Beamer just the latest high-profile South Carolina coach to issue fan challenge
Shane Beamer largely stuck to a typical script in the opening statement of his postgame press conference after South Carolina’s 23-14 win over Troy.
The USC head coach highlighted what went well for his team and directed a lot of credit the Trojans’ way. He commented on the game’s momentum swings, what the win meant for the Gamecocks and offered reporters the latest on the team’s injury situation.
And as he turned to take questions, he stopped to make one final point.
“I appreciate the fans that were there,” Beamer said. “They were loud, and the Cockpit (student section) was rocking down there in the end zone. We appreciate those guys.
“Going forward if you’re a season-ticket holder or if you’re somebody that has tickets to a game and you’re not going to come, please get those tickets to somebody else,” he added. “There’s a bunch of great Gamecocks out there that would love to be in the stadium. Let me know and we’ll put it on social media and get some tickets given away, because we’ve got some great fans and we need every single one of them out there.”
Beamer’s remarks generated plenty of conversation among the fan base, who offered their opinions behind the reasons for Saturday’s announced crowd of 60,686 — one of the lowest of the last decade at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The common themes fans offered as reasons for that low number: the cost of going to a game; the weather (sunny and 84 at kickoff); the opponent (Troy from the Sun Belt); and the product on the field (a program in rebuilding mode with an offense still working to find its identity).
“The days of packing the house without a winning product are over,” one fan remarked on Facebook.
Beamer, however, is not the only high-profile USC coach in recent history to make a public plea about wanting more fans in the stands.
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin commented on sparse December crowds at Colonial Life Arena in the 2017-18 season, just eight months after USC competed in its first-ever Final Four.
“It’s a little disappointing to continue to play, after the two winningest years in the history of the school, in a building with [4,000] to 5,000 people,” he said. “It’s embarrassing.”
Martin, later that week, clarified his remarks.
“I need our fans to come help my guys out. That’s all I’m asking for. I’m not being critical. Our fans are incredible. They love the school unlike anything I’ve ever been around.
“Let me make the point even a little clearer: Not only do you help the guys in the locker room right now, not only do we continue to build what we’ve been fighting to build, I think our guys deserve support after what we’ve done for the last five years.
“But here’s another part: I am in the middle of some dogfights in recruiting with some schools that sell out their building every time they play. I don’t want to lose that recruiting battle because when our game’s on TV and you see a lot of seats and not a lot of people.”
Indeed, South Carolina’s football coaches are working to make the best impression they can for future recruiting classes. On Saturday, USC hosted four-star tight end Oscar Delp, who is a week away from announcing a college commitment with finalists that include the Gamecocks, Georgia and Clemson.
“For those saying put a better product, well be there when someone like Delp is there to check us out,” one fan remarked on Facebook. “You want a better program, we have to have better recruits. They’re not going to pick us if there’s an abundance of empty seats.”
Former South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier, after a 48-10 win over East Carolina on Sept. 8, 2012, criticized fans for leaving the game early, saying ECU “could have come back and got into the game and even beaten us.”
“I hope we’re not reverting back to the days when football wasn’t very important around here and the pregame party and the postgame party was more important than the game itself,” Spurrier said. “I’m hoping the Gamecock fans will treat the game as the most important part of their Saturday football day. It didn’t appear that way yesterday.”
A year later, Spurrier walked back some of the comments, saying older fans can leave early to beat the traffic if needed. But he still implored students to stay to the end.
“The students, I think they should stay,” he remarked. “So they’re going to be up half the night or all the night anyway. So, students, sing the alma mater with us. But the other people, we appreciate you buying the ticket. I have to say that. You look at these stadiums all around the country, and they’re not packed like ours. I really want to tell our fans keep buying the ticket and if you need to leave at the end of the third quarter, that’s OK. If you’ve got little kids or something and you want to beat the crowd, I can understand that. I really can.”
South Carolina has since added a loyalty system for students as an incentive to stay the entire game, and most did for Beamer and the Gamecocks on Saturday. USC students are given coupons after a game that they can redeem for loyalty points.
