There are people who hate football, merely tolerate football and for others it’s a way of life. I woke up this morning to about approximately 7845468787 texts, Snapchats, Facebook tags, and carrier pigeon messages about old Clempson Clemmy Clemson Clemsux, Dabo and the greatness of the ACC. For those of you who may not know my alma mater,THE University of South Carolina, is the in-state rival of Clemsux. See below for actual footage of my response:
But let’s back up, I’ve got some explaining to do.
I went to a small Christian private school from 1st – 7th grade. At one point we had a “competitive” basketball team. I was a cheerleader (We are Evangel and our mascot is the Warriors. Clap. Stomp. Snap.) and played volleyball. We even had homecoming, but it wasn’t enough to give you that real fan experience. High school football was never a thing for me. I went to an arts school where we didn’t have any sports, but we did have cheerleaders. I’m still scratching my head on that one. So besides watching NFL games with my Dad, I didn’t really get rivalries or understand why people were so loyal to teams.
A Fan is Born
My freshman year at THE University of South Carolina changed that. While I was accepted into UNC (the other Carolina) and Spelman and visited those schools, USC felt like home the moment I stepped onto the historic Horseshoe. I’ve tripped up and down those aged bricks, camped out at Russell House for football tickets with strangers (yeah things weren’t always electronic, kids), passed out from heat exhaustion at Williams-Brice Stadium and had the best tailgating experiences with friends, old men (for another time), strangers, and rivals.
Now I love all Gamecock sports. I witnessed our baseball team bring us back-to-back national championships. Our women’s basketball team is phenomenal and will be bringing home a championship soon and our men have gotten really good under Frank Martin and allowed me to witness some awesome upsets of #1 Kentucky. However, let’s just stick to football. Being a Gamecock football fan has taught me about heartbreak:
- I watched Marcus Lattimore, the heart of our team, and just an overall good person, get injured not once, but twice. The video still makes me cry.
- This year we were crushed by Clemson 56-7, one of the biggest blowouts in series history.
- Losing at Kentucky in 2012 and at Tennessee in 2013 when we would have won the SEC East.
- Our 3-9 season last year.
- Losing the SEC championship to Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers. I really don’t like Tigers…any tigers.
I could go on, but you get it. However, I’ve experienced some some high highs as well:
- Upsetting #1 Alabama 35-21 with old drunk Stephen Garcia
- The comeback in Columbia, Missouri
- The Goon Squad (see The Hit, DJ Swearinger, Melvin Ingram)
- The Five-Peat (2009-2013) over Clemsux
- Justin King Hype Videos
- This year’s win against Tennessee
It’s the highs and lows that make me a Gamecock and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
I Don’t Give A Damn Clemson Won
Bruhhh… I’m so unbothered by this Clemson win. It’s just another sign of the end of days. 🙂 We’ve been rivals since the 1880s. Every year, we host Tiger Burn and they have a funeral for Cocky. We are enemies and although the cough medicine put me to sleep last night, I was rooting for Bama. I will never ever ever root for Clemson. Last night’s game had nothing to do with state pride. I love the state of South Carolina, even if it does disappoint me a lot, but Clemson is still Clemson. I will always loathe the colors orange and purple. My degree gives me the right to hate Clemson. Just as Clemson alum, inherently hate my beloved Gamecocks. So please for the love of cheese (because who doesn’t love cheese) would the people who did not attend the University of South Carolina (or Clemson for that matter) stop telling Gamecocks that they need to get over it and be happy for Clemson because of state pride. You will never understand how deep this hatred runs.
I refuse to hear from bandwagon fans. If you can’t name 5 Tiger players other than the Watson, keep stepping. If you just hate Bama, your opinion means nothing to me. This is not a way of life for you.
SEC vs. ACC
My love for football was born from an SEC school. However, I went to grad school at Florida State University. Go Noles!! So I get the ACC and root for my Seminoles every weekend. I’m going to have to write another post on this, but as it stands from the BCS era to the new College Football Playoff era (so 1998- present) the SEC has 10 national football championships and the ACC has 4. So last night’s win does not make it clear that the ACC is greater than the SEC. SEC > ACC.
Finally, For Petty’s Sake
For all of the Clemson fans who are being super petty with me. Here’s a little fact for you:
The Gamecocks have won nine national team championships: 2010 & 2011 National Championships in baseball; 2005, 2007, and 2015 National Championships in women’s equestrian; 2005–2007 Hunt Seat National Championships in women’s equestrian; and 2002 NCAA Championship in women’s outdoor track & field.
Clemson, with the new football national championship, has five: men’s golf, 2003, men’s soccer 1984,1987 and football 1981 and the year of Trump 2016. Seems like you still have some catching up to do, Tigers!!
Football fans, tell me how you feel in the comments below!
