While the rest of the college sports world spent the summer of 2022, wrangling issues that threatened to tear asunder the sports we love, those in, around and supporters of University of South Carolina athletics found themselves grabbed up into the claws of a much different type. There is a person with feathers.
Over the course of four weeks, the live mascot, a regal red-winged, black-breasted Old English rooster, went from Sir Big Spur to The General, and then back to Sir Big Spur again. The poultry peevishness that led to so many nom de plumes for he of the plumage seems to have finally been put to rest when Hiscockiness showed up at Williams-Brice Stadium to take his place alongside Uga the bulldog for Saturday's Week 3 home game against Georgia Is it true?
We will be following the trail of feed and tell-tale tracks of three toes forward and one toe back. It's time to call it. There's a claw and order.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
COLUMBIA, S.C.
9 A.M. AUG. 2, 2022
A story titled "No more Sir Big Spur?" was written by David Cloninger, a long-time beat writer for the USC football team. There is controversy over the live mascot of the University of South Carolina.
The administrators were already aware of the standoff that was preventing them from using the rooster's name for more than two decades. From the Men's College World Series to the NCAA Women's Final Four to College GameDay, Sir Big Spur had become a staple.
That Gamecock was no longer known. The people in the building were aware of it for a day and a half. Everyone else was aware of it.
A lot of real, in-depth stories that I am genuinely proud of are the result of my career breaking news of coaching fires and hires. Everyone will remember the story about a chicken.
A feud between two South Carolina couples, the original Sir Big Spur handler and the couple who took over two years ago, was detailed in that story.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
SARGE FRYE FIELD
COLUMBIA, S.C.
SPRING 1999
Baseball fans were completely off guard when they saw a rooster atop a ballpark. The fans embraced the high-stepping bird, but when he didn't show up, they became even more nervous. The team made a run to the SEC East division title and was led by head coach RayTanner.
"I wasn't sure if they were talking to me about a bird in the ballpark or something else," he said back in 1999. We win when he's here. Bring him on.
The rooster landed the gig in the first place because of a dinner with the man. Mary and Ron Albertelli won a private supper with the baseball coach at a charity event. Snelling explained that she received a rooster from her father, who had given her the bird on the recommendation of a friend who had participated in illegal cockfights. As long as the rooster wasn't allowed onto the field, he was on the team. The baseball team went to the College World Series in three straight springs.
The bird was given a gridiron name because of its dedication to hard ball. The nickname Sir Big Spur was changed to reflect the fact that football coaches don't stay around forever. The athletic department asked Sir Big Spur to make his football debut. He has been there ever since, the job handed over through the claws of six different Gamecocks, from Sir Big Spur I to Sir Big Spur VI, all raised and trained by the couple on their 28-acre farm. Williams-Brice erupts as if Spencer Rattler has just thrown a touchdown pass when the rooster atop the Roost Roller shows up.
Sir Big Spur has never been cared for by the University of South Carolina. Snelling and Albertelli have never been paid for their hard work.
Albertelli said in a 2010 interview that this isn't about money. This is about bringing some pride to a very proud fan base and athletes who are very proud of their team.
There were agreements regarding certain copyrighted works. The nickname of the bird was created by the couple and used extensively by the university. For years, Sir Big Spur has retained Charleston's Joe Rice, who is best known for negotiating massive settlements with Big Tobacco and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The contract between Albertelli, Snelling and South Carolina expired in August of 2022.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM
COLUMBIA, S.C.
APRIL 16, 2022
The spring game was held on the field. There were more than 20,000 people in the lower bowl. Rattler, the high-profile transfer quarterback, had the place buzzing, as did the dozens of former Carolina players.
Sir Big Spur VII is the latest in the history of live mascots in South Carolina. His predecessor died at the age of 12. Big Spur VI had been through more than any of his predecessors. He had to stay home during the 2020 season. He had changed his home and handler at the end of the season.
Both Beth and Van Clark are retired. They live in Edgefield, South Carolina, near the Georgia state line, which is about a half hour from Augusta National. Sir Big Spur and Albertelli were seen by Van Clark during his visit to Aiken. They struck it off. Their spouses did the same. They were considering retiring as Spur's handler. They tried to get the Riverbanks Zoo to take over, but the zookeeper was a graduate of the school.
They pressed the Clarks into service at the end of the season. The rookies were the ones who got the job.
The Clarks brought roosters to sporting events after Spur VI died. These birds were not raised by the two people. These were the Clark's first candidates. The appearances were an attempt to get an appointment. How did the roosters respond to the crowd? Do you mean to make noise? Is it possible to play the part of Columbia's cock? The roosters were featured a lot on social media. The new Sir Spur VII was introduced at the spring game.
Snelling and Albertelli were made angry by every single image that was broadcasted. The rest of Gamecock Nation saw a bird ready for a fight, but they saw something else that made them ready for a fight of their own. Sir Big Spur had a beard. There was a red comb.
The new Sir Big Spur did not look like a Sir Big Spur at all.
He resembles Barney the Barnyard rooster.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
ARCHIPELAGO OF SAINT LAZARUS
KINGDOM OF TAYTAY
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
MARCH 22, 1521
The Portuguese explorer and his crew saw cockfighting for the first time during their circumnavigation of the world.
The trimming or removal of the bird's comb was a practice used by those who trained roosters for fighting. According to Gail Damerow, author of "The Chicken Encyclopedia," the comb is a crown-like object on top of a chicken's head. The big red floppy thing was on the rooster's head.
The comb is useful. Chickens don't have the ability to sweat so the comb acts as a type of heat source. The bright red color of the bird's blood is due to the fact that it expels heat into the air and then returns to the body. It can become injured or sick. It can be removed in some cases.
