All about the fans: Christmas tournament brings out all sorts of spectators

In those groggy days between Christmas and New Year's, while some hit the movie theatre and others hit the snooze button, many area hoops fans turn to a local tradition for a thrill to cap off the holiday season: the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Last week's contest marked the tournament's 75th year and as such now draws a variety of fans, old and young, to the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. The tournament pits teams from around the area against one another but much of the annual energy comes from the teams' eager fan bases.

Every year, many teams have cheer squads to accompany them during games. And most years, the cheerleaders have fans of their own like Molly Thompson and Ava Sherman. The 6-year-olds dressed in miniature versions of the Advance Hornets cheer outfits and jumped at the opportunity to meet and take selfies with their idols like 17-year-old Alyssa Miles.

For some pre-teen sports nuts like Rowan Roberts, Keaton Goodale and Jack Heuring, the tournament provided an opportunity to scream their heads off in support for the Oran Eagles.

But much of the serious and organized cheering came from the student sections, often in elaborate costume. Some stick with the tried-and-true pep themes; Jackson, for example, went with their customary tiger-hunt khakis and pith helmets when the Indians met the Cape Central Tigers.

Savannah Sides, left, pokes a bow design on a festive blazer worn by Ben Honza in the Cape Central student section during the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Dec. 28.TYLER GRAEF

But then again, it is a Christmas tournament. And every year, students avail themselves of the opportunity to break out their most hideous Christmas novelty garb, whether it be snowflake jammies, Santa furs or blazers patterned to look like wrapping paper.

Some superfans, like 6-year-old Emory Bandermann, donned custom outfits.

"Number 11 on the court," her shirt said. "Number 1 in my heart."

The number 11, she explained, was Quinn Scott, a Jackson player who, in addition to being Jackson coach Darrin Scott's son, was also the son of one of Bandermann's schoolteachers.

"I like cheering for Quinn," she said, waving a red pom-pom. "And I like cheering for Jackson.

Charleston fans including Tyler Meeks, in "350" sweatshirt, cheer during Charleston's 64-41 win over Notre Dame in the championship game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Monday.Jacob Wiegand

A few rows away, some older fans cheered with similar enthusiasm, but brought a unique perspective to the stands. As former Jackson players, Payton Salyer and Chase Robinson knew what it was like to play on the Show Me Center court. Robinson said he remembered the Christmas Tournament feeling like a somewhat bigger stage than normal games.

"I would say that it's just the atmosphere," he said. "There are so many people who come together and they come from all over."

As part of last year's Indians squad, Robinson and Salyer made it to the championship game but fell short against a Cape Central team that would later make it far into the postseason. This year, they'd attended all the Jackson games to that point, they said, and were hopeful about this year's squad and their chances in the tourney, although the game they were watching at the time saw the Indians neck-and-neck with the Charleston Bluejays.

"Coach is probably giving them a good talking to so we'll see what the second half is like," Robinson said.

Across the arena, Shalonda Thompson was wearing a Charleston hoodie, but also a button with a photo of her cheerleader daughter, Jimmyia Hudson, on it. Thompson admitted she was as interested to see her daughter perform as she was in any of the basketball.

"It makes me so proud of her," Thompson said. "It's good to see her doing something she likes."

And as the tournament went on and this year's Charleston squad found themselves hoisting the first-place trophy, Thompson, her daughter and many others found plenty to cheer about.