How a billboard bragging idea ignited a new USC-Clemson rivalry

Well, it’s that time of the year again.

The time when Clemson University football fans prepare for Cocky’s funeral. And the time when University of South Carolina Gamecocks brace for the famed Tiger Burn.

This year’s Clemson-Carolina spat, however, has turned into something more.

It started Monday, when Tom Wilson – best known by his Twitter handle, @ClemsonTom – said he spotted a tweet that said there was a sale for billboards in Columbia.

He said he thought that it “would be hilarious” if Clemson University fans could raise enough money to buy a billboard that would pick on Gamecocks in some way.

Wilson said he hadn’t settled on what the billboard would say. He considered highlighting South Carolina’s crushing loss to Clemson during the 2016 game, which ended at 56-7. Whatever it was, it would be pro-Clemson, he said.

“We weren’t going to do it until after the game,” Wilson said. “We had a feeling that it would get torn down.”

But before he could give the billboard serious thought, the idea had taken off among other Clemson fans. And it got under the skin of Carolina fans, Wilson said.

By Tuesday morning, Chris Cox, a Gamecock fan, learned of the the billboard idea. It “seemed a little childish” to many USC fans, Cox said.

In response, he also sent a tweet. Cox suggested that instead of raising money for a billboard, Carolina fans should raise money to help those devastated by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

“It’s been about a month since the hurricane hit and they’re still struggling,” Cox said. “It’s still a crisis down there.”

His idea took off as well.

Cox set the initial goal at $2,000, the rumored amount that the would-be Clemson billboard would cost. He was nervous that he would be unable to hit the goal, and Clemson fans would get a good laugh from it, Cox said.

He was wrong.

As of Thursday, Cox’s GoFundMe page was just $160 shy of his $8,000 goal. He still hopes the effort crosses the $10,000 mark.

“Gamecock Nation really stepped up,” Cox said. “What we’ve done to this point is something incredible.”

Clemson fans, however, aren’t too far behind. As more and more people donated, Wilson started thinking making something better than a billboard could be done with the extra money.

Wilson has now raised about $2,000. He hopes to still buy the billboard, but he wants to donate the extra cash to Fostering Faithfully, an organization based in Walhalla that helps foster families and children in foster care.

He’s not sure where the billboard will go up – if it does at all. Wilson is also considering reaching out to everyone who gave him money for the billboard, and asking if they’re OK with the money going to Fostering Faithfully instead.

“If you take away the hatred for each other, and look at what we’ve done because of a joke, then we’ve done something really good,” Wilson said.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "How a billboard bragging idea ignited a new USC-Clemson rivalry."