COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - About 14,000 people gathered at the Colonial Life Arena in downtown Columbia Wednesday afternoon to welcome the national champion USC Gamecock baseball team home from the College World Series in Omaha.
This was the first time a men's athletic team has won a national title and Gamecock fans were ready to party. Many tailgated in parking lots outside Colonial Life Arena and most dressed in South Carolina shirts and hats. An arena scoreboard replayed the baseball clincher from the night before.
Gates opened at the Colonial Life Arena at 3:30p.m., and fans began pouring in to watch a replay of Tuesday night's title game. The team walked in just before 5:30pm to raucous "Game-Cocks" cheers, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Queen's "We Are the Champions."
The first 5,000 fans in attendance received a commemorative print. Due to the venue change and expected large crowd, there was not an autograph session to conclude the event as was previously planned.
Coach Ray Tanner thanked the fans for their support during the season. Instead of referring to the championship as belonging to the team, Tanner said it was fans' championship title.
Tanner also thanked three people who couldn't be at the celebration: Sarge Frye, Tom Price, and Bayler Teal.
Teal was the 7-year-old cancer-stricken child who died last weeks just as the Gamecocks defeated the Oklahoma Sooners. The boy was a fan of the team and the team quickly adopted him as one of their own.
"Last I'd like to recognize Bayler Teal," said Tanner to a standing crowd chanting the boy's name. "There was once a time in Bayler's life that many of our guys were his heroes, but soon, he became our hero. He inspired us, and he was watching over us. He was the angel on our wing. Thank you, Bayler."
The celebration doesn't end for at least until the end of the week. The City of Columbia says they'll be holding a parade on Friday at noon on Main Street to commemorate the team's historic title. The parade will begin at the corner of Main and Laurel streets, travel down Main Street and end at the corner of Main and Gervais streets.
Immediately after the parade, a brief ceremony will be held to honor Coach Ray Tanner and the Gamecocks. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
Governor Mark Sanford announced Wednesday afternoon that the USC baseball flag will fly over the State House on Thursday to honor the Gamecocks, much like after Clemson's 1981 football championship. Sanford is also designating Thursday, July 1 as Gamecocks Baseball National Champions Day.
"Given last night's classic come-from-behind victory by the South Carolina Gamecocks in Omaha, I'd congratulate Coach Tanner and the entire baseball team for their relentless spirit, superior skill, and ongoing success both on and off the field in representing South Carolina," said Sanford.
In addition, Sanford will award Coach Tanner with the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest civilian award. "For his years of success on the ball field, his work with the Ray Tanner Foundation, and his dedicated service to the university and community at large, Coach Tanner is deserving of this recognition and I'd wish him and the Gamecocks all the best as they take a well-deserved victory lap," said Sanford.
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