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Every school has a That Guy. This is NC State's That Guy. Don't be That Guy.

Out with the Lou, in with the new

I'm a bit of a packrat. Have a hard time tossing things that are past their time. Take this shirt for example...


I get attached to things like this. It's just a shirt. But I feel like I owe it something...some sort of loyalty. Because we've been through so much together. First the unbridled optimism...then the celebration of accomplishment...and later...well, you know what happened later.

So it occurred to me last night...why do I still have this thing? As a shirt, it's useless. A hole here, paint stains there, fraying at the edges. As a piece of nostalgia, it's more soul-crushing than heart-warming. I should have dumped it years ago. Or maybe even burned it...not violently or anything. You know, for catharsis.

But I didn't. The damn thing is still in my closet. And as I see it sitting there, I reach an epiphany. This is more than a shirt. This is a manifestation of Carolina fandom. More painful than joyful...less a keepsake than an albatross.

But still I cling...we cling. To Lou, to the Outback Bowls, to recruiting classes. All the while, this holey, unholy shirt takes up space in my wardobe. A space that could belong to a new shirt...should belong to a new shirt. A new symbol of support. A new way of thinking. A new vision. A new coat of paint. A new seating plan. A new speaker system. A new North Endzone. A new...more healthy relationship with the University of South Carolina.


Fuck that shirt. Time for a new one.

Around the Horn

"No, Mr. Morris, I won't pull your finger."

So we got a new coach...and his name is Darren Horn. Not the biggest "name" out there, but it's hard to argue that he doesn't fit exactly what we were all looking for. His resume is impressive:

• 2 NCAA Tourney wins in his fledgling head-coaching career. Need I remind you that's about two more wins than the USC program has had in about the last 30 years?
• He recruited Dwayne Wade to play at Marquette. And if you watched his press conference, you could tell that recruiting was job #1 for Horn. Of all the knocks on The Warchest, this was probably his most glaring deficiency. So an aggressive, energetic, relentless recruiter will be a nice change of pace here at USC.
• His program at WKU had a 100% graduation rate. With the APR cloud hovering over our program, this new emphasis on academics should help clean things up.

But as great as all that looks, that's not what people are talking about. No, thanks to Bart Wright, we have to hear about Clemson, Clemson, Clemson. Sure, we all love to have fun with the Tigers, but they shouldn't be part of the conversation right now, when we have all these positive new things to talk about.

But Wright threw a wrench into the festivities by bringing up our "rival" and baiting Horn into a response. And being the fiery guy he is, Horn shot back with a witty little quip.

"Should I even say it out loud? I think they wear orange. To mention their name would justify their existence, wouldn't it? We don't want to go there. I mentioned we're the University of South Carolina, coast-to-coast, border-to-border."

Chuckle-worthy? Yes. Incendiary? Hardly. But the press took his quote and ran with it as if Horn had shot Archduke Ferdinand, invaded Poland, and invented WMDs all at once.

So welcome to South Carolina, Coach Horn and family. If you can ignore the jackals in the media and the self-loathing curmudgeons within our own fanbase, you should do just fine.

The Truth About Kenneth Page

There are a lot of rumors going around about that infamous Kenneth Page MySpace picture. You know, the one where he's holding about $10,000 cash. Or it looks like he's holding $10,000 cash.

The Fake

Well, in this day and age of PhotoShop, you can't trust everything you see. And now the truth has come out...

The Original

Shame on YOU, internet, for besmirching the reputation of a fine young man. And an animal lover, at that.

Odom's Last Stand?

Is this it? Is today's first round SEC Tourney matchup versus LSU going to go down as Dave Odom's final game at Carolina? Or will he engineer another late-season tourney run?

Honestly, anything happen. It was only two years ago that the Gamecocks marched into the finals against a Florida team (soon to be the National Champs) that USC had already beaten twice. Dave also has two late-season surges which led us all the way to the NIT Championship. He also has had more than his share of tank-jobs.

So as we approach The Warchest's potential USC finale, we can only look at this final game with the focus gained from seven years of disappointment, surprise, and malaise. In other words, no focus at all. I wouldn't be shocked if we made a run...but I certainly expect to pack it up and head home this afternoon.

George Washington was a bad mutha...

This has nothing to do with college football. But on this fine President's Day, I thought we'd honor our very first President with a special video history lesson. It is entirely accurate, if perhaps a bit NSFW. Make that definitely NSFW.

We now return to this blog already in progress

"I've abandoned my blog!"

The Writers' Strike is over! I can finally return to writing this blog!

OK, that's a load of crap. I haven't been striking. I haven't had "more important" things to do. I haven't even been busy doing anything in particular. I just...stopped.

Looking back, I think I was just bummed out. No question about it, last football season was a drag. Started out great...ended in a whimper. It sucked. It was painful. I really didn't feel like dwelling on it. And the next two months weren't really much better.

Here's the short, short version:

• No bowl.

• Basketball sucks again.

• Nix out.

• VanGorder in.

• LSU proves SEC dominance...again.

• Odom (soon-to-be) out.

• Basketball maybe not-so-bad.

• VanGorder out.

• Johnson in.

• Basketball settles in at "mediocre."

• Spurrier signs his second-best class...still not enough for some folks

But this is a new year. A fresh start. We just signed a new class. We're going to get a new basketball coach. Our one true national powerhouse team is about to begin its season. There Will Be Blood made me believe that new classics can still be made. Lost is back and better than ever.

So look for more regular updates from here on out. Some basketball here. A movie review there. Always some room for a YouTube. Maybe a little election stuff. Baseball updates. But always back to football. This is first-and-foremost a Gamecock football blog. And Gamecock football, if you stop your abusive ways, I promise never to leave you again.