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The South Carolina Gamecocks had thousands of fans on their side today up in New York City as they defeated the Florida Gators to earn their first-ever trip to the Final Four. There figured to be thousands more to greet them at Colonial Life Arena upon their return, and needless to say, Gamecocks nation didn’t disappoint.
The team’s expected arrival time was 10:00. Fans were gathered out in front of CLA long before that - including our man and GABACast co-host Sam McDowell.
YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE pic.twitter.com/Rbn4GKQUpS
— GABACast (@GABA_Cast) March 27, 2017
Pretty nice crowd assembled at CLA to welcome the #Gamecocks home! pic.twitter.com/Y9EoBFLfKD
— Jay Philips (@JayPhilips1075) March 27, 2017
Just take a look at this:
The #Gamecocks faithful have shown out STRONG to welcome us back from New York City! #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/DEvXceSkC6
— Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) March 27, 2017
Not much room to breathe out in front of the @CLAmktg. These fans are pumped! pic.twitter.com/Oo1Hy5kayE
— Chuck Ringwalt WLTX (@ChuckRingwalt) March 27, 2017
Final Four!!! pic.twitter.com/BFu9fp1ngT
— Drew Williams (@cdwilliams8) March 27, 2017
The Gamecocks can't arrive soon enough! These fans are excited for their spot in the #FinalFour ! pic.twitter.com/KxklpyYqya
— Ralph Cooper Jr. (@RalphCoopWLTX) March 27, 2017
CLA is PACKED!! #FinalFour #USC pic.twitter.com/8XlvOXWTNO
— Lana Harris (@LanaHarrisNews) March 27, 2017
Fans have now packed the parking garage across from Colonial Life pic.twitter.com/nuydVLFrg8
— Matt Connolly (@MattatTheState) March 27, 2017
The crowd now stretches across the street! @WLTX pic.twitter.com/WtSrOtPyxO
— Chuck Ringwalt WLTX (@ChuckRingwalt) March 27, 2017
We even had a “We Want Zion” chant, because why not. (Zion himself even retweeted it on his timeline. I guess he has a lot of thinking to do after seeing this run by the Gamecocks...more on that later.)
At CLA waiting for @GamecockMBB, crowd chanting We Want @ZionW32 pic.twitter.com/pfh1QZRfss
— sbdrumz (@sbdrumz) March 27, 2017
Meanwhile, thousands of feet above...
Pilot played fight song on plane coming home from NYC- thanks for a great flight experience @AmericanAir #Gamecocks #FinalFour @GamecockMBB pic.twitter.com/0docDNXCWc
— Gus Inabinet (@GusInabinet_) March 27, 2017
They finally arrived - a little later than expected - but just take this in for a second.
The #gamecocks have arrived. #thestate pic.twitter.com/ze49eAJr5G
— Teddy Kulmala (@teddy_kulmala) March 27, 2017
@GABAttack pic.twitter.com/cQXNWR3eOU
— #FINALFOURCOCKS (@CarterBuffkin) March 27, 2017
@GABAttack pic.twitter.com/l7b3YNS9bO
— SAILO4sGrave (@_SailorsGrave_) March 27, 2017
@GABAttack pic.twitter.com/HSD6veeUf5
— Lee Hogan (@LeeHogan2001) March 27, 2017
Pandemonium! #GoCocks pic.twitter.com/wpirT7VXgu
— Kirk Hollingsworth (@theUSC) March 27, 2017
PUT YOUR FOURS UP. #FinalFour #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/r1Qkh34NGN
— Gamecock Athletics (@GamecocksOnline) March 27, 2017
This was certainly a once in a lifetime moment for a team achieving one of the most memorable accomplishments in school history - a seven seen bouncing back from a 3-6 end to their season to win four straight against Marquette, Duke, Baylor and Florida to reach the national semifinal against Gonzaga. We suspect that whoever doesn’t make the trip over to Phoenix (and there should be quite a few) will be with the Gamecocks in spirit, whether it’s in Columbia or elsewhere.
We’ll also keep tabs on whether Harris Pastides cancels classes tomorrow or not. (Update: He didn’t.)
President Pastides arrives and is immediately greeted to a "cancel classes" chant.
— Matt Connolly (@MattatTheState) March 27, 2017
.@HarrisPastides: "I'm going to go home and consult. I'll have a tweet for you in just a few minutes...How about a delayed opening?"
— FINAL FOUR ATTACK (@GABAttack) March 27, 2017
Sorry students. If we cancel classes tomorrow, what would we do after a WBB win tomorrow? You had fun today. Go to class tomorrow!
— Harris Pastides (@HarrisPastides) March 27, 2017