Postseason baseball a tradition for USC. Faithful tailgaters make the scene complete
Minutes after 10 a.m. Friday, a smattering of tailgaters coat Lot 1 just beyond the ticket windows at Founders Park.
Inside the ballpark, Migos’ “Look at My Dab” blares. Outside, South Carolina fans old and young congregate for a cold beer, a pulled-pork sandwich or whatever varying concoctions they’ve brought to the NCAA Columbia Regional, the first held at USC since 2016.
Toward the front of Lot 1, Gene and Jan Schofield settle into their respective fold-up chairs. For more than 20 years, the Schofields have nestled into the varying pews of cars first at the Gamecocks’ previous home, Sarge Frye Field, and now at Founders Park.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, though, the seasoned meat grilling, friendly jabbing and general close-knit camaraderie of the South Carolina baseball tailgating community was put on pause.
As the Gamecocks opened the Columbia regional Friday with a 4-3 win over No. 3 seed Virginia, the familiar smells returned. So, too, did the lively conversations. As did the light lagers.
“I sit here and drink my beer,” said longtime Gamecock fan John Lane as to whether there’s any method to his pregame routine.
College baseball tailgating is an institution in itself around the Southeastern Conference. Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi coats the outfield in grill smoke during games. Alex Box Stadium down on the bayou brings a raucous chorus of LSU faithful each spring. Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas has mixes of both.
In Columbia, there’s a feeling of family and friendship among the longstanding tailgaters of Lot 1 and its ilk.
One hundred yards across the lot from the Schofields, Chris Brownlee and son Jay sit on the bed of a pickup truck alongside Chris’ friend Brett Grugan. Scattered between the handful of Natural Lights, Jay plays with a set of toy building materials as the adults reflect on the return of full-tilt tailgating culture to Columbia.
Three cars and 20 feet down the row, Clayton Vaughn plays soft-toss with his young son, Cooper. Like he did with his father years before, Clayton thinks back to the days of doing the same during his youth and the sense of normalcy afternoons like Friday afford.
“This past year you almost felt weird being around anyone you didn’t know,” Vaughn said. “And now we come in here you can talk to you or talk to someone else who’s got a Gamecock shirt on, you feel completely normal. This past year, we felt like we couldn’t talk to strangers.”
James Norman has been coming to Gamecock baseball games in some fashion or another since 1972. Planted just outside across the street from the centerfield gate, he tosses a speaker atop the trunk hood of his silver Buick lacrosse and connects a CD adapter to the back of it.
To the right, CDs sit in their varying plastic sleeves as “I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify emanates around him.
“I was over there in the stadium at Sarge Frye Field when we had 700 people coming to the game,” Norman said. “And it’s just amazing how it’s grown. I feel privileged to be a part of this.”
A refreshing return to normal
Jan Schofield scrolls through her pink-cased iPhone for a photo of her and her husband’s longstanding tailgating group. Of those pictured, three have since died in recent years — two from cancer and another from COVID-19.
Gene has dealt with his own set of health issues in recent years. He’s since recovered from a bout with cancer. His ankle also collapsed and forced him through a hellish 17 weeks in a wheelchair. A brace around his left leg and ankle serves as a reminder of the journey.
For the Schofields, South Carolina baseball springs eternal optimism. Jan books a block of rooms in Omaha every year, just in case the Gamecocks make a run. It’s better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them, she explains.
But as has been the case with their local tailgating group in Columbia, the number of rooms — which once sat around 15 — has been whittled down to five.
“That’s the realization of age,” Gene Schofield says solemnly. “As you get older, you start losing friends.”
Sports are wrought with cliches. In reality, they lend themselves to them. But there’s complex subtleties — like pictures of loved ones who are no longer alive to enjoy the action — that bring a sense of belonging among those setting up their trucks and grills on the grass and gravel just beyond the outfield walls of Founders Park.
Friday marked the first time since 2018 that South Carolina has played in any NCAA tournament game. For those posted up in the hours before first pitch, it was a refreshing return to years past and a chance at indoctrinating the next generation.
“It feels like being in God’s country again,” Norman said through a deep Southern drawl. “I think we’re back on track.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 4:14 PM.
