South Carolina fans create intimidating atmosphere at Williams-Brice Stadium

The energy was electric at Williams-Brice Stadium. No. 24 South Carolina was less than five minutes away from taking down No. 6 Georgia in an early September game.

“We felt like going into the game, it was a game we could win if we played well,” former quarterback Perry Orth said. “It was a game we needed to win after getting our butts whooped versus Texas A&M a couple of weeks prior.”

The Gamecocks were leading 38-35 with the offense set up inside its own 15-yard line. Then, everything came crashing down—at least for a moment.

On 3rd and 10, Bulldogs cornerback Damien Swann picked off Dylan Thompson’s pass, putting Georgia inside the Carolina 10-yard line.

This wasn’t the first time the team was in trouble in 2014. In the first game of the year, Texas A&M came into Columbia and won 52-28. Losing wasn’t an option at this point.

The crowd of 84,232 — mostly Gamecock fans — was on the verge of being sent home unhappy again. Students were throwing their rally towels onto the field, showing their displeasure. 

South Carolina needed a miracle from its defense to win the game and got it in the form of a deflection at the line of scrimmage.

“Once you give the fans something to be excited about, it’s hard to shut them up,” Georgia running back Todd Gurley II said after the game.

Georgia had one more shot to tie the game with a field goal but missed wide right in the midst of deafening crowd noise.

A few first downs and victory formations later, the Gamecocks pulled off a major upset and won 38-35. It was a memorable win for a group that would ultimately finish 7-6.

Orth, who watched from the sidelines as a redshirt junior, said the crowd was a difference-maker.

“There are times where I was playing, on the sideline, when our defense was out there, looking at the guys next to me on the sideline like, ‘Man, it is loud in here right now,'” Orth said. “And it just creates an advantage because offense is all about communication, rhythm and timing. If the noise can throw you off just even the least bit, it can make things really difficult.”

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Eight years later, South Carolina is in a similar position heading into a pivotal matchup with No. 5 Tennessee Saturday night.

It’s been a while, but Williams-Brice Stadium is starting to have the same energy it did during the program’s best years.

​​Back to business

When the Gamecocks take the field this weekend, they will be playing in front of a sellout crowd. 

Williams-Brice Stadium has sold out all home games this season, with the exception of the SC State game that was moved up to a Thursday due to Hurricane Ian.

“Thank you to our fans for selling out every single Saturday home game this year,” Shane Beamer said. “Not just SEC games but non-conference as well — that’s fantastic.”

South Carolina has averaged roughly 77,981 fans per game. Capacity used to be 80,250 as of 2019 but now sits at 77,559 after stadium renovations prior to the 2021 season. 

Even with only 40,100 season tickets distributed this year, the fans have still managed to fill the seats. This is over 14,000 fewer tickets compared to 2014 but has still proven to be a tough environment for visitors. 

For instance, when the Gamecocks played Texas A&M on Oct. 22, the Aggies had eight false starts. Part of that can be attributed to the team’s inexperienced center, but head coach Jimbo Fisher said the loud noise caused some miscommunication. 

“The guys have got to listen,” Fisher said. “We play here on the road all the time. Shouldn’t have had nothing like that.”

Beamer believes these penalties were “single-handedly” because of the crowd noise.

“Saturday night in that stadium, our fans were a true weapon for us,” Beamer said. “And I said at the beginning of the season, it was already great but with what our administration has done over there with the lights and the sound system and everything else, it’s better than it’s ever been.”

Major renovations were made to the venue just in time for the first game this season. LED lights, ribbon boards, a new audio system, patio spaces and elevators have enhanced the fans’ experience.

So far, the fanbase has enjoyed what they’ve seen.

“I would say, for the most part, I think it’s a huge improvement,” 46-year-old fan Patrick Langston said. “I think the gameday experience, especially for today’s environment, my kids need that. They need that stimulation.”

While Langston recognizes the differences the lights and other improvements have made, his favorite part is still the intro videos.

“You can’t replicate that. I mean, it’s just incredible,” he said. “Every time, it gets me fired up, no matter how the game is going. So it definitely brings you back in line and I think it’s great.”

Culture over climate

“Stupid sunglasses” and Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On” have defined South Carolina’s season. 

The Gamecocks are 6-4, highlighted by a midseason four-game winning streak. They’re also having fun.

“This game’s hard enough and we want these guys to have fun,” Beamer said at SEC Media Days in July. “I want this to be a program where when our players wake up each morning, they look forward to coming into our football facility each day. And I don’t know if that was always the case before I got there, but they do now.”

During a South Carolina home win, fans can now find Beamer wearing Pit Viper sunglasses while “Turn My Swag On” blares throughout the stadium.

