The stupidest thing I have ever heard someone pull the race card on
 

Let me just say this guy is an IDIOT. Clemson is the only school that gets close to 10,000 tickets when visiting USC. schools like UGA, UF, and UT only get 7,500 normally but this guy wants SC State to get 20,000 tickets? and the sad part is he is an elected official in SC, and some people wonder why our state is so far behind most of the country.

Good God....stuff like this infuriates me. I really hope someone just tells the guy he's an idiot and let that be the end of it. This sort of thing is not unusual anywhere, or at least at all the universities that I know of. Thats what happens when you go to away games........deal with it. Universities have to cater to season ticket holders, alumni, and their students above anyone else.

They should sue him.

-Rudey

So why can't SC State get more tickets?

State is right up I-26, not in another state like the schools I listed above.

I don't think there should be 10,000 tickets given to State like Clemson gets because that is the game most people want to see because of the rivalry. But I think State should be allotted more than just 2,000 measley tickets.

This game has the ability to draw a massive crowd, and USC should be aware of it and embrace the opportunities that this could bring.

Do 7500 people from UF, UGA, and UT travel to USC for games? Do they not think that people from Orangeburg, just 45 minutes from Columbia, will come to the game, but then assume that that many people will drive hours to come to USC?

This has got to be the most backwards, backwoods state in the U.S.

They are 1-AA. Why is this school more deserving of tickets than any other 1-AA team? They are being payed very well to play SC. It's all about the $, so why should SC give them more $ than they do any other 1-AA team?

Are people from this school asking to be treated differently (better than other 1-AA schools) just because they're a HBCU?

I agree. Any state that actually has an elected offical like Ford has to be the most backwards state in the US.

It seems to me that the Black Panthers and NAACP have forgotten how to use the race card. Calling it on the Duke case, the Ga. Congress woman, and now this....maybe someone needs to go re-explain how the race card works. The bluffs just aren't working anymore.

The way college football works is that big schools have to pay small schools to come to their stadiums for games. This ensures a home crowd for the 'warmup' games - plus, the school will still take a net profit from gate receipts.

I'd guess that if there were more demand for tix from the SCS side, they would be available - or if USC were having trouble selling to their own fans. As it is, if USC is selling out, there's literally no reason to sell to ANY fans - except, as you said, in rivalry or conference games (where they are required to sell a certain amount, and may benefit from a reciprocal arrangement with the top rivals to open more seats to opposing fans).

Basically, I can't see any reason to sell MORE than 2000 tix in this sort of situation . . . does SCS travel well? Is this really a rivalry of any sort? I'm not from the area, so I really have no clue, but these things help - but even with both, I'm not sure I'd open sales.

These things I can't address, not being from the area - but UF, UGA and UT have (historically) traveled VERY well . . . and those seats also find their way back to USC fans when unsold. Add in conference requirements, and I think it's a different beast.

aren't mississippi or alabama more backwards than south carolina?

Louisiana is backwards as hell too. I saw "Water Boy". I know what I'm talking about.

Louisiana has great swimming pools these days. You can find one in every house.

-Rudey
--I am callous, but let's all bond over something like being concerned about whether multi-grain bread is better than 9-grain bread.

Thanks for the explanation, KSig RC.

Yes, it's a historically Black college in Orangeburg, SC. :)

I dont think this game is going to generate a whole lot of interest on the USC side of things. but I also dont believe that SC State should be given special treatment...2000 tickets is the standard number of tickets given to Div I-AA school...if there are more fans from SC State that want to see the game then they can stand outside and buy tickets from scalpers like the fans from other schools do, and some USC fans have to do.. The things that pisses me off the most about this if this is a guy, not in any way related to SC State (as I understand it he isnt an alumni and definitely isnt speaking for their Athletic Department) who is turning something that has absolutely nothing to do with race into a race matter. I could see him speaking out if we were giving Wofford, Furman, and the Citadel (who we are also scheduled to play in upcoming years) more than 2000 tickets. Do I think that SC State and other Div I-AA schools should get more than 2000 tickets...NO...with those 2000 tickets, and around 10,000 taken out for student seating that still leaves USC with around 68,000 seats to sell to Gamecock Club members, and every year they have to return people's money because they have run out of seats...not to mention that at least 1/3 of GC members do not even get full books of tickets so why increase the number of our own fans that we turn away...especially when you are almost ready to start a new fundraising campaign to pay for additions to the football facilities.

According to the NCAA

http://www.ncaa.org/stats/football/a...attendance.pdf

S. Car. State only AVERAGES 14,000 people at their own homegames. Granted they might be able to draw a few more people based on the nature of the opponent, I highly doubt that USC could rationalize making that many tickets available to a I-AA opponent as opposed to selling them to their own fans.

