Have you been Erocked today?
Saturday I enjoyed watching my Gamecocks win their third straight win over in state rival Clemson. Really proud of our guys going 10-2 this year and overcoming the loss of Stephen Garcia and multiple key injuries like Marcus Lattimore and Nunn. Not bad for a group of guys that many said would collapse after those big losses.
Go Gamecocks!
Mallory at the Vandy Game enjoying a little Sandstorm!
In 1997 I enrolledat USC and became a Gamecock…in 2005 my brother Michael enrolled at UGA. And that fall the family Border Bash started. The first two games we sat together and watched the Dawgs win. On 2006 my brother sat with all of us in the student section at USC (even though all my friends and I had graduated 4 years earlier)! He acted a fool and cheered on his school. But the next week he came back to Columbia and was dressed in USC gear! He and I just shared that bond. In 2007 we met him, his room mate Walt and my sister and her boyfriend Josh (now husband). We had a great time hanging out tailgating that day. Little did we know that would be the last one as USC won that game.
Three months later my brother passed away from meningitis. And since then this game is the toughest game to attend. It brings back memories of going to this rivalry together as well as countless Florida games with my dad growing up as well as games he cane to at USc throughout the years.
Today I’m headed back to Athens with my Dad to the game. This is the first time in my life that my dad and I are headed to a Carolina game together that doesn’t involve his Florida Gators. He’s wearing a USC shirt my mom bought for him and one of my brothers UGA hats. I’m really looking forward to watching the game with him. Just wish we would have the chance for us and Michael to have attended a Carolina Georgia game together. My dad brought us up going to Florida games and is one of the reasons we both loved college football. So it will be a great time in Athens remembering my brother and enjoying a Saturday in the South watching SEC football with my dad.
Go Gamecocks!
Fourteen years ago on September 6th I entered Williams Brice Stadium for the first time. But unlike most of the incoming freshman I walked through the gates and onto the field. It was a night I will never forget. In High school we would march in a couple thousand people, but on that night I marched in front of a sellout crowd of 82,000+ people. That night I made my debut on the drumline (aka The Wad Squad) and played Timpani in the Pit. No one could have prepared me for the energy of the Gamecock Nation.
Earlier that day, I got a sneak preview of the excitement that would unfold at the game. As we got in place for morning rehearsal, someone got on the microphone and said, “Do you know what day it is?????” And behind me the entire band yelled, “ITS GAMEDAY!!!!!WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! And to this day every Saturday in the fall when the Gamecocks play I call several fellow USC alums and ask “Do you know what day it is?????”
But there I was in a stadium I’ve only seen on TV, not knowing any of the cheers, barely knew the where to yell during the fight song, and was performing infront of 82,000+ rabid Gamecock Fans….We had gone over pre-game show for several weeks before that. Everyone in the band told me that I would never experience anything like the intro of 2001 for the football team. And they were right. As you can see from an ESPN broadcast, Williams Brice Stadium explodes during 2001.
There is a copy of a recording from 1997-98 of me playing Timpani for the recording of 2001 which was used for the Gamecocks Entrance (my claim to fame!)
Here is the story behind 2001
I know a lot of my Twitter followers will want to mute me for the next three and a half months the weekend as College Football 2011 Season begins! I’m passionate about my South Carolina Gamecocks! But most don’t know that I was a die hard Florida Gator fan until I came to USC in the Fall of 1997. My dad graduated from UF and so I was raise a Gator. For the first two years I was still loyal to my Gators, but soon enough my blood went from Orange and Blue to Garnet and Black! To this day I still am a big Gator fan, but I have more Garnet running through my blood than Orange.
Last November, my Dad and I went to the Swamp for our annual “House Divided” rivalry game where we saw USC take down UF for the SEC East championship. As we are one week away from opening kickoff, the buzz around this year’s Gamecock Football team is the highest I’ve ever seen in my 15 seasons as a Gamecock. We have a great shot in repeating as SEC East Champs and maybe even more. But seeing high expectations here in the past makes me want to not buy in all the way. Even though every year during this time I believe that it is finally the year that we win it all. Part of comes from me playing EA sports NCAA Football and taking the National Championship every August with an undefeated season and hoping that they can do the same in real life. But for once I really do believe we might have all the pieces in place to make a good run at a BCS Bowl and maybe even the SEC Championship, and dare I say more. Who knows? But that’s the great thing about College Football, you never know how the season might end. You never know when an upset will happen. You never know when a team comes from nowhere and wins it all…Maybe next year is this year?
GO GAMECOCKS!
Blog Blast from the Past:: Water Water Everywhere http://t.co/BNpxwjA7 
