One per season.
Ivan Maisel brought it up in his column at ESPN.com and yes the debate continues to be dumber than a box of rocks if for no other reason than the fact UNC was here first:
So when you think of Carolina, do you think of the Tar Heels or the Gamecocks? The debate over the identity of the real Carolina continues this fall on the cover of the football team’s media guides, which are almost identical in design.
North Carolina grabbed “Carolina Football.” South Carolina sticks to “Carolina Gamecocks,” the thought being that the mascot prevents any confusion. But you have to have some sympathy for South Carolina. The school doesn’t own Carolina. And it can’t even claim its own initials. Southern California got there first.
Perhaps winning a few Southeastern Conference championships would get the Gamecocks over the identity hump. Or even one. Or even an SEC East title. Head coach Steve Spurrier said when he came to Columbia that he wanted the challenge of doing what had never been done. Winning games, and winning ownership of “Carolina” and “USC” — it’s all the same.
Granted this has been going on for years, but Steve Spurrier has a burr up his rear end about this and thinks that somehow he can make people think Gamecocks with you say Carolina. Not so much. Even if Spurrier finds a way within NCAA regulations to win a few SEC titles you still do not win the battle for “Carolina” The reason being is, unlike SCAR, the University of North Carolina enjoys a wide ranging identity across multiple sports in the form of national championships. Compare that to the one NCAA title SCAR owns in women’s outdoor track from 2002 and you begin to realize is across the board there is only one true Carolina and the one in Columbia ain’t it.
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I’ll take your word for it about Spurrier, though this excerpt doesn’t really say anything about his desire to take over the name “Carolina.”
In an athletics context, unless you are within the borders of SC or speaking to a bunch of South Carolinians, “Carolina” will be taken to mean the Tarheels every time. That is just not going to change in my lifetime. Or my children’s lifetimes.
As for the USC initials, maybe they should switch it around and try SCU.
Spurrier has talked about it in other contexts.
I grew up right on the state line–well, Pineville was closer, but right next to Pineville and I went to UNC for undergrad and my wife and I went to USC for graduate school, so I think I am less biased than some people.
First of all, except for possibly Myrtle Beach, when you say Carolina inside the borders of South Carolina, it means the Gamecocks. Secondly, Columbia is not that bad a college town. It is small, walkable and being a capital city, has at least a few things Chapel Hill lacks, although Columbia is hotter. Chapel Hill is close to D.C. and New York, though and thus has more of the East Coast “cool factor.”
Finally, South Carolina has never been to the Final Four and they have never won a major bowl game in the last 50 years, so when you are speaking about which school virtually anyone across the country thinks of when talking sports, well, it is UNC.
On the other hand, UNC doesn’t have any cool hats or t-shirts that carry slogans such as “Nobody can lick our (Game)Cocks,” or ones seen at Clemson games worn by USC co-eds reading, “I’ll take a small Cock over a big [member of the feline family] anyday.”
That’s great stuff William!!!
This reminds me of when I was taking Spanish I in Jr. high and learned that Central and South Americans resent how people from Los Estados Unidos call themselves Americans. People from around the world may refer to us by different names, but there’s no doubt who they think of when someone uses the term America.
I was probably a freshman at UNC before I realized that people from South Carolina refer to the school in Columbia as Carolina. During basketball, baseball, and football season CBS, ESPN, et al. will refer to UNC as Carolina. I can’t recall ever seeing the Gamecocks play an SEC game on CBS where the commentators referred to them as Carolina. They can call their school whatever they want, but everyone outside the state of South Carolina thinks of UNC when they hear Carolina.
I’m originally from Greenville (NC) and my wife is from WNC. I have learned that east of Raleigh, Greenville is assumed as NC, but that in the western part of the state Greenville usually means the city in SC. So as a consolation, they can have Greenville west of the Capital. How’s that?
That’s pretty funny Santiago.
if I recall from my days of attending games at Kenan, don’t we have a cheer that goes something to the effect of: “when you say Carolina, say North Carolina, when you say Carolina, say Heels!”
Perhaps we are a little insecure about the ownership of the Carolina brand, st least when it refers to football?
Well said, THf, there is only one Carolina, and it’s UNC. South Carolina demoted themselves years ago dropping the ACC and will never recover. Spurrier will come and go, but the true Carolina will exist forever.
Well said Chris!
Leaving the ACC blew the strong program that Frank McGuire had built up at USC, one with John Roche, Tom Owens and Alex English that was rivaling Carolina and had surpassed the rest of the ACC. Donnie Walsh, who played for UNC and was assistant at USC was a top recruiter. Then to make matters worse, USC made McGuire let Walsh go, although he landed on his feet in Indiana and now with the Knicks. After Walsh left USC, they were never good again except for those three years when Eddie Fogler did so well.
So basically, by leaving the ACC they blew up an excellent basketball program that actually was ranked number one in the nation at one time in the early 70’s. I am sure that they are well aware as well, that virtually all of their basketball success has been due to guys who were at UNC first, like McGuire, Walsh, Fogler and Larry Davis.
While living in Charleston, SC for a few years, I was quick to be corrected that Carolina meant and will always mean (game)Cocks regardless of the season. Of course, me being me, I was always willing to make my point of view about MY Carolina and when talking to me, refer to South, please. I will tell you this…the state of SC is about football the way Tobacco Road is to basketball. If there’s any question, visit the Summerville High School “stadium” and sit with a capacity crowd of 9000 other fans to watch high school football every Friday night…
Charleston – well actually North Charleston.
When I was a Carolina student back in the ’60s I was making my way from Florida back to Chapel Hill and stopped to visit uncle/aunt/cousins in North Charleston.
My cousing Eddie wasn’t there & I was told, “He’s at Carolina.”
I was very confused as to why my cousin was in Chapel Hill . . . I didn’t ask and it seem that it took me two weeks before figuring out my uncle/aunt meant he was in Columbia.
It was very unnerving to learn the evil ways of the world in this manner.
Completely unrelated to basketball, but I really miss Charleston – by no means does eastern NC compare.
I’m an undergrad at Carolina, and my brother is at South Carolina.
It’s a daily argument between us, although in 49 of the 50 states there is no question that Carolina is a place in Chapel Hill.
And the sad thing, I came to Columbia for the USC v NCSU game last night, and it took me a good while of searching through their bookstore to find a t-shirt to wear that didn’t say Carolina on it.
That school in SC is actually called “The Pseudo Carolina of the South.”