I also agree with PV that SC State should get more than 2,000 tickets. I think the max should be around 15,000 because even though SC State may be an HBCU and Dawson Staduim only holds (maybe) less than a fourth of Williams-Brice, THEY DO SELL A LOT OF FOOTBALL TICKETS. They also still have a lot of alumni in the state and have a lot of supporters of football (just like Carolina). Many will even come from out of state for this.

Also, I think this is something they should think about NEXT YEAR. The game is not until September 2007 and this gives the schools more than a year to decided on how many tickets should SC State get.

I know Sen. Ford personally, but I don't know his true intentions about this fuss on the tickets.:rolleyes:

Ignoring the 'other' issues implicated in the thread title, what possible benefit to USC could this plan have, presuming they sell out every game anyway?

15,000??? That is more than SC State averages at their OWN home games. I don't know one university that offers visiting fans that many tickets. We give A&M fans one small section...maybe 5,000 to 7,000 tickets when they come to Austin......and that game is one of the top rivalries in college football.

SC State is a Div 1 AA football program that is getting paid a substantial amount to play USC........shut up and quit whining.

First off, I graduated from USC, not SC State, so as an alumni, I have the ABSOLUTE right to say what I have to say regarding the school I graduated from.

Second, I have many family and friends who graduated from SC State and support their football program. This will be a big deal when this happens and there will be a lot of SC State fans who will support this event. Knowing this, giving them more tickets in my personal opinion would be good and that will give their fans an opportunity to cheer on their favorite school.

And yes, this game is A BIG DEAL! Especially in the African American community. This is the first time both of these teams have played each other and this will give many fans, especially African Americans, to see how small SC State will face against the all mighty USC.

Besides, I heard on the news that the USC Athletic Dept. has decided to give SC State 2,000 tickets. Case closed. But trust me, there will be more than 2,000 SC State fans at Williams-Brice.

finally the SC State AD makes a statement

I still feel this series of games against instate Div-1AA schools are pretty much a waste of time. If Spurrier and his players have their $h!t together none of them should come within 30 points of USC...if somehow one of these schools beats USC then it pretty much ruins our season, we could have scheduled another power conference team that could have improved our reputation on a national scale on brought in some TV money, instead we are giving away $200,000+ to play an instate school that we should wipe the field with...absolutely pointless

Every school is going to play worthless, no contest games. Its no different for teams like us (Texas), when we play Sam Houston St. and beat them 80-3.

Okay, is all that REALLY neccessary?

It's a shame that people can't discuss opposing issues without someone getting their panties in a bunch and resorting to such childish behavior.

:rolleyes:

Exactly, jitterbug. This is the first time the teams will be playing against each other, so people probably assume that there won't be much of a crowd. But even while driving around in Columbia, I see almost as many State license plates as I do USC plates.

Of course I have loyalty to my alma mater, but I think that the issue should be discussed more, and since the game isn't until 2007, there's plenty of time.

Not to mention, an election cycle :)

^^^^
Well, the person who proposed this is not up for re-election. As a matter of fact, none of the State Senate is. This year, we vote for Governor, Lt. Governor, other major state offices, and State House of Reps. We'll vote on the State Senate in '08.

There are things I like to sugarcoat about USC Football and there are things that I don't. This is something I won't sugarcoat. There have been many years in recent memory that SC State has done better in football than both Carolina AND Clemson (last season was one). If Carolina continues to play the way they have been and SC State contiunes to improve the they way have been the last few years, SC State MAY give Carolina a run for their money. Even though I would like for Carolina to win, but I have to be realistic. And also, a lot of USC players who feel like they don't get enough playing time or get kicked off the team DO transfer to SC State. And their current coach was a former USC assistant.

It would be very difficult for a 1-AA school to beat a 1-A school. You can't even start looking at records when comparing schools; the 1-A school (especially one like South Carolina) plays a much higher level of competition than the 1-AA school. Upsets happen on that level, but they are VERY few and far between.

Maybe I'm not seeing this the right way; a school that has trouble drawing for their own games (10,000 average attendance) wants a school in a higher division, that doesn't even have to play them, to give them a large amount of tickets. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense from South Carolina's perspective to amp up the number of tickets for SC State.

I understand where SC State fans are frustrated, but the school is getting money for playing the game, and South Carolina is doing SC State a big favor by even agreeing to play them. The money will make a difference at the school. Also, the recruiting help (athletes may go to SC State if they know they can play against at least one D1 school) could be priceless.

