It's been a rough year for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Naturally, with the team standing at 3-8, fans have simply lost interest and are hoping that the new head coach can restore some respectability to a program that has gone from 33 wins in three years to likely just 10 in the past two.
That's taken some of the buzz out of the big game on Saturday against #1 Clemson. Surely you'd be hard pressed to get a ticket for that one, right?
Well, not quite.
This morning, I checked StubHub to see how much a ticket for South Carolina vs. Clemson cost. Last year, I believe, it was around $200 for the game at Memorial Stadium. This year: $60. Which is not unexpected, because, well, a 3-8 team is going up against the #1 team in the country and might be a twenty-point underdog by the time the week's up, and despite it being a rivalry game, many fans are just content to watch it at home.
This actually jumped up between $65 before dropping to $60, and will jump a little more as the week goes on. Granted, these are upper-level sideline tickets (500s to be specific), but that's actually not a bad deal for a rivalry game, especially against the #1 team in the country. Add in parking ($5 if you're able to get a good spot in walking distance of the stadium) and food/drink, and you're looking at about $85-$90 a pop. If you're a really, really, really, big fan, you can shell out $900 for lower level sideline tickets.
Who knows? You might see a historic upset take place and be able to tell the story to your kids and grandkids when they grow up.