USC had a chance for a PR coup and blew it with Gamecock live mascot naming drama
How could something so petty as a chicken’s name be turned into a leading story about a state’s flagship university?
The University of South Carolina, that’s how.
As of 9 a.m. Friday, the second most read story on thestate.com concerns the last-minute name change of the live rooster mascot, who was Sir Big Spur then was The General for a couple days and is now Sir Big Spur again.
USC needs to offer a new course next semester: How not to name a live college mascot.
Admittedly, this is just small-time drama that will blow over in a week. The University of South Carolina’s mission to educate its students and do leading research is noble and should not be overshadowed. But the school brought this drama onto itself.
The naming saga shows USC is listening to Gamecock fans but not listening closely enough when an organic, grassroots marketing opportunity, the kind some companies would pay millions to create, shows itself.
In general terms, the drama started with a disagreement with the new handlers of the rooster and the previous owners, who also held the rights to the Sir Big Spur name. Neither are employed by USC but are just big fans.
The previous owners cut the rooster’s comb on its head and wanted the new family to continue that practice. When the new folks didn’t want to do that, the old owners said USC and the handlers couldn’t use Sir Big Spur.
USC and the new handlers proceeded to come up with the name The General.
The inevitable happened. Fans rejected the name, and memes popped up with the animated military-man mascot of the insurance company also named The General. But a last-minute deal was struck between the name owners, the handlers and USC to use Sir Big Spur, as chronicled by the Charleston Post and Courier. The rooster’s comb would be cut off.
In striking the deal and striking down The General, USC proved it was listening to fans, who hated The General.
On the other hand, USC proved it isn’t listening closely enough to fans because a solution to the whole naming drama was sitting right in front of them:
Cock Commander.
That’s the name that fans rallied around in a poll started by The State. The name set the internet on fire and got national sports commentators talking about the Gamecocks. It was a public relations coup just waiting for USC administrators to gobble up. But the school didn’t take the chance they were given.
The icky thing about this whole naming situation is that part of the deal is the rooster’s comb being “trimmed,” as it’s been described. That’s just a nice way of saying, the comb is going to be cut off. The comb helps the chicken stay cool, according to horticulturist. Cutting it off can be beneficial in extremely cold environments where frost bite can set in. That won’t be happening in South Carolina. In the past when chicken fighting was more prevalent and legal, owners would cut off the comb to prevent bleeding.
A public endorsement of cutting off part of an animal’s parts for aesthetic reasons just doesn’t sit right in 2022. Endorsing trimming the comb seems much worse than endorsing Cock Commander.
University officials: Ensure no future naming drama by taking control of the rooster’s name. Go with Cock Commander. Embrace it. Make it your own.