For a hyped matchup, pep rally burns mascot in effigy
Before fire was set to a 30-foot bright orange tiger Monday night, Pastor Frank Anderson of the Carolina Campus Ministers Association told a knock-knock joke to the crowd of hundreds packing the Greene Street Intramural Fields.
“Knock, knock,” Anderson said.
“Who’s there?” the crowd replied.
“Orange!” he shouted.
“Orange who?” the crowd shouted back.
“Orange you glad you don’t go to Clemson?”
As the crowd of Gamecocks roared in agreement, the giant cat went up in flames. Over the course of three minutes, the orange-and-black striped paper burned and fell to the ground, leaving behind a charred and naked skeleton of the tiger it once was.
As the big cat burned, fireworks burst and lit the night sky. On the fields, students danced to “Sandstorm” as they hurled insults at the animal effigy.
Student Body Vice President Chase Mizzell, who doubles as USC’s Mic Man, hosted Tiger Burn, the annual pep rally held in anticipation of USC’s rivalry game against Clemson.
Cocky danced to “Gangnam Style” as students lined up for towels and sunglasses from the My Carolina Alumni Association and as the sun set behind the giant tiger, constructed by USC’s chapters of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Mizzell and the Gamecocks cheerleaders led students in traditional gameday cheers, and he hosted a game of Carolina Trivia.
As the pre-burn performances wore on, the crowd got antsy; some students booed when dance group Rik-a-Sha was introduced for its second performance. Others began chanting, “Burn it.”
“I thought someone was going to throw a lighter and burn it down themselves,” said first-year biology student Rachel Ethridge.
But after performances from Rik-a-Sha; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and Swype, USC’s break-dancing organization, it was time.
Anderson delivered the traditional eulogy for the tiger, and it was time to burn the tiger in effigy — as flames engulfed what he called a “puffed-up, overrated and aptly named pussycat from a place called Clemson.”
{module Tiger Burn}