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Time for a re-print of my NEW FIERCEST Rivalry in DI-A.

Yea, it's no longer that game between the last two National Champions. Too much of a "love fest" going on between team's fans when the conference wins a National Championship.

The Game? Puleeze. You guy are just as guilty of a conference "love fest". Plus, people in those states have other things going on besides CFB. Heck, the goal there is just to show who has the best football program..... not who rules the state roost.

Holy War? You sold out when you scheduled the game in September to accomodate a conference switch. Too bad. You guys really could make a case for #1 what with the Mountain Meadow Massacre and the Nauvoo Lodge and all. I mean at least you guys have bloodshed at the basis.

That women's teacher school and that all guys school thanks to Buckman? Sorry, your state is too cosmopolitan and there are too many other interlopers on the college scene there.

Backyard Brawls in the Lone Star State or the Appalachians? Get lost. Heck, you won't even have a game in a year or two. Too bad about the Texas version b/c real hatred could develop there, washing away the goodwill and perspective created by 11/18/99.

To put you in the mood for mean streaks.......

We have now reached the moment of truth in our countdown of the FIERCEST Rivalries in DI-A football!

I did four months of research and solicited input from CFB fans across the country. My initial rankings changed as a result. Now, they change again.

Remember, my criteria is the FIERCENESS of the rivalry, not the tradition of the schools, the length of the series, or (most importantly) the quality of the football programs and the impact on the national title picture. Those are all factors, but to make the Top 5, there has to be
a. emnity.... real emnity- hopefully not just because of the football programs
b. an impact on more than just fans at the game or even alumni. More people will have to choose sides.

In effect, the gridiron is just the field of war where hate and conquest can be played out to the masses impacted by the rivalry. It becomes an extension and expression of feelings that well up within both clans.

Many of you have already been disappointed. I only choose 5 out of the 70+ that I highlighted. More of you will be disappointed. I have tried to be objective in my analysis. None of the rivalries left are in states that I have ever lived in (I have been to all 50 states though.)

***********

We have now reached, shall we say, the short strokes in this series. To me, the top 3 rivalries are easily the most FIERCEST and are in a league by themselves. When I got to the end of my research and analysis, it was clear who the Top 3 were. It was just a matter of order. I could easily justify a #1 pick or any of the final 3.

So with that being said, the FIERCEST Rivalry is.....

Palmetto Fury

If you still need help, it's Clemson and South Carolina. The unofficial name is "The Battle of the Palmetto State", but I like my monaker better.

It is also my personal favorite b/c it is so varied and rich with incidents, culture, politics, and history. This was yet another rivalry that was originally off my list.

Now, I already know many of you are upset with this choice. But when I set out on this mission almost 5 months ago, I set out to find the FIERCEST rivalries. Not those that had-

1. the most fans
2. the best teams or programs
3. the most media exposure and hype

It's a rivalry that most know little about. Let me tell you a little tale.

In one of my jobs, I have the pleasure of training some very accomplished people from across the country. Though most of my work is in California and Texas, I do get people to travel to (supposedly) learn from me from all over America.

Three months ago, I had a woman probably in her mid 50's in one of my classes. She grew up on a tobacco farm in South Carolina, lived her entire life in the state, and got a PhD from South Carolina. We'll call her Tammy (not her real name).

Me: "Tammy, do you follow college football at all?"

Tammy: (with that leisurely southern smile looking at me) No

Me: Do you know anything about the Clemson- South Carolina rivalry?

Tammy: (all of a sudden with a serious look out in space) Whayull, ya eether wun o dee uthah.

Over the next three days, I got some more insights from her on this rivalry. I had to pull them out of her, and that is why nobody has really heard of it outside of the state. They really don't care if other people know about or care about what others think about it.

It is the best rivalry in terms of just pure, unadulterated, hatred between the two schools- splitting an entire state.

I did some informal investigation on a major website and looked at about 25 fans of each of the major rivalries I featured.

About 80% of those who said they were Clemson or Carolina fans ranked the other school as the most hated (if they had such a school). No other rivalry had more than a 70% hate ratio.

South Carolina is a state that time has forgotten in many ways- relative unspoiled by outside influence. The roots of this rivalry, as a result, lay deeply intact.

A little more about the culture of this state. South Carolina was the FIRST state to secede from the Union in 1861. It was the LAST state to be re-admitted to the UNION in 1868. The Civil War started there. Andersonville prison camp was located there, which was by most remaining accounts a HELLHOLE for Union prisoners.

