|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
The
University of South Carolina is the only NCAA
Division I university in America with the gamecock
as a mascot. Folklore and legend surrounding the
gamecock are found throughout the world. The Ancient
Syrians worshiped the fighting cock as one of
their deities. In China, the gamecock is considered
the herald of mortal existence and a symbol of
honor, merit, and the west. In ancient Greece,
the gamecock was the announcer of the sun and
was considered sacred because of its magnanimity,
courage, skill, and constancy. In Germany and
Hungary, the Gamecock is still considered
a weather prophet.
| |
The
proving ground for the gamecock's heroic
attributes was "gamecocking".
Now illegal throughout the U.S., this sport
originated with the Greeks, who called the
cock the "Persian bird. "The Greeks
spread the sport to Asia Minor and Sicily,
and eventually the Romans adopted gamecocking
too. From Rome, before Caesar's time, gamecocking
reached England. From there, it presumably
came to America with the English immigrants.One
reason cultures have admired the gamecock
was the nature of warfare. Their military
struggles hinged upon soldiers engaged in
hand-to-hand combat. Personal courage and
indifference to pain were highly esteemed.
In the brutal sport of "gamecocking,"
the gamecock repeatedly demonstrated the
necessary ferocity and tenacity by fighting
to its last gasp. |
|
Some
familiar phrases derive from the gamecock. A common
way of saying people are fit for battle is to say
that they are "cut out" for it. This phrase
refers to preparing a gamecock for battle by clipping
its wings, making it "cut out" to fight.
Similarly, because English royalty, beginning with
Henry VIII and including James I, William III, George
I, and, notably, Queen Anne, enjoyed gamecocking,
it became known as the "royal diversion."
The final combat between the last two fighting birds
was therefore called the "battle royal."
Over the centuries, such noble attributes have been
associated with the gamecock as alertness, diligence,
energy, exultation, wakefulness, defiance, and vigilance.
|
| The
reasons USC athletic teams originally chose
their colors and the moniker "Gamecocks"
are obscure. Garnet and black have always
been USC's athletic colors. The "Gamecock"
name appears to have taken hold in 1902.That
year, USC upset Clemson, and Carolina students
paraded through the streets near campus carrying
a transparency that had been hanging in a
local tobacco store window. The transparency
had been drawn by USC mathematics Professor
F. Horton Colcock. Clemson fans could not
help noticing that the transparency featured
the image of a gamecock standing over a fallen
tiger. Violence nearly ensued before calm
was restored and the crowds dispersed. Two
weeks later, the State newspaper began referring
to the team as the "Game Cocks".
|
|
| By
1904, the two words had been joined and the
name had stuck. One possible source for the
first link between the University of South
Carolina and the gamecock mascot lies with
a nickname of one of South Carolina's storied
military figures, Thomas Sumter.
During the War of Independence, Sumter energized
South Carolina in its fight against the British.
Perhaps his nickname inspired Professor Colcock
to create the transparency cited elsewhere
on this page. In his preferred hat, coat,
and epaulettes, Sumter donned the colors of
the gamecock, and he was well-known for his
fearlessness in battle. British officers commonly
scorned Sumter as the "South Carolina
Game Cock". But the people of South Carolina
were proud of Sumter's daunting spirit. |
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright
© 2005, Gamecock Sports Plus. All
Rights Reserved. Gamecock Sports Plus is an independent,
fan based, website.
This site is not sponsored by,
or affiliated with, the University of South Carolina,
or any other organization.
|
|
|
|