There are always wars among colleges re: how many tickets visiting fans should be allotted. Fans continually find ways around it.

Ebay is a beautiful thing for those who really want tickets.

This is exactly what I'm saying - there are really two options:

a.) USC sells out every game (or this game specifically)

In this scenerio, there's no reason to take tickets away from their fans, for their home game, and give them to the visiting school - there's no monetary benefit, there's no secondary benefit (since I doubt USC will be playing at SC State any time soon), and it is bad news for their own fan base.

b.) USC does NOT sell out

In this case, there's no need to give more seats to SC State to sell through their own athletic office, because SC State fans can simply head to the ticket window and purchase them for themselves . . . maybe I'm not phrasing this correctly, and I can see why people feel the way they do, but I just don't see any reason for USC to treat this game any differently.

stubhub beeyotches!

-Rudey

It's not racial, it's economic.

One of the problems with the big time programs is that their first priority is often to please their alumni who suck up the majority of the tickets.

Their own students often rate a poor second -- let alone people from a visiting school.

The good news for the later school is that they get a lot of dollars from the gate just playing in the big stadium if their athletic department is good at negotiating.

For the past several years, Ohio State has played an Ohio based Mid American Conference school each non-conference season. (They've actually been fairly entertaining for the most part.) Why let all of that money go to Southern Idaho Polytechnic?

I went to the Ohio University/Ohio State game a few years ago, and we (O.U.) actually led 11-10 going into the half. I think the final was something like OU 11/OSU 41 at the end. It was still fun, though.

Thank You for this post!:cool:


It is Called $$$$$$!:eek:

There are rules of who gets who and Div. are different and the amount of tickets that are available.

If a person wants to Play The Race Card, that is His decission, no matter how stupid He may look.

Based on the article, it doesn't seem as though the elected official was saying that SCSU was being discriminated against based on race.

He is saying that those who are loyal to SCSU (majority black) would be excited at the opportunity to play USC (majority white). This is the same if any 1-AA is playing a 1-A. The students, alumni, and supporters of the 1-AA will ALWAYS be more excited at the opportunity than the students, alumni, and supporters of the 1-A. This means that the 1-AA may want to have some extra tickets available since this IS perceived as a once in a lifetime opportunity that will get a lot of attention--hence, the request for an exception. This elected official just happened to mention the race of the majority of people involved on both sides, as opposed to leaving it as a given. People being people harped on that instead of the main point.

This isn't to be confused with someone playing the "race card" (stupid phrase). The people who know about the logistics and policies behind the matter know that it is an economic issue and not a race issue.

I do agree with you from an economics and policy standpoint. But, I can think of a few 1-AA vs. 1-A games where people from the 1-AA showed up in drones. Even people who had not previously supported the team for whatever reason or who lived far away. If USC gives them more tickets it would really be a favor and nothing more. It would really suck if the SCSU fans didn't attend as predicted, although I think they will.

I'm glad you do at least understand their frustration. You're right that there will be benefits to playing USC. In addition to that, also think of how SCSU wants to keep its supporters happy. Many of these supporters want the here and now of being at the game.

ETA: I just read PerfectVerse and Jitterbug's posts. I agree with both of you.

General statement: All in all, this topic isn't a huge deal but the fact that this thread was presented as "oh, look...another (black) person playing the race card" is a huge deal to me. We have more enough threads like that on GC and more than enough ranting about that in the real world. Instead of assuming, people should take a step back and find what is embedded in such topics and in people's choices of words.

I disagree:

Respectfully, I disagree ever after re-reading the posted article several times.

But my original point still stands in my opinion -- that the fact that only 2,000 tickets were offered is an economic decision only.

Taking into account an 80,000 seat stadium with over 60,000 season tickets and a student body which probably gets less tickets than they probably should at any game, it still comes down to not only filling all of the seats with warm bodies, but also placating the home fans who might not be able to see a game otherwise -- and who will in the future be some of those season ticket holders.

The alums and future alums are perceived as more important than people from an opposing team' school.

I do think the topic of the thread is a bit overblown, though.

So does mine.

Or even Baylor.

In what form?

In what perspective?

Which was what exactly........

It is pretty clear by the statments that they were based on racial discrimination.

No.

If it was "clear" or even obvious just based on reading the article, there wouldn't be room for differing opinions on the matter.

It seems as if you are the only one that thinks differently....from what I can tell on this page.

I really don't see how you can interpret those statements that I copy and pasted any differently than the fact that they were geared towards accusations of racial discrimination.

Exactly. Greekchat opinions are never the end all and be all.