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Ballboy534
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I've been thinking a lot about what to post for my 1,000th here on SportsHoopla. I finally decided on a brief commentary about the end of the college football season, so here goes.
Since the end of the regular season and conference championship games, a lot of shit-talking and comparing apples to oranges have ensued. If you think I'm talking about the BCS fiasco, you're wrong; we have enough threads on the butt-hurtedness of 'Bama fans being attacked by other butt-hurt fans. I'm referring more to a local phenomenon that many don't get the aggravation of experiencing; SCar fans claiming their second ACC championship. Whoop de doo SCar, you beat us for the third time in a row (for only the second time in school history) and have now narrowed the gap to a mere 25 games. In fact, as an alumni of Clemson that grew up a Clemson fan outside the state of South Carolina, I can tell you how intimately familiar I am with the rivalry but that should go without standing if you're a fan of any college football team that hates their in-state rival.
What I don't (and may never) understand is why such big importance is placed on a rivalry that frankly, outside South Carolina is just another game. Shouldn't our programs focus instead on winning their respective conferences and bowl games to bring national recognition to not only the universities, but the state itself? The game is meaningless outside of bragging rights and the occasional recruiting coup. Trophies won through bowl games and conferences will be what elevate our programs, not beating each other. I will never profess to have anything but pure, unadultered hatred for the Gamecock athletic teams, but I would much rather see them 11-0 when they play Clemson than the alternative. If we as fans want this rivalry to matter on a national stage, then we both need to win championships. That starts in our conferences, and SCar fans can claim the ACC 2011 title for eternity, but it doesn't change the fact that they have one conference trophy in the case from 1969. Sure, SCar was a football independent from 1971 to 1991, but in the 18 year span they were in the ACC Duke won the conference 6 times. I'm sure my Gamecock brethren will reference the fact that these are ancient history in today's society, but as I stated previously, until both teams are perennial contenders for their respective conferences, this rivalry will be relegated to bragging rights and the occasional recruiting coup.
Since the end of the regular season and conference championship games, a lot of shit-talking and comparing apples to oranges have ensued. If you think I'm talking about the BCS fiasco, you're wrong; we have enough threads on the butt-hurtedness of 'Bama fans being attacked by other butt-hurt fans. I'm referring more to a local phenomenon that many don't get the aggravation of experiencing; SCar fans claiming their second ACC championship. Whoop de doo SCar, you beat us for the third time in a row (for only the second time in school history) and have now narrowed the gap to a mere 25 games. In fact, as an alumni of Clemson that grew up a Clemson fan outside the state of South Carolina, I can tell you how intimately familiar I am with the rivalry but that should go without standing if you're a fan of any college football team that hates their in-state rival.
What I don't (and may never) understand is why such big importance is placed on a rivalry that frankly, outside South Carolina is just another game. Shouldn't our programs focus instead on winning their respective conferences and bowl games to bring national recognition to not only the universities, but the state itself? The game is meaningless outside of bragging rights and the occasional recruiting coup. Trophies won through bowl games and conferences will be what elevate our programs, not beating each other. I will never profess to have anything but pure, unadultered hatred for the Gamecock athletic teams, but I would much rather see them 11-0 when they play Clemson than the alternative. If we as fans want this rivalry to matter on a national stage, then we both need to win championships. That starts in our conferences, and SCar fans can claim the ACC 2011 title for eternity, but it doesn't change the fact that they have one conference trophy in the case from 1969. Sure, SCar was a football independent from 1971 to 1991, but in the 18 year span they were in the ACC Duke won the conference 6 times. I'm sure my Gamecock brethren will reference the fact that these are ancient history in today's society, but as I stated previously, until both teams are perennial contenders for their respective conferences, this rivalry will be relegated to bragging rights and the occasional recruiting coup.
