Gamecock football honors Tommy Suggs with new entrance

Tonight, we're officially less than 24 hours away from Gamecock football. And this season, the iconic 2001 player entrance is gonna look a little bit different. Our Cassidy Byer tells us why here at the Williams Bryce stadium, thousands will soon enter some for the first time, others for the thousands. But what makes this year a little bit different is not how the fans enter but how the game c players do. I gotta do this. This has got to be the way South Carolina game cops football team enters the field after former US C quarterback Tommy Suggs watched music legend Elvis Presley entered the stage live in 1977 to the tune of 2001. He knew it had to be incorporated into the Gamecock athletics brand. He then suggested the school use the music. So the first time it was played in the first game of 83. So I stayed after it that long, believing in it and all the people agreed with me, we just couldn't get it done. And then I just saw the emotion happen and I saw the football team just go into a frenzy and I went, I got it. That's it for the first time this season. As players leave the locker room, they'll run through the Tommy Suggs 2001 Gamecock football entrance before stepping foot on the fields and Suggs will be there to witness it. They'll be exciting and, and, and somewhat emotional. Uh, but, you know, uh, when that happens, I got my game face on, you know, I am prepared for the game following his time as quarterback from 1968 through 70 Suggs went on to become part of the radio broadcast team for the Gamecocks and has been doing it ever since I'm sitting there in the booth with Todd and our people up there and I got my charts in front of me and that's part of it. But the main part is when the whistle blows and we start the game and every time the Gamecock players entered the field to a tradition, he started, Suggs can't help but observe the opposing fans and players, a lot of them stand up, they don't cheer a lot of them look around like this. And the same thing happens when we follow it up with sandstorm, same thing. And I've had Alabama people repeatedly tell me that it's the loudest stadium and most emotional stadium they have ever been in when we played them in 2010 and beat them here. I've had Georgia people tell me the same thing because when we start playing, well, that play starts rocking while the Gamecock player field entrance may look a little different than years prior Suggs says it's still the same anthem with the same overarching message. Just go play, just go play, play hard. Um, do what your coaches tell you to do. Be disciplined, be under control, play with emotion though and just play Cassie Beer News 19 WLTS. Well, this is gonna be Tommy's 50th season with the Gamecock football broadcast team. He's gonna be honored with the new entrance way Saturday, September 14th before US C takes on LSU.