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Offseason projections. Rankings of every coach in FBS. Re-watching old game clips on YouTube. Getting into arguments with Clemson fans. Yep, it must be the offseason. And let’s admit: a summer without South Carolina football can be downright boring. Fear not! We are here to help you get through the long, hot two months that are ahead of us before preseason camp starts and we make wild guesses about who the quarterback will be on September 1.
Without further ado, here’s six things that are less boring than the South Carolina offseason.
Reading tweets sent by grown men to high school recruits.
There are many reasons why recruits commit to schools: it feels like family, they like the coach, they feel that the program can win a championship, it just “felt right”, etc. One reason I haven’t read (yet): “Because the fans sent me 314792847842 tweets telling me to come to the school they like.” Or, “Some guy with three Twitter followers sent me a tweet telling me that I could be a part of something special.”
@AnttMacc_ Michigan is special. The nation's hardest working, prolific coach along with T. Wheatley coaching you up?! Whose got it better??
— Colonel Blue (@n0ts0subtle) June 22, 2016
Oh, by the way, don’t tweet recruits. Especially don’t subtweet recruits if you’re a position coach in a bad mood because one of them decommitted, because bad things could happen as a result.
Keeping tabs on what Clemson is up to.
You know, Shakin the Southland is our sister site covering the public research university in the Upstate region of South Carolina. But did they cover this bit of news last year?
Field crew faux paus at #Clemson camp #FootballFoous pic.twitter.com/9goRn15A4q
— Manie Robinson (@maniebeingmanie) August 4, 2015
Almost a year later, and I still don’t know what “foous” means. Someone help. (Actually, Clemson fans don’t like when we talk about them, so we want to be careful about this.)
Keeping tabs on what Jim Harbaugh is up to.
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Part of me is jealous that we don’t have Harbaugh here at South Carolina, because the guy is a source of endless offseason content. He can blink and have a 300+ word piece written about it. When he announced he was having his seventh child (his fourth with his current wife; three others are from a previous marriage), he vowed to “(attack) this pregnancy with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind”. Wait, what? Although, Harbaugh seems like the kind of guy who would deliver the baby in the stands of Michigan Stadium if it came to that.
The College World Series.
The CWS is #fun and good. Even more #fun and #good when the Gamecocks are in it. But at least Florida’s out, meaning the SEC’s sole representative in the CWS is gone. Wait...do I root for the Gators since they’re in the SEC, or root against them? These are questions that need answers. (You’ve got about a week left to watch, though, so your window of opportunity is closing.)
The Olympics.
The Olympics are starting soon, and plenty of Gamecocks will be in it! Even if some of them will be representing another country, you can still support them. Don’t worry: we won’t tell anyone. And of course, plenty of athletes repping #Merica.
Try to conjure up some optimism that the Gamecocks will go 12-0 in the regular season, win the SEC Championship, and end up in the College Football Playoff.*
Seriously, if this happens, Will Muschamp should just quit his job and run for governor of the state of South Carolina. Plus, it will get those Tigers fans off our backs because the two of us will be completely even in national titles and that will be one less bit of ammo they can use against us. (*-This is unlikely to happen.)
There you have it. Six things that can help you survive a summer without Gamecocks athletics. Good news: football season isn’t that far off (ten weeks away), so you’re almost there. Almost. Don’t worry: we’ll get through it together.