Shane Beamer describes the intensity of South Carolina-Clemson rivalry
South Carolina is getting ready to take on Clemson in one of college football’s biggest rivalries. For Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer, it’s an incredibly intense and unique rivalry.
Ahead of their meeting, Beamer explained that he thinks what makes the rivalry great is that it goes beyond football and is incredibly important to the people of South Carolina.
“To me, this is one of the greatest rivalries in college football,” Shane Beamer said. “This thing is unique just because it is year-round. The passion and intensity in all the sports. Women’s basketball. Hopefully, we can perform like Dawn’s team did against them last week and men’s basketball. The attention and intensity that baseball has when they play each other. I was at the game in Greenville and the game in Columbia when we played these guys. So, it’s just year-round, the passion for this rivalry, and you want there to be that many eyes on it.”
Ultimately, Shane Beamer wants both teams to be good because he feels that’s what’s best for both the rivalry and the state itself.
“I watched this growing up. It is a great rivalry. I am grateful and blessed that I get to be a part of it. You want more eyes on it because if there are more eyes on it, it probably means that both teams are doing well. I think it is great for the state of South Carolina when Clemson is doing well. South Carolina is doing well. We are both winning and these games have extra meaning and magnitude each and every year. That’s what we want. That’s what Dabo [Swinney] is striving for. That’s what I am striving for and want to continue to make it more meaningful each and every year,” Beamer said.
“Ultimate goal is to play this game at the end of the season and we are both getting ready to go play in a conference championship game and both teams are highly ranked. That is the goal for both teams, I would imagine.”
Even rival head coach Dabo Swinney agrees with Shane Beamer that this is one of the most unique rivalries in the sport.
What makes it unique is the same thing that makes Alabama-Auburn unique and that is, there’s no pro sports in this state. You’re not going to be able to live in [this state] long without going, ‘OK, what’s going on around here? These people are crazy,’” Swinney said. “You’re gonna get sucked into it one way or the other. You’re gonna have to or, otherwise, you’re gonna lose some friends. You’re gonna have to make a decision. They’re not gonna let you ride the fence. Even if you’re a fan of another team, you’re gonna have to get invested in one way or another. It just means a lot to this state.”
Shane Beamer reveals he was heckled by kindergartner at his son’s school
This season hasn’t gone how any South Carolina fan has wanted. That frustration has boiled over into the schools, where Shane Beamer was apparently heckled by a kindergartner.
“My wife and I were sitting on the second row like in the second section and then there was a walkway two rows in front of us where the kids walked to sit behind us. And the kindergartners walked in and one of the kindergartners was two rows in front of me in the walkway and he saw me and he was like, ‘Hey coach,’ and I was like, ‘Hey buddy,’ thought he was a fan or something like that,” Beamer said.
“Then he kept going down the row in front of me or the two rows in front of me, walked up the steps and then came two rows behind me to sit down. That’s where the kindergartners were going to sit was behind me, so now he’s two rows behind me and I hear him behind me again. He’s like ‘Hey coach,’ I’m like, ‘Man this guy’s a big Gamecock,’ and I turn around and go ‘Hey buddy.’ He goes, ‘You’ve won four games,’ is what he said to me. So I’m not sure if he was a Tiger or a disgruntled Gamecock, but I was reminded how important college football is to so many.”