know just when a rivalry is born.

Like a good, old-time feud, each side has its story.

Could be a marriage gone wrong, bad business deal between great grandparents or a property-line dispute from generations ago.

Usually the reason for such distaste for the other side is long forgotten. What is remembered and lives on is the feud itself.

The Hatfields and McCoys come to mind.

In sports, often the rivalry is born on the playing fields and deal with geography. In college it can be the battling school’s graduates who make the most out of the situation, possible putting a few coins on games to raise the interest.

Not so in the case of the newest, budding rivalry in the Southland Conference. We know right when things got heated and why.

It was last fall during the time when McNeese State and Athletic Director Heath Schroyer was trotting the Cowboys athletic future around to takers from all parts of the country.

At the last minute Schroyer cut the deal we all know about, keeping McNeese in the Southland and making Lake Charles the home to future SLC Tournaments and the coveted football media day.

The moment that deal was signed a new rivalry was if not born, greatly intensified.

While the rest of the league was taken by surprise, those in Hammond (that’s Hammond America for those who didn’t know) were really up in arms.

The Hammond America reference is for the jerseys worn by Southeastern Louisiana’s baseball team which read “Hammond America” as if we were all confused. I suggest next year the Cowboys come out with Lake Charles — Planet Earth across their chests.

Why let a good feud die down?

For the rest of us here living in the Milky Way galaxy, we will return to just calling the town Hammond.

Anyway, those folks over there felt they should be the center of, if not America, at least the SLC. So they got a little more upset than others.

Oh, the other teams and fans weren’t happy, but they do seem to be still bubbling with as much dislike.

We saw a little bit of this in football, but really it came out in women’s basketball of all places. Southeastern was undefeated in league play and McNeese was a young and struggling team when the two met for the first time last season.

The game went down to the wire with SLU winning on the last shot despite being easy favorites. So what happens? The Lions celebrated like they were headed to the Final Four, showing how important the rivalry is … to them.

I’m not sure McNeese feels the same way. That kind of dislike is more pointed toward Louisiana-Lafayette or Lamar. So this new rivalry has some work to do.

But McNeese’s softball team won the conference tournament in Hammond — that’s Hammond America — this spring and the baseball teams flipped that script last week. So something is up.

This, of course, is a good thing for all involved. Rivalries make for good, fun games.

In years to come fans will fight over which team is better and which fan group is louder. They will argue how the whole feud began.

Some will say it was on the play at home plate in Game 2 of the recent baseball championship series. Others will say it was at the women’s basketball game when the Lions danced on the Cowgirls’ center court.

Both sides may be right.

I still say it’s when Schroyer stole the show.

That’s my story about the feud and I’m sticking with it.

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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com