Fort Wagner, which was the final military target in the great movie  Glory in 1989, was still in Confederate hands at the end of the war- despite several assaults and sieges against it.

Now, I'm not here to praise or condemn what went on the in the state during this time. I bring this up to effectively demonstrate that inhabitants of the Palmetto State do things their way, they "completely sell out" to the cause they believe in, and they really don't care what others think about it.

So it is with this rivalry, which I have called Palmetto Fury. One of the things I don't like about this rivalry is that they play for the Hardee's Trophy. Yes, the Hardee's Hamburger place (Carl's Jr. out west).

This is a pretty chintzy trinket for such a rivalry. Some have suggested a more noble trophy. I particularly like one person's suggestion of a silver cast of Palmetto Trees with either peaches, oranges, or footballs around them.

However, a more suitable trophy would be one that has a beaten fist, with a "middle finger salute" with the slogan below saying, "to the Loser, **** you for a year!"

Enough preliminaries. How did we get there?

Well, you know a bit about the culture of the state. See how this plays out.

The University of South Carolina actually was formed in 1802 by legislative act and called South Carolina College, which was its name until 1865. Up until that time, there had been many attempts to shut the college down or change it for various reasons. One time, ALL of the students enlisted in the Confederate Army.

Probably the most notable shutdown attempt occurred in 1869 when two blacks were named to the Board of Trustees of the School (think about that one a minute). The University became the only southern state school to admit blacks during Reconstruction- at one point, they comprised 90% of the student body.

The school was temporarily shut down after that when the opposing party won the state elections.

Needless to say, USC's sheer existence was under attack!

How did Clemson come into being you ask? Interesting question b/c it is an important piece to this puzzle.

Before Florida-Florida St, ............ there was Clemson-South Carolina

In the 1880's, there was a sizable opinion that South Carolina College was exclusively for the eastern part of the state and the lowlands, and did nothing for the agriculturally based north and west.

Thomas Greene Clemson, was a farmer in the western part of the state, and he wanted the state to do more for the education of the farmers. He intended to will his entire sizable farm to the state for this purpose.

However, the legislature reformed then South Carolina College (again named) so that they would be an agricultural school also. After all, they didn't want any competition in the state! That was 1886. In 1888, Clemson died and left the farm to the state.

Enter Benjamin Tillman, a gubernatorial candidate from the agricultural part of the state.

A significant part of his campaign was this-

South Carolina College should be SHUT DOWN. It is too elitist, doing nothing for the farmers. It is only for the "snobs" in the more urban areas.

We have land that can be used for an agricultural college donated by Thomas Clemson. Let's take away all of the funding for SCC and build this college instead.

Whoa!

We ain't talking separating sexes here. We're talking outright extinction of the other college.

Tillman was elected governor. Clemson Agricultural College was created in the legislature BY ONE VOTE. Next up was the elimination of South Carolina College. First step. Take away the state funding for it and give it to Clemson!!!! That also passed. But at this point the urban areas of the state (Columbia and Charleston) rose up.

A compromise was reached, by the slimmest of margins. South Carolina College would be the liberal arts college and Clemson would be the agricultural college.

In short, this rivalry was literally created by the legislature. Where each school's original mission had been to eliminate the existence of the other school!!

Before there was Texas- Oklahoma....... there was South Carolina- Clemson ...... and....... BIG THURSDAY

The Red River Shootout is one of the most unique games in the land (I highlighted it in an earlier blog, sort of). The two teams meet on a neutral site to kickoff the Texas State Fair. That started in 1929.

Well, CAC and SCC started doing this in 1896.

Clemson was officially established in 1893. Its first year of football was 1896. It was suggested that a great way to prelude the State Fair parade on Friday would be to have a game between the two squads on Thursday. So, it happened and Big Thursday was born.

This was perhaps the biggest event in the State as the rivalry developed even fiercer- and it did quickly. I wouldn't say that business shut down, and it wasn't a state holiday, but it was close to that level.

Now, I said the rivalry even got fiercer quickly. "How?" you may ask.

(I lost my bookmark on this one so it's from memory, but it's from the book The First Hundred Years, A History of South Carolina Football.)

In a game played around the turn of the century, Clemson won its (perhaps?) first time in the series. As a result, the Clemson fans, having taken abuse for the first few games, vowed they would ransack and destroy statues at South Carolina College the next day as a celebration of the win.

Well, many SCC students were there waiting for them the next morning..... ARMED WITH GUNS..... surrounding the statues. I believe the Clemson fans did not back down; and fortunately, law enforcement or troops showed up shortly thereafter to defuse the thing.

