Traditions
Popular gameday traditions include:
- The playing of the "Dawn" section of Also sprach Zarathustra, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, as the Gamecocks run onto the field at the start of every game, which Sporting News called "the most exciting pregame entry" in college football.
- The playing of the Darude song "Sandstorm" before the opening kickoff and after Gamecock touchdowns, leading the crowd into a frenzy, often even causing the press box to noticeably shake.
- Nationally recognized mascot, Cocky, roaming around the stadium throughout games with his trademark spirit and attitude. Cocky's "Magic Box" entrance at Williams-Brice Stadium is one of the many things that Cocky does to fire up the fans. Cocky won the UCA (Universal Cheerleading Association) Mascot Championship in 1986 and 1994. Cocky was also selected as the Capital One National Mascot of the Year for 2003.
- Fans joining in on many cheers and chants, including the popular "GAME" (shouted by the west side of the stadium) and then "COCKS" (shouted by the east side).
- Fans singing and dancing to "Go Carolina," "USC Fight Song," various renditions of "2001," and many other songs played by The University of South Carolina Marching Band. As one of the most well-known college bands in the country, the 325-member "Mighty Sound of the Southeast" continually performs fun and exciting music featuring exceptional guard, percussion, and dance units.
- The fireworks from the scoreboard and "rooster crow" played over the loudspeakers when the Gamecocks score.
- Tailgating is a favorite pastime for fans attending games at Williams-Brice, and many tailgaters consider pre-games at the stadium as one of the best atmospheres in the nation. The grounds around the stadium, including the State Fairgrounds, provide plenty of real estate for tailgating. Many clubs have also bought private property in the area and erected tailgating shelters. In 1990, a unique form of tailgating called the Cockaboose Railroad arrived in Columbia. Twenty-two immovable cabooses line an unused railroad track behind the south end of the stadium, and each Cockaboose provides private party space and cable television. Four condominium developments recently built around the stadium also cater primarily to Carolina football fans.
- The Band plays "Amazing Grace" at the end of every football game and is the last song to be played in Williams-Brice until the next game.
Read more about this topic: Williams-Brice Stadium
Famous quotes containing the word traditions:
“I think a Person who is thus terrifyed [sic] with the Imagination of Ghosts and Spectres much more reasonable, than one who contrary to the Reports of all Historians sacred and profane, ancient and modern, and to the Traditions of all Nations, thinks the Appearance of Spirits fabulous and groundless.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“But generally speaking philistinism presupposes a certain advanced state of civilization where throughout the ages certain traditions have accumulated in a heap and have started to stink.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“And all the great traditions of the Past
They saw reflected in the coming time.
And thus forever with reverted look
The mystic volume of the world they read,
Spelling it backward, like a Hebrew book,
Till life became a Legend of the Dead.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)