A Gamecock by Nature

Last night the Men's USC basketball team played the Citadel.  I was really sad I had missed our first two winning games, that I went to the Colonial Center almost 45 minutes early to sit and breathe in the arena atmosphere.  My friends and I sat in the third row from the court.  The four of us listened to the good music that was played as the two teams did their first rounds of shooting and passing drills. 

It was really exciting for me personally since I have played basketball at the Strom or Blatt with most of the players.  It was really loud in the arena as our team's starting players were announced!  Most of the student section even stood up for the entire game!

Devan Downey was a great point guard in the game last night!  He kept the game fast paced and was definitely not a ball hog.  He made great plays, scored a good number of points and even got some rebounds of his own.  Zam Frederick and Evka also made some awesome 3-pointers.  Our new centers also got some great dunks that got the crowd pumped.   

The best part about the evening was watching our players play defense and offense.  The final score was 103-42.  This was largest winning margin in about 60 years and this was the first time our team had broken 100 points in eleven years!  The neat part was Branden Conrad, who was red-shirted last year hit a 3-pointer to put our team over 100!  It was cool to watch his teammates congratulate him and be so proud of his performance.  Especially since he also got a few steals during his limited play time on the court. 

I am looking forward to Saturday's game.  Our team is hosting the University of Southern California.  We beat them last year in Cali, so hopefully we will have a repeat performance.  I know our team has a great chance of making it to the NCAA ("real") tournament this year!  Get ready for an incredible season! 

Go Cocks!

Posted by Lydia at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USC's football team has had an incredible season so far.  Every game has been played well and our team has beat the spread or won the game!  It's really exciting that we're contenders for the SEC East right now.  Last week our team played an awesome game against MSU and now we're getting ready to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. 

Football is huge at our school.  Everyone goes to the fairgrounds and the surrounding areas by the stadium to tailgate.  People set up tents and open up the back of their cars to eat food and pass time before the game starts.  The fairgrounds are always flooded with garnet and black! 

I'm so proud we have Steve Spurrier at our school.  He has really done a lot with the athletes.  You can tell that he's doing his job well.  My favorite part about football games is all the chants.  I love yelling "U-S-C, GOOOOOO COCKS".  The band always plays a great job and all the students are really participative. 

I have enjoyed football season even more this year than the past two years though because I have actually met a lot of the players.  Every spring, a lot of the football players enjoy playing pick up basketball.  So I can actually say I've played on the same team as Cory Boyd and Kenny McKinnley.  I've also had the pleasure of meeting Mike Davis, Bobby Wallace, and WEB Brown to name a few.  It makes me think of watching my high school team since it was like just watching a bunch of my friends compete. 

That's all for now.  It's time for me to dodge the rain drops and walk to the stadium!  Go Cocks!!  You can catch us on ESPN tonight at 7:30 pm!  It will definitely be worth your while. 

Posted by Lydia at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had an amazing co-ed intramural basketball team this semester.  “True Crew” went undefeated throughout the regular season (4-0-1) and made it to the Championship Game!  The Championship games for all divisions takes place in the South Center of the Strom and a 100% cotton t-shirt is on the line for each member of the winning team. 

Not only do I love playing basketball, but I also love watching the USC Gamecocks play.  Of course I enjoy watching us win, but given this season's record I go just to support them.  This past Saturday night was Senior night.  We have three graduating seniors on the team, Bryce Sheldon (shooting guard), Brandon Wallace (center) and Tre Kelley (point guard). 

Saturday night each of the seniors were announced along with their parents and siblings.  They all looked excited to play with so many friends and family members in the audience.  The team tipped off against Ole Miss and the game began. 

All of the students got a free t-shirt with the graduating seniors number on them.  Everyone was extremely loud this game and chanting like crazy.  The Gamecocks were finally showing the fans that they were there to win and we were showing the players that we were there to support them! 

When I say this game was incredible I truly mean it.  Brandon Wallace had 12 points, some sweet dunks, and beat the school record of blocks!  Bryce Sheldon hit a great streak and scored 14 points (probably one of his best games this season).  Then of course there is our amazing point guard, Tre Kelley that ended the game with 28 points! 

I am so proud to be a Gamecock!  I was even happier to sing our Alma Mater and raise my right hand in the air in the shape of a cup during it after we won 76 to 63!  I can't believe the basketball season it almost over!  Let's hope we at least get to go back to the NIT and defend out title!

Oh and in case you didn't know, USC gives students their athletic tickets for free!!  One of the many benefits of being a Gamecock!

Posted by Lydia at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2 volleyball intramural teams = 2 chances for a championship!  Well, I should start by telling you I'm very competitive when it comes to sports.  This semester I've played co-ed indoor soccer, co-ed flag football, girls' volleyball, and co-ed volleyball.  It's been a blast and each team has been with a different group of friends and has had completely different outcomes.  In case you were curious, my soccer team with my friends didn't even make it to the playoffs (kind of sad) and my flag football team that I played on with my residents made it to the final eight!  So I'm hoping that next year the flag football team will have the chance to go all the way!

As far as volleyball, last night was the start of co-ed volleyball playoffs.  I play with my business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi.  We beat Alpha Lambda Delta (which just happens to be the team Cory (USC '09) plays on).  It was great - Cory and I were having fun joking around the whole time.  He would get so excited to make it over and then when the ball returned to his side he'd end up diving to try and hit it (quite entertaining).  I was completely thrilled to have one win under our belt, even though I personally didn't play my best.  However, in my defense, I had a teammate accidently come down and land their elbow into the top of my head right before the start of the game.  There's still a knot there!

My goal before I graduate is to win a championship in a sport.  I would love to win in basketball, but honestly I just want a little bit of bragging rights for any sport.  Well, tomorrow playoffs begin for the girls team I play on (The Crusaders) and after that game is the next round for the Delta Sigma Pi team!!  I'm hoping to leave the gym Wednesday with two victories!  I'll keep you posted!

Just another reminder that there's only a few more days until the December 1st deadline!! Let me know if I can assist you in any way!

Posted by Lydia at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)