This year's Carolina-Clemson game is, as always, about bragging rights. It's also about busting a forty year streak of non-consecutive Gamecock victories and finishing a great regular season before heading to Atlanta to play for the SEC Championship. As I prepare to head to Clemson from Greenville, where my wife and I stayed last night with friends, a horn honked as I loaded our cooler in the front yard in my garnet and black. The horn came from a white truck that has hoisted a huge Carolina flag in the bed. On the way to the grocery store, a Jeep pulled up next to our car and the driver, seeing our Gamecock gear, yelled "Go Cocks!" before pulling away. The clerk at the gas station is wearing a Carolina shirt and hat. A man came up to me as I finished pumping gas (No, that's not my job, Lane) and asked if the team was going to get it done tonight. There may be rivalries with more national implications than our own, but in the state of South Carolina, this is as big as it gets. Young boys will throw the football today with their fathers, siblings, and friends and dream of playing in this game. The colors are on. Pride is on the line. GO GAMECOCKS! BEAT CLEMSON!
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