It is now illegal in all 50 US states to participate in the sport. Due in no small part to that stigma, it is a source of intense debate within the livestock industry.
There is a debate about live mascots.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
A CHICKEN COOP
EDGEFIELD, S.C.
AUG. 1, 2022
The Clarks decided to leave the comb atop the head of their Sir Big Spur candidates because they didn't think it was in the best interest of their health. The streets of Columbia and the sideline of Williams-Brice Stadium are particularly hot during the college football season because of the high daytime temperatures. Their supporters point to the rooster combs that can be seen everywhere in Carolina, from the official athletics logo to the giant Gamecock statue outside the main Williams-Brice Stadium gate.
Their aviary ancestors did not like it. What's the reason? They didn't think it looked right. Albertelli has been pointed out a lot. He questioned the chicken's strength, decried "making a gamecock into a chicken" and spoke of "dumbing down the USC".
His demand was easy to understand. The name Sir Big Spur was within his legal rights until he saw a rooster without a comb in Columbia.
There are new nickname ideas at the University of South Carolina. University officials believed they had a suitable replacement for its internal list. People had other ideas.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
NEWSROOM
THE STATE
COLUMBIA, S.C.
AUG. 24, 2022
He is a graduate of the South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He worked at The Daily Gamecock in college.
McLemore was interested in the Sir Big Spur story. The school was going to announce a new mascot name after he received a tip that it wouldn't fight Albertelli.
He assigned a recap to the newest member of The State's sports department. A few days after graduating from the other Carolina, the University of North Carolina, he knocked out a 300-word primer on the name mess.
He added an online survey.
It appeared to be innocent. The live mascot should be named something else.
Some good ideas came back after we threw it out. Sometimes you're going to get some inappropriate ideas with the South Carolina. It comes with the area. It has always been.
Sarah Ellis came up with the idea of "Cock Commander."
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
NEWSROOM
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
COLUMBIA, S.C.
NOV. 18, 2004
Sarah Ellis was on the staff of The Daily Gamecock until she graduated from the University of South Carolina. She was like McLemore and had heard the legend. It was a good laugh and a cautionary tale when it was first published.
Stress levels were high and the sleep hour count was low, according to a story. The cover photo for the next morning's paper was a dramatic shot ofCocky, the school's non-live mascot, with his felt wing arms outstretched.
When newspaper and magazine pages are first designed, the first words in the spaces where stories and descriptions will live are usually dummy lines. They can be a bunch of Xs or nothing more than a random string of letters and words to measure out and hold down the space until the real words are written and placed.
The layout editor was inspired by this evening. It's too inspiring. The pheasant had the following words written on it.
The cock commander is me. The cock must bow before the commander. Soy elCock Commander.
The editors forgot to replace the dummy caption in their newspaper, so they sent it to the printer.
It wasn't enough time.
The students of the University of South Carolina reached into newspaper boxes throughout Columbia for the Friday edition of The Daily Gamecock, and they had three lines with the photo.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
THE INTERNET
AUG. 25, 2022
In 2004, it was too late to stop the cock commander.
It was pretty tame the first day. The poll was picked up by some college football writers and they posted it on their websites. I was copied on the social networking site because of the story I wrote. It was getting a lot of attention because of what I saw.
There was a lot of attention. It's a lot for an online sports poll. The majority of the votes went for Cock Commander. Cluck Norris got 7% of the vote. None of the other options received more than a few hundred votes.
"You spend your whole life around this school and you get used to the snickers about the nickname," he said. The campus bookstore has always had hats and shirts with "GoCocks" on them. When the jokes start, it will take off.
The phone began to ring in the athletic department. The people endorsed the name. The poll was not associated with the university. People who were more important to the school called to express their embarrassment and ask what was being done to make it go away. They were told that there was a Savior on the way and that he would arrive by way of a news release.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT OFFICES
COLUMBIA, S.C.
2 P.M. AUG. 29, 2022
The nickname "The General" was included in The State's poll.
The name that was already chosen was the one that would fill the void left by Sir Big Spur. By the time the decision was made, the newspaper's poll had closed and The General had finished sixth.
The morning after the announcement, there was still a sound. Rattler thought the rooster's new name was "Cock Commander" when he was asked about it.
The new name was explained by the South Carolina deputy athletics director. It made sense to go back to where'Gamecocks' got started when we realized that we would have to change his name.
The leader of the militia during the Revolutionary War was a brigadier general. He was referred to as the "Fighting Gamecock" by the British because he was a menace to them. He hid gunshot wounds throughout his body. The OG General Gamecock was not strong enough to hold off Sir Big Spur.
The gun is called Dun-DUN.
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
SOUTH CAROLINA
SEPT. 1, 2022
At some point, a meeting took place involving Mary Snelling and Ron Albertelli, Beth and Van Clark and South Carolina athletic administrators, as well as being mediated by the man who is beloved by all of the University of South Carolina.
The details have not been made public. We don't know what we know.
It was announced on the afternoon of September 1 that The General was no more. The mascot was once again named Sir Big Spur.
He didn't have a comb when he arrived at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The undubbed rooster raised by the Clarks had been replaced by a combless bird groomed by Albertelli before they knew they would be handing over their duties.
As the official terms of their truce are finalized, all parties are keeping their mouths shut.
One thing is certain. Everyone will put their differences behind them this weekend, from those in the student section wearing bootlegCock Commander shirts to those in the suites who made sure that name never had a chance. They will work together to focus their attention on the Georgia team.
They will bounce to "Sandstorm," sing "We hail thee Carolina" and work to heal the wounds they've suffered over the summer.
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