Go Gamecocks! Beat Auburn!

I can not claim to be a lifelong Gamecock Fan.  I grew up in a Clemson home.  But, for the past 20 years, I have been a Gamecock.  I have sat in the student section and in the Gamecock Club section.  I sat through some sorry football.  The Brad Scott years come to mind.  Then, Lou Holtz's first year, 0-11, which featured a game against Vandy when South Carolina snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory.   I endeared the wrath from family and friends who wear the orange. 

Through all that I stayed true to the Gamecocks.  The losses that should have never happened.  The big wins out of nowhere that gave us hope.  This year, though not the Black Magic Year of 1984, is perhaps the most special year for a Gamecock like me.  We beat Georgia down, beat Alabama, whipped Florida and Tennessee and handed Clemson their hats.  

Now, the biggest game in our Gamecock lives is before us.  That old guy with the visor did what he said he would do: get the Gamecocks in a position to win a championship.  ESPN and other sports outlets have posted story after story.  It is hard to top what they have put out there.  

But, as Gamecock, I say to the Gamecocks, go win this.  Win it for all those fans who sat through the tough years and stayed loyal.  Win it for those players who played through the tough years.  Win it for the state of South Carolina.  Go out there in the Georgia Dome and play with pride and gumption and go get the job done.  

Go Gamecocks!  Beat Auburn.  Even some Clemson fans are pulling for you today.  You are South Carolina today, Gamecocks. Make us proud.  Beat Auburn!