"The Gamecock" explanation of 2001 theme entrance - C&P

Aug 3, 2005, 12:51 AM

2001: A USC Odyssey
The Gamecock - News Issue: 9/8/03 By Mary Pinckney Waters

"...............USC's most beloved football tradition - the dramatic "2001" entrance into Williams-Brice Stadium - actually has more to do with Elvis Presley than Stanley Kubrick. Most fans recognize the piece as the theme of Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey," in which it accompanies a sunrise in the opening scene. But color commentator and former USC quarterback Tommy Suggs knows the real story behind the energetic entrance. "I felt like we needed something to excite the crowd," Suggs said. "I got the idea when I saw an Elvis Presley show at the Carolina Coliseum, and I just thought it would be great for Carolina. I thought: If it's good enough for Elvis, then it's good enough for the Gamecocks." This is the 20th year that "Also Sprach Zarathustra, Opus 30" or "2001" has provided the soundtrack for the entrance of USC's football heroes onto the playing field, but the piece's ability to invigorate the crowd never grows old. "I get chills every time," said longtime Gamecock fan Bill Hipp, who has been attending Carolina football games for about 40 years. Originally written in 1896 by Richard Strauss, the piece is loosely based on Friedrich Nietzsche's book "Thus Spake Zarathustra," which describes man as a potential superman. It was not until 1983, almost a century later, that the Gamecocks claimed their stake in the musical masterpiece for the team's entrance. Until then, the band simply played the fight song as the players ran onto the field. "It was more like it just happened," said Hipp. Initially, the band played the piece, but because the crowd couldn't hear it well enough, a recording was later used so the music could be heard over the loud speakers. "When they (the band) first played '2001,' only the people close to where the team was coming out and close to where the band played could hear it, and the rest of the stadium was not the same page," Hipp said. Once the piece was played over the stadium's sound system, though, the tradition cemented itself as part of the game day experience. Fans cite the stirring quality of the piece as the key to its success and endurance. "I live for it - it's almost better than the football game," said Gamecock fan Melinda Gipe of Charleston, S.C., about the piece. Gipe's daughter, Lindsay, is a second-year nursing student at USC. She said the family has been attending Carolina football games for as long as she can remember. "The song just brings so much energy," said Kerry Tharp, sports information director of USC's athletics department. "It's got the crescendos, and the crowd just goes crazy." Other college football teams also have distinctive traditions about how their players come out onto the field. Clemson players, for example, have been charging down "The Hill," their stadium's seat-less student section, to reach the field since 1942. The Georgia Bulldogs participate in the "Dog Walk" before each game, in which the players and the band march from UGA's Tate Student Center to its football stadium, in between an aisle of cheering fans the entire way. Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey started a tradition for the Vols in 1964 when his team entered the field through an enormous "T" formed by the university's marching band. Despite the customs of their competitors, the Gamecocks regard their "2001" entrance as incomparable. "The song identifies us now," Hipp said. "We have to have our song be unique - everything has to be unique. There are hundreds of tigers and bulldogs, but we're the only gamecocks." Nobody appreciates the excitement of the tradition more than the players themselves, who run onto the field each week to "2001" through a cloud of smoke and an aisle of cheerleaders to get pumped before play begins. "It feels great. It's an experience that everyone should have - running out in front of 80,000 people and you know they're cheering for you," said football player and third-year hotel, restaurant and tourism management student Lance Laury. Suggs agrees: "Kids just want to run out to it - it's bigger than life."........"

"The Only Gamecocks"......no one else would dare claim to be one !

The Gamecock's Fight Song - why not try to find something better. -- How Inspirational
The Music
http://www.music.sc.edu/ea/MarchingBand/sounds/fightsong.mp3

The Words
http://www.sc.edu/usc/fightsong.html

"The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way"

Hey, Let's give a cheer, Carolina is here,
The Fighting Gamecocks lead the way.
Who gives a care, If the going gets tough,
And when it is rough, that's when the '##### get going.

Hail to our colors of garnet and Black,
In Carolina pride have we.

So, Go Gamecocks Go - FIGHT!
Drive for the goal - FIGHT!
USC will win today - GO #####!
So, let's give a cheer, Carolina is here.
The Fighting Gamecocks All The Way!

ABOUT THE FIGHT SONG

The tune is from the musical "How Now, Dow Jones" and the original song is titled "Step to the Rear" (composed by Elmer Bernstein with original lyrics by Carolyn Leigh). The sheet music is copyrighted to Carwin Music, Incorporated in 1967. The music was chosen as a USC Fight Song by former football coach and Athletic Director, Paul Deitzel. Mr. Deitzel wrote the lyrics to this USC Fight Song.

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

"The Gamecock" explanation of 2001 theme entrance - C&P

Re: "The Gamecock" explanation of 2001 theme entrance - C&P

Yeah, it's unique alright.

They forgot about the mighty Jacksonville State Gamecocks***

TigerBoard POTD