South Carolina is playing host to ESPN’s Gameday this weekend, and the Gameday set is being erected on the Horseshoe. Some fans have complained that the Horseshoe is not convenient for tailgating, and the location should be changed. These people couldn’t be more wrong, and here’s five reasons why.
1. The Horseshoe looks better than the fairgrounds. For previous visits Gameday has set up in the fairgrounds next to the stadium and next to tailgating. Although the fairgrounds have made some aesthetic changes recently, it can’t match the Horseshoe. If you have to choose a visually pleasing area, it doesn’t get better than the Horseshoe, which brings me to my second point:
2. This is a three hour commercial for the university. You can’t buy this kind of exposure. Most college football fans will tune in for some or all of Gameday each week which gives the host school exposure that would costs thousands or millions of dollars to generate on it’s own. When you have this kind of opportunity, you have to put your best foot forward, and for us, that is the Horseshoe.
3. This may help generate a return trip from Gameday. Earlier this week Chris Fowler tweeted a question about whether there was an alternative location to the Fairgrounds. The University complied and found an alternative. Being easy to work with, could entice Gameday to come back soon and give us another free commercial.
4. You know who else will be watching? High school players, i.e., recruits and future recruits. What better way to pitch the school to prospects, football and otherwise, than showing them a picturesque setting for three hours?
5. The University is accommodating everyone. As mentioned earlier, USC is trying to accommodate ESPN and at the same time it is 0accommodating the fans. South Carolina has announced that it will be running a shuttle from tailgating to the set so that fans can have the best of both worlds.
I don’t always agree with all the decisions the administration makes and I don’t always agree with the opinions on Gameday, but putting the show on the Horseshoe is perfect.