It escalated even more in 1902, when John Heisman was coaching an (obviously excellent) Clemson squad. It was a hard fought game, but Carolina won 12-6, handing Clemson its only loss of the season.

During that game, some Carolina students had painted a poster of a "Fighting Gamecock" (their official name at that time, and yes, it comes from cockfighting, which is an important part of the state's history) trouncing a Tiger by the tail.

They paraded it around during the game, inciting the Clemson fans.

Now the official State Fair parade was the morning of the next day. The Clemson fans said "you'd better not bring that poster to the parade."

Of course the Gamecock faithful brought it to the parade.

A full scale riot broke out, with brass knucks (and clubs?) being used. There were many injuries. The (equivalent of the) National Guard came in to break things up.

That suspended the rivalry until 1909- six years. The poster was burned as a sign of peace (hah!) The two teams have met every year since. It is the 3rd longest rivalry in the South (behind Auburn-Georgia and North Carolina-Virginia) and the LONGEST consecutive rivalry in the South.

Before there was Alabama-Auburn....... there was Clemson-South Carolina

Many of you are familiar with the issues of the Iron Bowl being played on a supposedly neutral site, and Auburn's quest to get the game "home and home".

Well, Big Thursday was played where the State Fair is, which happens to be........ Columbia! The game was played at South Carolina's field each year!

After a few years, this wore pretty thin on the Tiger fans. I mean this isn't even supposed to be a neutral site- unlike Legion Field. Gamecock fans were resistant to "destroying such a great tradition" associated with the State Fair. While the crowds were bi-partisan, I think we can understand Tiger fan frustrations.

After some threat of legislative action(?), the Big Thursday tradition was dropped after the 1959 game and game was shifted to a home and home series (at the end of the season since 1962). Clemson won the inaugural game at Death Valley in 1960 12-2.

More than politics and culture, it's also the hardcore fans.

Neither of these two programs could possibly be considered elite over their long history.

Clemson has had some periods of success though on the gridiron- most notably their National Championship of 1981. Expectations run pretty high there in terms of thinking conference championship year in and year out.

South Carolina? Let's face it, the program has been mediocre at best over 100+ years. They even have worse winning percentage in their history than such powerhouses such as Duke, Baylor, Illinois, and Stanford. They have the second worst career winning percentage among SEC schools.

In short, both programs have had long periods of adversity. Yet, the sizable fan bases remain intact.

The entire state of South Carolina has a population about the size of the Washington DC metropolitan area. It's a little bit bigger than Detroit's SMSA. So, how big are the stadiums of these two schools?

They are EACH bigger than the largest NFL stadium (Meadowlands) and are each in the Top 20 in the country in terms of size. Each one seats about 85K and the stadiums are pretty full for the games. Both stadiums have great atmosphere (again, I have been to neither one to be fair).

Clemson plays in Memorial Stadium. It's called Death Valley (also known as "The Rock" see later) b/c another football coach said whenever his teams would play there, they would get killed. Now, the stadium is also in swale and is overlooked by a cemetary so the name is especially appropriate.

I have a friend of mine who used to work on TV road crows for football games in the 1970's and 1980's. Most of his games were in the Southeast.

He said there were only two places where he felt intimidated by the environment. Ie, "you just wanted to leave immediately even if the home team won, much less lost". The two stadiums?

The Tiger Pit or Red Stick in Baton Rouge, and Death Valley in Clemson. He said that the Clemson stadium was out "in the middle of nowhere, sort of like Deliverance" (probably not true now) further adding to its mystique.

South Carolina plays where it has always played, next to the State Fair Grounds, now called Williams-Brice Stadium (unofficially called the Cockpit). There were railroad tracks that run next to the stadium.

Well, some of the alumni refurbished 22 railcars and parked them at the stadium on the tracks so that they could tailgate in style. Hence, the Cockabooses were born. I've seen pics of these things and they are pretty swanky- just for tailgating for goodness sake!

Both sides have great team entrances also, further jacking up the fans.

Clemson players leave the field, after their warmups, then after their locker room talk board buses to go around the block to the other end of Death Valley.

They don't come out of tunnel.

They come to the stop of the stadium at one of the endzones where an orange carpet is laid out from the top of the stadium to the football field as the stadium clan starts chanting their war cries.

As the players charge down the hill, they touch "The Rock", a stone given to Clemson Coach Frank Howard (aka Howard's Rock) in the 1960's out of the Mojave Desert (another tie-in to Death Valley).

