SHAME!

COCKS!

If you were one of the unfortunate souls who watched the Carolina-Clemson (non) rivalry game this past weekend, you know that the bad guys won...again (and yes, they are the bad guys and they know it. Ask any Clemson fan. They know that we are good and they are evil. They eat that shit up.). This year was a little different though in that the Gamecocks...never really took the field. And no, I'm not in denial.

Saturday's game was an absolutely piss poor showing by Steve Spurrier and the Cocks. Only a handful of Gamecocks played like they gave two shits about the outcome of the game. The only reason Spurrier appeared frustrated was because he couldn't give the quarterback carousel a spin due to Stephen Garcia's illness (flu...not stupidity) and Tommy Beecher's ineptness (no joke necessary...Beecher's spot on the team is humorous enough). Not that Chris Smelley isn't inept as well. Clemson should have given Smelley the game ball. His four (4!) interceptions led to 21 points for the Tigers.

David Cloninger of Rivals.com's Gamecock Central wrote an excellent piece on Saturday's debacle entitled Re-Start the Rivalry. Cloninger makes some excellent points about the nature of the beast that is Gamecock football. Here are some of my favorite quotes from his blog:

• What struck me most about Saturday’s 31-14 USC loss at Clemson was the aftermath. Not one player I saw leaving the field had tears in his eyes or was down on the ground frustratedly ripping up turf. A few were smiling and shaking hands, handing out gloves and wristbands to all the kids – some of the recipients wearing Clemson clothing.
• “They’re a better team,” Spurrier said. “Better coach, better team.”
  That one really stuck.
  Simply, no. I refuse to believe an interim-soon-to-be-permanent head coach with six games of experience is better than a national championship winner.
• It’s fine if the Gamecocks want to concentrate on winning the SEC first and foremost. I said last week that beating Clemson every year and losing all the rest of the games would not be a good approach – some fans would be pleased, sure, but the coach would probably be checking the want ads. But if the SEC championship is a wish and not a realistic goal, as it is this year and most every other year USC has been in the league, then the goal must turn to beating Clemson.
• Here’s a suggestion. Make four giant signs, two with the phrase “31-14” and two with the phrase “65-37-4.” Hang them at each end of the Bluff Road practice fields and at each end of Williams-Brice Stadium. They can come down when the Gamecocks prove they are worthy of having them taken down. If not, then the first sign gets updated with the score of the latest Clemson win and the first part of the second becomes “66.”

Well said, sir. This is essential reading if you're a Gamecock fan. Let's not forget the 2008 Clemson game. The Head Ball Coach better not forget it either. That's not a threat (You don't fire Steve Spurrier...he fires you), it just means that we are as frustrated with him as he is with us.

The '08 Gamecocks have one last chance in this year's Outback Bowl. Redemption is at hand.

Go. Fucking. Cocks.