Before heading to SEC Media Days, the team’s Twitter account posted a video of Beamer and players turning their swag on. With the lights dimmed in the defensive player’s room, Beamer, wearing a backward hat and Pit Vipers, lip-synced the popular 2008 song.  

It’s a move that didn’t sit well with some, but many are buying into the team’s newfound energy when they play.

“I prefer that over the opposite,” 24-year-old fan Smith Dawsey said. “So I think it also goes a long way with the fans and the recruits and the players. I think it’s just all around a good thing to be a part of.”

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The players also are seeing a shift in the atmosphere.

When Zacch Pickens arrived on campus as a freshman in 2019, he said many players only played for themselves. As a result, the Gamecocks finished 4-8 under then-head coach Will Muschamp.

That has since changed.

“Now, we got the opportunity of playing together as a team,” said Pickens, now a senior. “We do stuff outside of football. Just hang around, enjoy time, laugh. Just to have fun, and I think that’s what we were missing my freshman year.”

Saturday in South Carolina

Juju McDowell had trouble describing the feeling of running onto the field during the team’s entrance to “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

He compared it to being a kid who loves Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

“Say you were like prime nine-years-old and you’re just walking somewhere,” McDowell said. “Somebody comes up to you like, ‘Dude, I got two tons of Reese’s right now.’ That feeling right there is exactly what we feel every time — it’s unmatched. The energy inside of that tunnel when we come out and the smoke starts blowing and they start blasting ‘2001’ with Williams-Brice sold out to max capacity. It’s something you’ll never forget.”

Orth agreed with McDowell, saying that running out of the tunnel made his hard work feel rewarding.

“You’re just sitting there with chills up your back the whole time and 85,000 people screaming,” Orth said. “It makes being there on Christmas Day or Thanksgiving Day, having practice and doing all those things that everybody else is kind of with their families and getting to enjoy certain aspects of college. But I’ll tell you, it makes it all worth it when you get to run out to ‘2001.’”

As the opening kickoff begins, “Sandstorm” by Darude is blasting with fans waving their towels around. It’s hard for both teams playing to not look around and take it all in.

“It seems so vertical, and they get after it when ‘Sandstorm’ starts playing and their fans get into it,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “All SEC stadiums are loud and passionate. It just means more in the SEC, and that definitely carries over to Williams-Brice.”

Montario Hardesty has been on both of the stadium’s sidelines. He still remembers his first time playing there as a freshman at Tennessee in 2006.

“I had never actually been inside the football stadium here, and I got there and was like, ‘man,’” Hardesty said when he was hired. “As a visiting team coming out and you’ve got to go past the whole student section and they’re going crazy, the towels are going.”

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Hardesty has been the Gamecocks’ running back coach since last year. He said Williams-Brice is a great place to play and coach at.

“It’s just so much energy in the building — it’s crazy to explain it,” he said. “Every time they get a good play or first down, you’ve got to hear that, ‘cock-a-doodle-doo.'”

Even former Gamecocks that are now playing in the NFL realize the energy is not the same.

“It’s much more rowdy or turned up—it’s crazy,” said Jadaveon Clowney, who plays for the Cleveland Browns. “The atmosphere is so much different than the NFL atmosphere.”

Trespassers beware

South Carolina will play at Williams-Brice Stadium for the final time this season when it hosts Tennessee. The Volunteers, who are favored to win by three touchdowns, have an explosive offense and average 47.4 points per game.

The Gamecocks’ defense hasn’t been playing its best and allowed 38 points to Florida last weekend. But Jordan Burch believes the crowd can help by being “really loud” when the Vols’ offense takes the field.

“That’s very good for the defense when we’re lining up and the offense can’t hear,” Burch said. “It’s like a motivation.”

Beamer said he expects the fans to make the stadium rock.

“It’s going to be electric in there Saturday night,” Beamer said. “I would hope that our fans would be there early for the (Gamecock) walk when our players arrive from the hotel. … We need our crowd to be the factor and have the impact on Saturday night just like they did against Texas A&M, and we need to be even better.”

Orth, who now keeps up with the team from afar, said he will attend the game. He believes the enthusiasm around the program is getting close to what it previously was.

“It’s damn hard to win in the Southeastern Conference when you’re playing against the best players and best coaches,” Orth said. “If we win, it’s amazing. If we lose, I’m sleeping just fine at night. But I personally believe that we’re heading in the right direction with coach Beamer. … I feel like 99 percent of the people that you talk to are in the same position.”

South Carolina will face Tennessee at 7 p.m. Saturday night. It’s also senior night for the team. The game will be televised on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call.

“It’s been one incredible year,” Josh Vann said. “Having our fans, being able to play in front of them one last time, it’ll be really fun.”

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