This is where the "big city's" college students actually pause from binge drinking for a few hours to weave their way into the stadium and kick the silly freshmen out of the choice seats because they were under the clearly mistaken impression that you actually sit where it says on your ticket.
Tonight in Columbia, SC, you'd be out of luck if you were in search of any garnet, black, & white body paint; the faces may change over the years, but these guys are always camera ready in the heart of the student section ready to cheer their heads off for their guys on the field.
Yet the current crop of undergrads are blissfully unaware of the long-suffering history that those of us who have faithfully cheered on the Garnet & Black for over 3 decades (and of course there are many who can claim longer) have somehow managed to survive.... About halfway through last season, I read a post on one of the various Gamecock Facebook pages where a 19 year old student stated that she did not want to go to the next home game since the team lost on the road at Florida and at LSU. Those were the only losses of the entire season. To top 10 nationally ranked teams. I guess she has no context... I mean, she would have been FIVE years old during the 0-21 "streak" where the stands were still filled to the hilt with all of the "We'll get 'em next year!" hopefuls.
Maybe we were just in denial - either way, the true Gamecock fans were there. I can recall one game during my senior year when my roommate Wendy and I were literally the only 2 women left in the stands in a torrential downpour that was the majority of the USC-ECU (East Carolina) game. It wasn't even a consideration as to whether or not we'd go... And we LOST that game.
All of this season's hopes are pinned squarely on this guy's shoulders -->
"Clowney for Heisman," "The Hit," "ESPN Play of the Year" winner at the ESPY awards... No pressure.
After all, we've never had a player we pinned all of our hopes on before now... Right? Does anyone else still have their "Todd Ellis for Heisman" pins from the mid-to-late 80s? What about Harold Green? Robert Brooks? Sterling Sharpe? The last one you may have heard of even if you aren't a "vintage" Gamecock fan...but probably because he had a successful pro career at Green Bay as Favre's favorite target. All of these players had a chance to be great. Some more than great. Yet many fell victim either to the obscurity that was South Carolina football for so long (outside of the state, of course) or to the "chicken curse." Before you laugh, you should know that it is a thing. Seriously. I can remember one season as a kid during the 80s when some lady held a Voodoo ritual where she sacrificed a live chicken out in front of Williams-Brice. Really. Clearly it didn't work (at least not then).
(NOOOO - Not Sir Big Spur!!)
And let's not talk about 1984. Just don't. Please. I am still in therapy - the Navy game broke my little 4th grade heart.
When I first moved to Orlando, Florida in 1997, no one had any idea what I was talking about when I would say, "I'm a Gamecock!" To this day there are people who don't know my name but they know that I am an avid Gamecock fan (ok, let's be honest - fanatic)! It wasn't until Lou Holtz came to Columbia that the name started to be recognized beyond the state borders. And that was when we went winless for the first time EVER in school history. When Steve Spurrier accepted the job at South Carolina, Lee Corso said on national television that it was the biggest mistake Spurrier had ever made (yes, including trying to coach the Redskins). That when Spurrier went to Florida, at least he was working with a Chevy that he turned into a Caddy. But at South Carolina, he inherited the equivalent of a Pinto. He would never win at South Carolina, even if he coached for 400 years. So now you know why there is a constant boo when Corso speaks in the background whenever GameDay visits Cola - which has been pretty regularly over the past few years, I might add.
(Corso may eat crow, but he's not getting a Gamecock!!)
So when people come up to me and say, "WHOO HOO! It's football season again!" I feel an equal rush of excitement and anticipation coupled with extreme nausea. Maybe I take it too seriously. Okay, not even maybe. Yeah, I do. But I love my alma mater, and I have loved it since I was a 5 year old, towheaded little girl in 1980 sitting in a capacity stadium hearing everyone yell, "GO GAMECOCKS!!!!"And I always will.
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