A word of caution. The “Crashfreze Cares” articles are written for fun through the persona of an emotionally disturbed, white trash, virtuoso. This is not “crashfreze” speaking here, this is the creator of “crashfreze” writing. There is a distinction.
Why I’m Abandoning The Gamecocks
Insanity - (in-SAN’-i-tee) (noun, singular)
1. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Players, coaches, A.D.’s and presidents all come and go
But what it feels like to be a winner the Gameocks will never know!
Why? Why are we still losing? I think I have an answer, but I’ll get to that. We have changed everything since I have first realized what it is like to be a passionate Gamecock fan. We joined an awesome conference, we upgraded our facilities, we have gotten A-list coaches, we’ve acquired several ranked recruiting classes, we’ve changed Athletic Directors, we’ve changed presidents and we are still losers. I almost laugh thinking back to this pre-season how upset a lot of Gamecock fans were that every national publication was picking us to finish 4th in the East. Oh, how insulted we were! For years Clemson, Florida and Georgia fans have been telling us Gamecock fans we are delusional and we have bitterly disagreed with them. Truth of the matter is, we are. The University South Florida has had a football program for 10 years and yet if we played them right now they would blow us off of the field. That is pathetic to be honest with you. Ten years.
My History as a Gamecock Fan
Because I’m writing something that criticizes the Gamecocks, there are going to be many people who will dismiss it by saying “you were never a true fan then.” You could not be more wrong, I assure you. For as long as I can remember I have loved USC. When I was in Kindergarten my father got a call at his work telling him I was taking every kid’s boxes of crayons from them and breaking the orange ones (I’m not making this up!) When I was in the sixth grade we got blown out 45-0 by Clemson. I remember crying and then I made the decision to deck myself out in USC gear and carry a USC car flag around with me to school the following Monday knowing that I was going to get picked on. I didn’t care. I was so proud when many people said, “wow you must really love Carolina, I would be embarrassed if I were you.” Each Christmas I would get a daily “The Far Side” calendar for the following year and each year I would take out a marker and write in the bottom right corner of each page how many days were left until football season. Each day I would rip off the next page to reveal how many days were left until kickoff. I could not wait. I was the biggest Gamecock fan in my high school class and it was widely known. USC was the only college I ever applied to. The only one! I never wanted to go anywhere else. I was on the bubble grade-wise in high school and USC rejected my initial application. My guidance counselor called USC and asked them to make an exception and assured them she had never had a student who was a bigger Gamecock fan than I was. In 1996-97 I was a manager for the USC basketball team and I actually own an SEC championship ring. I graduated from USC in 2001 with a degree in History. I would wager I have been to more USC Football, basketball and baseball games then 95% of all other USC fans. Please do not make the mistake of thinking I have never been a true fan.
The Only Two Reasons I’m Giving Up.
1. There are way more important things in life than to be this passionate about sports
Plain and simple; the older I get the less important sports is becoming. My wife and I just had a baby earlier this year and even when we were doing well early on, I was not crazy about spending an entire day away from my wife and daughter. I was less interested in buying them tickets to come along with me because they would be for a.) someone who doesn’t care and b.) someone who is not old enough to know what’s going on. I get to see my little girl very little during the week as it is, I was not digging on giving up an entire Saturday away from her anyway as well. When I was little and going to the games there was a certain magic about them that is just evaporating as I get older. Regardless of how poorly or how well we are doing, it is becoming apparent to me that sports is just not that important is ultimately a waste of time. When I’m on my death bed 70 years from now (God willing) I’m not going to regret not going to Carolina games. I am going to regret missing watching my children grow up or spending more time with them.