Love it or hate it, it certainly is the most unique entrance in College Football.

To see the experience, click

Brent Musberger calls it, "The most exciting 25 seconds in college football."

The Gamecocks have a great entrance also. The band lines up outside the tunnel where the team takes the field and starts jumping up and down or swaying to and fro.  In the meantime, Cocky (the mascot, a person, not a rooster) is uncaged at midfield. The team takes the field to the theme of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

To see it, click

Tim Brando said, "You won't find any more loyal fans in the country than those who follow the South Carolina Gamecocks."

Ever had a full length motion picture made about your rivalry?

........that was also released in theatres?

This rivalry has. It's called Bragging Rites.

My understanding is that is a fairly even handed write up on this rivalry.

Why it might not be ranked #1........

1. The people of South Carolina couldn't care if the rivalry is ranked #1 or #50. They don't care about such silly beauty contests. The focus should be on hate! Not on gloating to others about your hate!

2. While this is 7/24/365 with the football fans of the state, it most likely isn't with the non-football fans of the state. The rivalry is more than just football, so it's just beat the other school in anything. Football may be a religious experience in the South, but in South Carolina, it's not the only religious experience for entertainment.

3. The interest of the non-football fans is somewhat dependent on how good the programs are.

4. People are trying to "make nice" lately for political correctness purposes. Examples:

a. After the 2004 game and brawl, the two teams agree to shake hands before the beginning of the 2005 game.

b. Both Bowden and Spurrier have appeared jointly to have the statue of the Confederate Soldier moved completely out of the State Capitol.

(Now, I'm not saying it is or isn't a good idea. I will say it shows the importance of the issue if both coaches are willing to do this. I personally think it would help recruiting if it was completely removed, perhaps this is why they did this?!

However, such comraderie does lessen the hatred between the two schools.)

Why it is ranked #1........

1. The people of South Carolina couldn't care if the rivalry is ranked #1 or #50. They don't care about such silly beauty contests. The focus should be on hate! Not on gloating to others about your hate!

2. The sponsored on-field antics of the rivalry are nonpareil. (See more about this later.... gameS which best typify the rivalry)

3. The sheer existence of the other University is a constant reminder that that University was supposed to KILL OFF their University's existence!

4. The state politics in the rivalry are second to none.

5. The two schools are in different conferences. They can root against the other school the entire year. A loss by Clemson does not hurt the SEC, but could help it, and visa versa with South Carolina and the ACC.

Most of the other rivalries, some fans will actually root for their rival for the sake of conference pride. While there are a few who root for the rival out of respect of the state, most don't care. "It's our school or no school!" Remember?!

6. This is easily the biggest rival of each school. Even though they are in different conferences, nothing else comes close.

7. There are no major league professional teams in the state. No unifying force between the clans on this front.

Someone once said something to the following effect:

When dad roots for college X and son roots for college Y and they watch the game together, the loser is so upset he leaves the house and goes on a drinking binge. That is not a fierce rivalry.

A fierce rivalry is when the wife or wives leave in the middle of the game and ask for a divorce because they can't stand how the father and the son constantly treat each other.

We are there with this rivalry. Blood is not thicker than school loyalties in many families. See why?!

GAMES WHICH BEST TYPIFIES THE RIVALRY.... There are soooooo many. I'm going to mention three.

The onfield, sponsored antics of fans, players, etc has got to be the most disrespectful on any college rivalry. Hafltime shows, p.a. announcements, etc. it seems are MEANT to bait and antagonize the other side!

i. I won't take the 2004 game. It was the Swan Song for Lou Holtz and it ended up merely as on field brawl among the players. Hey, when some South Carolina players are at the bottom of Clemson Hill taunting the Clemson players when they come out in "the most exciting 25 seconds of football", what do you expect?! Clemson won 29-7.

Both Presidents put the schools on bowl probation. I knew several players apologized, but to be frank, it seemed somewhat scripted more like "OK, if you're going to punish me, I won't do this, but it doesn't change my feelings toward the other ******** team."

The video doesn't do it justice. But here it is click

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2657365

(I personally thought it was much more combative than the FIU- Miami brawl in 2006.)

ii. I won't take the 1961 game. What happened here? Well, the Sigma Nu fraternity at South Carolina had quite a little trick up their sleeve. In the pre-game warmups before Clemson took the field, they ran out onto the field IN "CLEMSON" UNIFORMS.

