An ode to the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry (2024)

CLEMSON AND COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dear Clemson-South Carolina rivalry,

After 111 consecutive years of watching your teams go at it — with fans soaking in the hatred and joy, cursing or cherishing the most recent result for a full year — we will not see you in 2020.

The ACC on Wednesday did what it could to keep the rivalry going with its COVID-19 plan, when the league approved an 11-game schedule with room for one nonconference opponent for each school. Clemson had every intention of using its game on the Gameco*cks. But the SEC on Thursday chose to adopt a 10-game conference-only schedule. And though South Carolina president Bob Caslen tried to save the rivalry, as The Athletic reported, casting the lone dissenting vote against the model as proposed, he was overruled by 13 other presidents.

“I took the position that we should continue to play our in-state rival,” he said in a statement. “But I support the ultimate decision.”

"I think that speaks volumes" about the importance of the Carolina-Clemson rivalry to the school and the state, Allen said.

— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) July 30, 2020

Often called the Palmetto Bowl, you started play in 1896, with Clemson in its first season of football and South Carolina in its fourth. The Tigers took a train to an old fairgrounds site on Elmwood Avenue in Columbia. You then became the second-longest uninterrupted series in the country, behind only Wisconsin and Minnesota — playing every year since 1909.

You intend to be back in 2021. And to be clear, safety in a pandemic supersedes a football game. But in this state with no professional sports, this rivalry is part of the way of life. In South Carolina, you are born a Gameco*ck or a Tiger. A state representative once even tried to make the annual playing of this game a law.

To help hold us over, we will rely on memories.

We asked Tim Bourret, the former longtime Clemson sports information director who spent 40 seasons at the school, for guidance on some of the most unforgettable occasions in the rivalry.

Let’s go back to 1946, when it was discovered that counterfeit tickets had been printed to the showdown in what is now known as Williams-Brice Stadium, leading to what was said to be twice as many people as usual trying to get into the game. Fans from both sides stormed the gate and spilled onto the field. As one report recounts, “To add to the wild scene, a Clemson fan strangled a live chicken at midfield during halftime.” Legend has it that as Clemson coach Frank Howard tried to call a play, a Clemson fan, on the sidelines with a slew of others, was close enough to give the head coach input. Howard, according to the report, was surrounded by so many fans that he could not see the field, and that it took James F. Byrnes, the U.S. Secretary of State, to get things under control. South Carolina won 26-14.

Then there was the 1961 meeting. The Tigers were again in Columbia when a group of members from South Carolina’s Sigma Nu fraternity devised “The Prank” and dressed up in high school uniforms to pose as Clemson players. They bluffed their way onto the field for pregame warmups, leading many to believe they were legit. The warmups started out normal enough with stretching, but then the fraternity brothers pretended to milk cows and fall over while running basic drills, mocking Clemson. Before long, pushing and shoving between the fan bases ensued. The Gameco*cks won 21-14.

In 1976, Clemson pulled off a memorable shenanigan and confused fans at Memorial Stadium by not showing up for pregame warmups. While the Gameco*cks took care of their business on their side of Clemson’s field, the Tigers were actually preparing on an adjacent soccer field. They wouldn’t be seen until it was time to run down the hill at Howard’s Rock, per tradition. They then won 28-9.

Later, there was the brawl of 2004, when the fight was so bad that both schools decided to self-impose a bowl ban.

But it’s not all antics with you, Clemson and South Carolina. Your rivalry has produced some of the top players in football.

From Gameco*cks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, you send stars to the NFL regularly. Former South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is a Hall of Famer, and current Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will likely earn the same honor. The two went at it on the field, but off it, Spurrier and his wife, Jerri, asked Swinney and his wife, Kathleen, to join them as guests in 2017 for Spurrier’s induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

That’s the thing about rivalries. South Carolina and Clemson can loathe one another while also having a deep, mutual respect. They can argue about whether Rod Gardner made a great catch or pushed off in 2001. But they can also agree that when current Gameco*cks quarterback Jay Urich mailed his “Matter is the Minimum” sign to current Clemson running back Darien Rencher for a peaceful demonstration, it transcended football. The sign, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, went viral in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Gameco*cks QB Jay Urich shipped Clemson RB Darien Rencher his sign that went viral to use for today’s protest. The two are close friends. “He’ll be in my wedding.” https://t.co/JTv5zbCDox pic.twitter.com/HINVEXvopc

— Matt Connolly (@MattatTheState) June 13, 2020

Gameco*cks fans don’t have to like Watson, who swore to Swinney he would never lose to South Carolina and even beat it on a torn ACL in 2014. But he’s earned respect.

Clemson fans don’t have to like memories of 2012, when Spurrier announced right before the game that QB Connor Shaw couldn’t play due to a foot strain. But they should respect Dylan Thompson, the backup, who threw three touchdowns in a 27-17 win.

“When we play Clemson, they don’t seem to play very well,” Spurrier famously said afterward.

No, you are not canceled, Clemson-South Carolina. The programs look forward to playing one another and will continue to make it a priority. Chuck Allen, a member of the South Carolina Board of Trustees, told The Athletic that Caslen’s dissenting vote “speaks volumes” about the passion of the rivalry.

Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said in a statement that Clemson was “disappointed,” and that its athletic department “aggressively lobbied the ACC” for its one nonconference game provision “for the primary purpose of maintaining” the rivalry game.

Swinney has not spoken publicly, but South Carolina coach Will Muschamp called the situation “unfortunate.”

“But that wasn’t our choice,” he said in a statement. “It was a league decision. That’s a game that is important to our program, our institution and our state and one that President Caslen and (athletic director) (Ray) Tanner pushed hard to make happen.”

And so, 2021 it is. We hope.

The Gameco*cks will have to wait another year to snap a six-game losing streak, and the Tigers will have to wait another year to try to add another victory against an opponent it has defeated more than any other.

“I look forward to renewing the rivalry in 2021,” said Muschamp, speaking, for once, for Gameco*cks and Tigers alike.

(Photo: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)