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Rome's Take Sucks
Rome's Take Sucks
Jim Rome recently took time on his show to speak about the battle over who owns the rights to the initials U.S.C. The battle is between two major Universities located nearly 3,000 miles apart, South Carolina and Southern California. The two schools rarely meet each other on the athletic field and the two fan bases honestly could careless about each other, but Rome's topics for the day were running short so he decided his shrinking listening audience needed to hear his take on initials. Rome spent a segment of his show ripping The University of South Carolina and forming the opinion that few care about the Gamecocks.
It is truly amazing that Rome thought that an initial debate was air worthy. There are many schools in the NCAA that share the same initials. The initials OSU are used by Oregon State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State. When a SEC fan hears "UT", that means Tennessee, but in the Big XII it represents Texas. Did Rome waste his breath giving a take on the great "WWF" debate between the World Wrestling Federation and World Wildlife Fund? Probably not, as I'm sure he was ranting to a national audience about the differences in "So Cal" and "No Cal".
On the field South Carolina and Southern California rarely meet. The last meeting between the two in football was 1983 in Columbia. The Gamecocks led by the late Joe Morrison crushed the Trojans 38-14. At the end of the game the scoreboard listed South Carolina as "The USC". When Southern Cal opened its new on campus arena, the Galen Center, they invited the Gamecocks for a Pac 10-SEC showdown. The opening of the building didn't go well for the Trojans though as the Gamecocks won the game. For the rest of the life of the Galen Center it will note that in the first game Southern Cal was defeated by the other USC.
Now certainly Southern Cal has a much more rich history in athletics. The football program itself is full of Heismans, national championships, and all Americans. South Carolina has an all-time record near .500 and has just 4 bowl wins in its history. The athletic program for Southern California has 88 National Championships(3rd all-time), South Carolina has 2(Women's track and Equestrian) Of course if we are going to speak history we have to mention that the University of South Carolina is actually 49 years older than the State of California and is 79 years older than the University of Southern California.
The most recent battle in the courts involves the interlocking initials "SC". This is what triggered Rome to speak of the issue. Rome seems to believe that "SC" should be given to Southern California and South Carolina should look for a new logo. This seems to lack any logic. If I were to mail an envelope to "SC" would it go to Southern California? Of course not, the envelope would end up in South Carolina. The logo itself is used by both schools' baseball programs. Ray Tanner's Gamecocks this decade have been one of college baseball's most consistent programs, their 7 Super Regional Appearances are second only to Miami this decade. Trojan baseball, while having a great past, has been off the college baseball map for several years now and continues to fall behind smaller California programs such as Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
How serious can a take about South Carolina and Southern California be taken when you consider the following? Jim Rome's show is located in Southern California and is a native of Tarzana, California. Of course an obvious bias exists there. Also, something that needs to be considered is the fact that WCOS AM 1400 in Columbia, South Carolina dropped Jim Rome's show due to poor ratings nearly three years ago. Despite having 3 different sports station, not one of those stations has decided to pick up "The Jungle" since. Columbia isn't the only city to drop Rome, his takes have been replaced in favor of sports minds who relate more to the local sports fan. In SEC Country very few care to hear about Kobe and the Lakers or talk about the Dodgers. Fans in the South care more about the Ball Coach, UGA, Tebow, and Les Miles' goofy hat.
Rome has formed the uneducated opinion that few care about the University of South Carolina. What he doesn't take into account is that for many years the football team has averaged 80,000 fans a game despite mediocre results on the field. During the 1999 season South Carolina went 0-11, but still averaged 79,000 fans a game. Infact, for the 2006 season only South Carolina, Texas, and Arkansas finished in the top 25 for attendance in baseball, basketball, and football. The Colonial Center is one of the largest on campus basketball facilities in the country with 18,000 seats and South Carolina will open one of the largest college baseball facilities in the country next year. The Gamecocks were cared about enough by hall of fame coaches Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier to take jobs in Columbia. Oh and former athletic director Mike McGee left Southern California to take the South Carolina job back in 1992.
Clones of Jim Rome are likely not to agree with much in this article. What is a Clone you ask? Well, a clone is a follower of the great Jim Rome. For those who don't listen to Rome(a list that grows each day), "clones" call in daily to give the same take as Jim does. These clones refer to their master as "The Pimp in the Box" and show up at tour stops to get a glimpse of their savior. Clones are typically angry young men who have nothing else in life to attach themselves to besides a middle aged sports radio guy. Each year a select few of these lost souls meet off for a "Smack-Off". This is a yearly event where members of Rome's cult get on the phone and insult one another like middle school students. Grown men with names like "Silk Brah" try their best to imitate their master, while insulting other members of the cult(makes you want to tune in right?) All this support for a Rome, a man who once offered a $3,000 bounty on a 69 year old man.
My final "take" on the issue is that both schools have the rights to the initials U.S.C. Many other schools share logos and both schools are rich in athletic history and American History. Rome's take is likely to reach a larger audience than mine, but then again I didn't sacrifice myself to a whipping by a mediocre NFL QB to get publicity. With that, I'm out.
Matt Barber
dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