The Clemson band struck up "Tiger Rag" to their cheering fans. Then, another member of the frat came out in the field with a pillow stuffed under his shirt, imitating legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard.

At that point, the "Clem-Sin" players started fumbling snaps, pulling hamstrings, botching their drills.

That of course led to........

Clemson fans storming the field where a minor riot occurred between the "football" players and the fans.

What's of greater interest is that the frat brothers included a future Lt. Governor of South Carolina, and a future South Carolina Supreme Court judge!

Here is the twist though........ the South Carolina Head Coach Marvin Bass knew of the prank beforehand and approved it!

Instead, I MUST TAKE the 1946 game. What happened here you ask? Hah!

What do you think would happen, if during the halftime show of this year's OSU-Michigan game in Ann Arbor, an OSU fan executed a wolverine at midfield?

It was the first year after the war and people were really amped for the game, no war clouds over anybody's head.

Well, needless to say, the game was a sellout. As a matter of fact, it was MORE than a sellout. Counterfeit tickets had been sold, thousands of them!

When this was discovered right before the game, the stadium was filled, and nobody else was admitted- even if you had a legit ducat. That nearly caused a riot, so the "extras" were allowed to stand on the sideline during the game. What was already tense got tenser when....

as part of the halftime festivities, a Clemson fan strangled a live chicken to death at midfield as part of the show!

Now, we're talking serious stuff. It's one thing when a couple of hundred of people want to start a fight, but if there are 10's of thousands Carolina or Clemson fans involved, we would have had a meltdown.

Well, Strom Thurmond and U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes were at the game. They settled down the crowd, and the game continued.

Speaking of the World War II, did you know happened to Cary Cox?

Cary Cox was on the 1942 Clemson football which beat South Carolina. He then enrolled in Navy's V-12 program (a supplemental Navy program which included the likes of Johnny Carson, Warren Christopher, and George Allen) for the war.

He was placed at South Carolina for the training.

In 1943, he was told by the Navy people at South Carolina, that he would not be commisioned unless he CAPTAINED the South Carolina football team against Clemson.

He reluctantly did. South Carolina won.

When he returned from the war, he went back to Clemson. Captained that team against South Carolina in 1947.

BEST GAMES.....

On top of having a more successful overall football program, Clemson has easily had the upper hand in the series, leading 63-37-4. Still though, roughly 40% of the games have been decided by a touchdown or less. This is a game where it really is played on emotion.

If you're a Gamecock Fan......... Some like the 1987 game where #12 Carolina upset #8 Clemson 20-7 in the highest combined ranking of the two teams.

Others may like the 1941 upset or the 1979 hard fought 13-9 win. Shoot, some may like the game in 2006 when Carolina snapped a four game Clemson winning streak in the game. The Gamecocks held off the Tigers in Death Valley.

Regarding the 2006 game, a South Carolina fan shot his (supposed) friend for a $20 bet after that game that the Clemson fan refused to pay off on. The Gamecock went to his pickup truck, brought out his deer hunting rifle and killed the guy a-la Deer Hunter with "one shot". I couldn't find the link, but I remember one news story saying the SC fan had said something like "I was sorry to do it, but he lost the bet."

Me, I like the 1984 game, a thrilling come from behind win in Death Valley 22-21. The Gamecocks scored with 49 seconds left to tie the game and then a second chance on the extra point to win 22-21. It was Carolina's first ten win season ever and secured a bid in the Gator Bowl for them. Mike Hold took the team 84 yds in 8 plays.

If you're a Tiger Fan..... We can talk about the 29-13 win in the 1981 National Championship year or the various pastings Clemson has put on the Gamecocks in 1900 (51-0) or 2003 (63-17). The 1948 game was also satisfying as a blocked punt returned for a touchdown late the 4th quarter gave Clemson the win in an eventual undefeated season (13-7).

I happened to like the 1977 game though in Columbia, where the Tigers put the dagger in the Gamecock faithful just like the Gamecocks did in 1984.

Jerry Butler made a backward leaping grab with 49 seconds left of a Steve Fuller 20 yd pass to give the Tigers a dramatic come from behind 31-27 win. It allowed the Tigers to make their first bowl appearance in 18 yrs.

This was also the first year the game was carried on network TV.

Now that Spur Dog is on the scene, this rivalry may actually start to mean something on the National scene, especially if Clemson starts living up to its potential.

Heaven help us all if these two teams actually met in that game with them both undefeated. They would have to declare Martial Law in South Carolina. Seriously.

(University websites, alumni websites, and Wikipedia contributed to this blog)