I had intended on going to AWA this year. I actually had a pretty decent time the previous year, since I went for just a single day, and I took a good amount of pictures, and the venue was a good place to take said pictures, which made me happy. I hung out with some friends occasionally, and in spite of the fact that most of the people there made me feel even more ancient than my self-perception of my age is, I had a pleasant time.
I was kind of hoping to replicate that experience again this year; especially after the quality debacle I engaged in at Dragon*Con with the pictures I took, I kind of wanted some redemption.
Well, none of that happened.
Somewhere along the line, a questionable turn had occurred, and I ended up in South Carolina, before I knew it. Maybe it was a little blind-siding since it required getting up at 4 a.m. in the morning in order to make happen.
The day in question was spent attending ESPN’s College Gameday at University of South Carolina, which was a pretty fun experience overall, because it’s something I’ve seen on and off for years, but never something I’ve ever thought of actually being there for. Sure, everyone there was a Gamecocks fan, for a school and team that I couldn’t possibly be any more ambivalent towards, but the scene as a whole was fun, jovial, and if anything at all, was fun to just see what the signs had to say.
The only downside was that with South Carolina’s opponents being the kind of squeaky-clean Missouri, signs were somewhat stretching a little bit, because Mizzou is just one of those schools that doesn’t have many problematic players. Ultimately, one of the takeaways I had about Gamecock-life is the fact that South Carolina seems to be a school with something of an identity complex; some of the most frequent messages strewn about the Horseshoe were declarations that Columbia, South Carolina was “the real” Columbia, as opposed to Mizzou coming from Columbia, Missouri.
And then there were all the shirts and signs that declare South Carolina as “THE REAL USC,” as opposed to the University of Southern California who also uses the moniker of “USC.” But since Southern California wasn’t even remotely involved in this matchup between two SEC schools, I interpret this akin to when the Boston Red Sox play against the Royals or Twins, or a National League team, and the local fans have no idea how to heckle the opponents, so it ends up being a generic “Yankees Suck” chant when their few attempts fall onto deaf ears.
Either way, it was still a fun experience overall, and ultimately, I kind of felt a little kinship to the school after one afternoon in Columbia, to a point where I could actually pull for them in their game against Missouri. Even though, I do think Steve Spurrier is still an asshole after his abandonment of his NFL career, after he realized he couldn’t cut it at the professional ranks.
Unfortunately, being the living sports jinx that I often times think I am, naturally, it would be the upset of the week, as the Tigers won 21-20.
Regardless, I look back at this sort of impromptu trip to South Carolina, foregoing my nerdy hobbies for one of my more jock-ish interest, fondly and without regret. Depending on who’s asking, I may even say it was totally worth it.
