Can you imagine a world without the Clemson-Carolina Game? It could happen
I am sure all of you remember 2020. We always will.
In March of 2020, the pandemic hit and each of our lives changed in one way or another. Some of us lost loved ones or close friends, while others survived the virus and lived to tell us about its effects.
The global pandemic also effected our sports world. For more than two months we did not have any sports. Conference and NCAA Basketball Tournaments were cancelled. Spring sports, such as college baseball and softball, saw their seasons come to a sudden close.
The NBA, MLB and NHL postponed their seasons until later in the year, while the NFL and College Football did everything they could to try and have a season. Thank goodness they were able to do it, though they did have to sacrifice a few things.
The NFL closed its games off to the fans for much of the year and there was a strict protocol put in place. College Football also had strict protocols, as each conference set its own rules.
Because of those rules, there were some things that got sacrificed. College stadiums had just a few or no fans at all, while longtime rivalries, such as the Clemson-South Carolina game, were cut off at the knees.
The 2020 season marked the first time since 1908, Clemson and South Carolina did not meet on the gridiron. For 111 straight football seasons, the Tigers and Gamecocks battled it out for state bragging rights.
At the time, the Clemson-Carolina Game was the second longest continuous rivalry in college football. When the SEC decided not to allow its members schools to play any non-conference regular season games in 2020, it devastated Clemson and South Carolina fans.
Though Clemson was in the midst of a six-game win streak over the Gamecocks, which has since been extended to seven, the thought of this game not being played boggled South Carolinians.
There are no pro sports teams in the Palmetto State. This is our Super Bowl, no matter how ugly the game gets sometimes.
Clemson and South Carolina fans look forward to this game more than any other. Clemson fans despise South Carolina fans, while the Gamecocks hate the Tigers. This rivalry is every bit as intense and hateful as the Alabama-Auburn rivalry and more than Ohio State-Michigan.
When Saturday, November 28, 2020, rolled around and the Tigers were hosting Pittsburgh at Death Valley and the Gamecocks were playing Georgia at Williams-Brice Stadium, it was a strange day in the Palmetto State.
Imagine that being the case forever?
The 2020 season gave us a glimpse of what the future might hold for the Clemson-Carolina Game.
With all the talk about expansion, the one thing the sports fans in South Carolina are not talking about is the chance that these new Super Conferences might be the demise of out of conference rivalries like Clemson-Carolina, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida State-Florida and Kentucky-Louisville.
Expansion will eventually kill some of these rivalries.
Look at it this way, if the SEC expands to 20 schools, like many expect, the conference will have no need to play out of conference games. I know SEC members South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Kentucky do not want to see their rivals join the SEC, but if they do not, those rivalries will likely die.
I think Georgia fans can live without playing Georgia Tech. Outside of Atlanta, you cannot find a Georgia Tech fan living in Georgia. I think Kentucky and Louisville fans can live without playing each other in football. They have only met 33 times and went 70 seasons (1924-’93) without playing at all.
However, it is a different story with the Clemson-South Carolina and FSU-Florida rivalries. These two rivalries need to be played. These four fanbases need it. College Football needs it.
If the SEC expands to 20 teams without Clemson, the Clemson-Carolina rivalry will likely come to an end, and with it all of the legendary memories, stories, players and coaches that make it so great. There will be no Big Thursday, Frank Howard, Rex Enright, the Prank, The Catch, Danny Ford, Georgia Rogers, Steve Spurrier or Dabo Swinney memories.
They will all fade with time, and our grandchildren’s kids could likely never know about one of the greatest rivalries in college football. Now, wouldn’t that be a shame.
