One thing you learn as a long suffering Gamecock fan, never get your hopes up. Things may look great, but, usually we will find a way to mess it all up. Well not this time. The University of South Carolina, only a strike away from elimination several times during the playoffs, managed to do what has only been done twice in the history of the school, they won a National Championship (ok, so the other 2 championships are in Women's Track and Equestrian...I'll wait why you regain your composure....).
For now, however, I will not think about next year. Those of you that are Gamecock fans will recognize the irony in that statement. The battle cry of all Gamecocks has always been, "wait until next year"...this time, fans, we don't have to wait. Some will cry foul and say, "it's only baseball, no one cares about baseball". I beg to differ. To those fellas and those fans it is the only thing. It is BASEBALL! It is a major sport and it is still a national championship. South Carolina fought through the losers bracket, came back many times to prove they had the depth, the heart and the skill to never give up. Another trait of a true Gamecock...we never give up.
I can only hope that the football team will somehow find inspiration in what the baseball team did. I can only hope they will play with the heart and soul and desire that our baseball team did. I can only hope they will make us as proud as these fine baseball players have.
I heard on Friday the city of Columbia is having an old fashioned ticker tape parade down Main Street for our champions. They packed the Colonial Center today to welcome home the team and watch the game. I heard "2001" and the fight song several times today and it had the same affect it always does...chills.
I am a true Gamecock through and through.
Way to go Gamecocks and way to go Gamecock fans for never giving up.
You have to look no further than the title of this blog to know I am a proud Gamecock. It runs deep. I am a huge college football fan and also enjoy basketball and baseball. Hey, I played college softball, albeit briefly, but that's a story for another day.
That being said you can imagine how exciting it was for me to watch the Gamecocks not only play a GREAT game with but follow through and beat the number 1 Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night. What a great game that was! I rarely watch an entire basketball game start to finish, but this one had my attention from the tip off to the final shot.
This game could easily be called the Devan Downey show. What a huge amount of talent in a 5'9" body. Wow. The way he fades back as he shoots a three pointer to avoid the much taller player guarding him. His ability to weave through two and three players to toss up a layup is awe inspiring. I couldn't help but be reminded of Muggsy Bogues who I saw play when he was a Charlotte Hornet. Of course Muggsy is only 5'3", I just saw similarities between his and Downey's sheer determination and will.
I am just a big fan of this guy. He is averaging 22.4 points per game, and is a team leader with so much spirit and encouragement. He was getting the crowd excited and urging them to rush the court after the win. When they did he would hug anyone who came near him telling them, "I told you so" (Note, USC was fined $25K because the fans rushed the court. As they were leaving the arena, many fans were handing Athletic Director, Eric Hyman cash to cover the fine).
Downey said, "It had to be one of my best performances as far as willing my team to victory. I'm not saying I did it myself, but I was encouraging guys and guys fed off my confidence. Somebody told me it was Tim Tebow like, just willing your team to victory."
If only all it took was a little will and encouragement to win games. Then, perhaps, we'd have a winning football team! Ha! But, alas, we long suffering Cock, ah, Gamecock fans will just have to enjoy this while it lasts. I mean, it looks like the NIT is going to be about all we can hope for this year (also known as 65th best-or worse!), even after this win, it is, afterall, only one win in a very long season.
