COLUMBIA, S.C. — The final score of Saturday's 121st meeting between the Gamecocks and Tigers will send one fan base and one head coach home happy and the other group of fans and the head coach home disappointed at best.
During the year, the game stays with the head coaches and they usually get reminded at various speaking events as to what transpired in the previous November meeting.
One would think running errands as a husband or father would insulate Shane Beamer or Dabo Swinney from talk of the rivalry but when you are the face of a Division I football program in a state with no professional sports, anonymity is not on the menu.
Beamer told a story about how each time he visits a CVS near his home, there is a good chance he will see "Miss Kathy", a passionate fan of the Orange. Swinney says when he is in the grocery store, fans aren't asking about losing to Pittsburgh, If the previous game against South Carolina did not end with a win, chances are he will be reminded of the outcome by those who are invested emotionally and perhaps financially in the Tiger program.