Five moments when South Carolina made pop-culture history
1. Borat trolls three students
Three Chi Psi members from USC appeared in the 2006 mockumentary “Borat.” The scene shows the three brothers picking up prankster Sacha Baron Cohen, who was disguised as a reporter from Kazakhstan, on the side of the road in an RV.
After becoming blatantly hammered, the brothers shouted “Oh baby!” and encouraged Cohen to do the same. “Oh-da-baby!” Cohen replied, birthing one of the most popular catchphrases of the next two years.
One even agreed to participate in a “traditional” Kazakhstani drinking game that involved putting cheese in the player’s anus and letting a mouse fish it out. “I’ll do it,” he said enthusiastically. “I don’t give a f—-. I’ll do it.” The film never showed whether he went through with it or not.
Some USC staff and students weren’t pleased with the attention the scene drew to the university (they were wearing Gamecock paraphernalia) and said that the boys made racist and sexist remarks. The brothers eventually sued the producers of “Borat” for misleading them, claiming that they were told the film wouldn’t be aired in the U.S. and that they were bought drinks at a bar beforehand.
The judge never let them proceed with the prosecution, however, saying that they had “failed to show a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their case and that monetary damages would not be enough to resolve their claims.”
2. Michael Phelps makes dopey decision at USC party
While visiting Columbia in 2009 to see his then-girlfriend, USC student Jordan Matthews, the swimming phenom hit Five Points and then hit the bong at a party.
“You could tell Michael had smoked before,” a source said at the time. “He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do.”
The photo of that fateful rip landed Phelps in deep water. USA Swimming suspended him for three months, and he issued a public apology.
Despite rumors that he would be barred from the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps and his corrupted lungs would go on to win four more gold medals, bringing his grand total to 18.
3. Woodlands pool party on Tosh.0 blog
Last year, the Woodlands apartment complex hosted a packed pool party that got a little out of hand. Girls hopped on guys’ shoulders and started chicken fighting. Chants for bikini tops to come off ensued — and it wasn’t long before a handful of ladies obliged.
Video footage of the party made it all the way to comedian Daniel Tosh’s Tosh.0 blog.
A photo of one topless chicken fighter with dozens of men clammering to grab her breasts graced the front page of the popular website Reddit with the title, “Please give your daughters lots of attention … [NSFW].”
4. Clowney and Jay-Z “turn up”
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that South Carolina’s star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was in contact with rapper Jay-Z, who recently launched a sports agency called Roc Nation Sports.
“You know (sic) we about to turn up,” Clowney posted on Instagram alongside a link to a report discussing the pair’s interaction. “Dream comin true.”
Because college players are not allowed to make fiscal agreements with agencies, the post caused Clowney all sorts of problems — I’m guessing around 99. After an investigation, South Carolina concluded that Clowney “has not had any impermissible conversations nor has he received any impermissible benefits.”
5. Leonardo DiCaprio sports Gamecock baseball cap
Leonardo DiCaprio had Gamecock fans wondering if the actor, of “Titanic” and “Shutter Island” fame, was one of their own when he attended a 2010 NBA finals game wearing a hat with the South Carolina baseball team’s overlapping “SC” logo on it.
It seemed strange that someone with no known ties to the university would rep a team which, at the time, at least, had very few bandwagon fans.
DiCaprio never revealed the reason behind his interesting choice of headgear.