2. There is no pride in our school from the athletes
This is the real reason we are losing. I honestly cannot say why our athletes don’t seem to take pride in being a Gamecock but I can tell you for the most part, many of them do not. If we fix this problem, we will become a winner. I was in for a total shock in 1996 when I went to USC. I learned very quickly that being a “Gamecock” was not that big of a deal to the student athletes. As stated earlier, I was a manager for the USC basketball team in 1997 and I own an SEC championship ring. The players, the coaches and the other managers used to rib on me because of how big of a Carolina fan I was. I was so passionate about Gamecock sports I used to get made fun of by athletes and coaches? Are you freaking kidding me? I remember when Tennessee was coming to town and Peyton Manning was making all kinds of records one of my peers jokingly said, “Yeah crash Tennessee is putting extra bodyguards at the Adam’s Mark so you don’t try to go and break Peyton’s legs before the game Saturday.” Fogler used to get onto the guys all the time about wearing gear from other colleges. He also used to get onto them because of what little effort and intensity they practiced with. I had classes with several football players and was surprised to learn they all had a nonchalant attitude about everything. It used to piss me off so badly that we would get crushed on Saturday and then the following Monday have class with players who would laugh and cut up in class and talk about what clubs they went to over the weekend or this or that. It became abundantly clear to me these guys did not give a crap about our athletic program.
It also infuriates me to hear time and time again about how our University alienates its former athletes. I realize Spurrier has gone to great lengths to change that and that is good. However Rick Sanford has said on Teddy’s show before it amazes him that he has never been asked to come and talk to the team and by all standards he is one of the most successful former players. It annoys me that when former players get honored at the games they don’t even wear Carolina colors. Come on guys, you don’t have to wear a gamecock shirt but how about something other than a bright yellow “Ecko” shirt. Why is it that guys like Gaines Adams, who was a consensus top 5 draft choice return for their senior year and we have guys bolt after their sophomore years for second round money? Because Gaines Adams is proud to be a Tiger and he wanted to come back our players didn’t.
There was an article in The State newspaper recently that Spurrier is frustrated because there are still guys on the team that simply do not care. Attitude problems. Loafing on the field. There is no pride in our program or school by several players. Why is it that an athlete like Kenny Irons comes here and gets benched for attitude, lack of effort, etc. and then transfers to Auburn and becomes 1st team All-SEC? Imagine this. You are a freshman at Auburn University and Bo Jackson walks into the locker room and says “It is up to you guys, to uphold our proud legacy here. You are Auburn Tigers now don’t let me down!” People like Bo Jackson, Michael Irving, Herschel Walker, Peyton Manning are damn proud of the colleges they went to. Does Sterling Sharpe ever even confess he’s a USC alumnus? I almost laughed watching the entire Clemson game and the announcer kept saying “Shannon Sharpe’s record”. That right there should let you know something is wrong.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to have lunch with Sidney Rice. He was a fine young man and I was very impressed with his character. The only thing that struck a chord with me was him saying (and I am very much paraphrasing here) “Yeah, Shreveport was horrible. None of us (football players) wanted to be there, there was nothing to do there, it was just a boring place.” To be honest with you, that really pissed me off. We have not been to a bowl game since the 2001 season and all we get is “we didn’t want to be there”? I think that attitude was certainly evident judging by the second half collapse in that game.
My road to giving up on the Gamecocks has less to do with us losing and really began in 1996 when I witnessed first hand that our athletes just did not care. There is something deeply wrong when I care more about Gamecock athletics than the athletes do. If the people playing the games don’t care, why should I care? Frankly I don’t think I should. It makes me really sad when I see players like Corey Boyd, and have personally known players like Bj McKie who really love being a Gamecock. These guys deserve better than to be surrounded by people who don’t care. In short, I am giving up on the Gamecocks because they continue giving up on themselves.
Goodbye
I watched the Clemson game this year with tremendous sadness. Win or lose, I knew after the game I was saying goodbye to something that has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Ever since 1996 I have been doing everything I can think of to try to recapture the magic of football season since before I realized our athletes didn’t care as much as I did. Everything I have tried to think of just simply has not worked. Yet I continue to get fed information that athletes don’t care, even directly from Spurrier himself (The State article). It really makes me sad that I just do not enjoy being a Gamecock fan anymore. I hope Carolina goes on to do great things. I hope they win championships, but I have made up my mind that I will not be along for the ride.
