4,496 games since 2007. Now, SC super fan’s passion is on hold with sports shut down
Ian McCormick is used to planning out his next sports journey. Now, like many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, McCormick is searching for different ways to get his sports fix.
The Sumter resident is spending time watching old games on YouTube as well as monitoring the news to see when the coronavirus might slow down so he can return to his passion: attending sporting events in person.
Starting with a Coastal Plain League baseball game between the Florence RedWolves and Columbia Blowfish on May 30, 2007, McCormick has attended 4,496 games (high school, college and professional) and set up a database to chronicle his experiences.
McCormick’s last sporting event came March 12 when he watched A.C. Flora’s baseball team defeat Crestwood 14-0.
“While most of the talk is how extroverts have had their lives turned upside down more than introverts, I am an introvert who has been really crushed by this,” McCormick told The State. “This goes for both being a sports fan as well as a ride-share driver who has to take time off given the current dangers of doing that today.
“By the beginning of March I was very much concerned that games would have to be behind closed doors. That’s bad enough for me given what I do. ... Once [NBA player] Rudy Gobert tested positive it was clear that everything would be called off and there wouldn’t be much to see, even if on TV.”
In addition to sports, McCormick’s job as a Uber/Lyft driver also is affected by the pandemic. He also was supposed to begin work with the U.S. Census, but even that it is uncertain.
So with a break from competition, McCormick has had some time to work on his database and reflect on his love of sports and the many journeys from more than two decades of going to games.
Take him out to the ballgame
McCormick estimates he spends about $500 to $1,000 a month going to games. The costs include tickets, food and gas. Those costs rise for longer summer road trips.
Most of the time McCormick attends games alone, but his family joins him occasionally, especially to watch baseball games. McCormick’s favorite sport is basketball and has a love for Championship Week and the NCAA tournament, which was canceled because of the coronavirus.
Soccer is McCormick’s second favorite sport second because of its pace of play and lack of timeouts, but “each sport has its own place” for him.
McCormick was born in Ohio but his family moved to Sumter when he was 2 years old. He remembers watching Michael Jordan on TV, and one of his first in-person experiences was with his dad at a St. Louis Cardinals game in 1994.
The 33-year-old played baseball growing up but admits he wasn’t a great athlete, so he turned his attention to going to games and supporting schools across the region. It started with going to boys and girls basketball games at Alice Drive Middle School in Sumter. The boys team was coached by Lee Anderson, Zion Williamson’s stepfather.
“Middle school basketball doesn’t generate much student support like you see in college basketball and with some high schools, but I was the one student who got into the games of our school,” McCormick said. “The boys team won the conference title that season and coach Anderson gave me an award for my fandom at the team’s banquet, which I chose not to attend as I felt that the banquet should be only for the players.”
After high school, McCormick attended High Point University for his undergraduate degree and then USC for graduate school. He went to as many HPU games as he could. Once he had a car on campus, he started attending different sporting events in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.
Inspired by Charlie’s Big Baseball Parks Page, he decided to go to as many high school and college stadiums in the area and take pictures of them.
After a High Point baseball game in the 2007 Big South tournament, McCormick started documenting his sports journeys on a spreadsheet.
“I left in the middle of the game HPU was losing to have lunch. When I returned they almost rallied to win but fell short,” McCormick said. “While watching the next game I decided that, with the number of games I was attending, that I should track them better and in a way I could compare different stats between them.”
Waiting to make more memories
McCormick’s most visited venue is Colonial Life Arena, home of USC’s basketball teams. Since 2007, he has been to the CLA 326 times and watched Gamecock sports teams play 546 times.
The team McCormick has seen the most is the RedWolves (157 games), which plays from May to August. Some of his favorite players are former Atlanta Braves stars Greg Maddux and Ryan Klesko, as well as Sumter native Jordan Montgomery, who played at USC and is with the New York Yankees.
His favorite place to watch a game? That’s tough, McCormick said, adding that each spot has positives and negatives. He said Charleston Southern’s basketball arena, known as the Buc Dome, is a unique setting because it only seats 881.
Another favorite spot is Riley Park in Sumter, which hosts USC Sumter baseball games and Sumter P-15s American Legion team. It also has hosted S.C. American Legion championships and regionals.
“For an old stadium with mostly bleachers, it’s pretty comfortable with backrests and a roof over the main grandstand and large ceiling fans,” McCormick said of Riley Park. “You can move around quite easily and sit where you want, and concessions are widely available for a good price and the fans really care about the game.”
Some of McCormick’s most memorable games came in 2010. The Gamecock men’s basketball team knocked Kentucky, with John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, on Jan. 26, 2010. In June, USC baseball won a Super Regional in Myrtle Beach. A few months later USC football’s team defeated No. 1 Alabama at Williams-Brice Stadium.
McCormick also sat through a 20-inning game between Western Carolina and Elon at the 2011 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament. He also enjoyed watching Chapin-Newberry win the 2015 American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina. It was the first time in 79 years a team from South Carolina won the event.
Now, McCormick, like anyone who is sports-starved, waits for his next sporting event. He hopes things get back to normal soon but is well aware that might not happen.
“If we can get back to normal, I probably would be inclined to go to games but generally less crowded games where I can sit in a mostly empty section to myself,” McCormick said. “I am not so much upset about not being able to see sports as I am worried about the future of humanity.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 9:25 AM.
