My brother and I took whitmire# up on the offer to stop by his railroad cars, and ate sandwiches, etc. pregame. He was shepherding his local folk and trying to direct Cat fans to his locale, so we didn’t have too much time to talk, but pretty cool stuff. We left him a bottle of Makers for his troubles!
My impression of USC in general is the same as from my prior trips.
Best pre-game atmosphere in the SEC, maybe tied with LSU’s “Mike The Tiger” pregame. I have not been to College Station or UF, yet.
USC fans: as nice as any. Oddly, I asked several fans about the location of the “Cockabooses,” and no one seemed to have heard of them . . . seriously. One guy looked embarrassed and said he hadn’t been to a game in 20 years. Turns out the red painted “Cockabooses,” and the whitmire# gray railroad cars are very VERY close to where the opposing fans enter the stadium.
I showed my brother the cool monument to George Rogers, after the game, and asked USCe fans if Big George still did autographs, and the Heisman display, there, and they gave me a blank stare. They were 20 somethings, so I told them about Rogers and the monument of him standing on the little bleacher. He won the Heisman when I was 17, and 20 years before current students were born, so I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh.
The Game.
At halftime a younger Cock fan said we were going to blow you out in the second half. I told him we were too turnover prone and that it would be a 4th quarter game.
Beamer.
He should have kicked a 42 yard field goal with 14 minutes left in a tight 13-7 ball game. And an onsides kick with 2:42 might have given you all two chances for a possession in the final two minutes.
My impression of USC in general is the same as from my prior trips.
Best pre-game atmosphere in the SEC, maybe tied with LSU’s “Mike The Tiger” pregame. I have not been to College Station or UF, yet.
USC fans: as nice as any. Oddly, I asked several fans about the location of the “Cockabooses,” and no one seemed to have heard of them . . . seriously. One guy looked embarrassed and said he hadn’t been to a game in 20 years. Turns out the red painted “Cockabooses,” and the whitmire# gray railroad cars are very VERY close to where the opposing fans enter the stadium.
I showed my brother the cool monument to George Rogers, after the game, and asked USCe fans if Big George still did autographs, and the Heisman display, there, and they gave me a blank stare. They were 20 somethings, so I told them about Rogers and the monument of him standing on the little bleacher. He won the Heisman when I was 17, and 20 years before current students were born, so I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh.
The Game.
At halftime a younger Cock fan said we were going to blow you out in the second half. I told him we were too turnover prone and that it would be a 4th quarter game.
Beamer.
He should have kicked a 42 yard field goal with 14 minutes left in a tight 13-7 ball game. And an onsides kick with 2:42 might have given you all two chances for a possession in the final two minutes.
