Clemson Tom’s 56-7 billboard idea turns into Gamecocks coming together for Puerto Rico

Clemson superfan, turd waffle and overall nuisance Clemson Tom is a common presence on Twitter for Tiger fans and unfortunately Gamecock fans too.

Noted for his scorching hot takes on whatever comes across his Twitter feed combined with his unrivaled and unstable enthusiasm for Clemson football, Clemson Tom has a fairly heavy following among Clemson football fans. Some love him, some hate him. Either way, he’s doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

Monday Clemson Tom decided his newest way to troll the South Carolina football program was going to be to by placing a 56-7 billboard in Columbia. Here’s the tweet.

This came in response to Twitter user @HunterBadger87 advertising for cheap billboard space in the Columbia area. As you could imagine, this idea picked up steam very quickly among Clemson fans. Observe:

While recognizing these ingrates don’t represent the totality of the Clemson fan base, it is strange how obsessed the trolls are about shaming a program who’ve been rebuilding and are clearly inferior to their beloved Tigers. But if this is how they get their jollies, I guess it’s not the worst way to do it.

This would understandably irk some Gamecock fans, apparently to the point of threatening Tom. I don’t even know if his real name is Tom, but that’s what we’re going to call him for the remainder of this article.

General rule: don’t threaten people on Twitter with violence. I’ve had Tom muted on my feed for probably four years now and I’ve never been happier. My suggestion would be for you to do the same. I actually forgot that fart nugget existed until I heard not about the Clemson billboard, but this tweet.

Chris Cox heads up the Charleston Chapter of the My Carolina Alumni Association and put this out on Twitter just on day after Tom sent out his orders for a collective troll job. Gamecock fans response? Pretty positive:

“Gamecock Nation has shown just how amazing it is with its support the last 48 hours. What started as simple rivalry banter between schools gave way to the USC fanbase showing off just how special and caring it is for its fellow man,” Cox said to us through direct message on Twitter. “It's really inspiring watching fellow Gamecocks contribute to this and spread its message. We band together like no other.”

The fundraiser has picked up so much steam local Columbia TV and radio Stations have picked up the story and even received shou tout from head men’s basketball coach Frank Martin.

So while South Carolina’s charity drive gained more traction, Tom felt the need to issue a video statement to update his followers on his billboard progress. Here’s the periscope.

So if this holds up, there will be some kind of billboard in the Columbia area courtesy of your favorite Tiger troll. From the tweets I’ve been able to read, it sounds like if the billboards actually get put up they’ll either be off the interstate (assumably I-26) or in Five Points.

The flip side to Tom’s tomfoolery is he’s using the surplus money to help fund a charity helping foster kids in the Walhalla area. But as noble as that is, the way Tom’s turned himself into a martyr for propelling a charitable cause is equally parts laughable and infuriating.

That’s right Tom. What a true hero you are.

So what started out as a dopey Twitter war started by a even bigger dope turned out to be something not so dopey. If anyone deserves any credit, it’s Cox for taking the initiative for starting his fundraiser. If you’d like to donate to the cause, you can click here to give to the fund.