First Time 2001 Was Played Before Game?

[orlandogamecock]

I know it was in the JoMo era. But anyone recall the first time it was played? And against whom?

Thanks for your help.

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

1984 opening game against the Citadel.

Carolina won 31-24.

Those of us in the Club Row couldn't hear real well and we knew there was something weird coming out of the loudspeakers. All of a suddent there were these trumpets playing.

Me, being the world's greatest fan of Kubrick's masterpiece, knew instantly what it was. I said to my parents, my girlfriend and everyone with 100 feet, "goddamn, that's ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA!" Everybody kind of looked at each other and said, "goddamn, you're right!"

Then for the first time the smoke erupted in the southwest corner and the 'Cocks took the field. We were happy.

That game was a nail biter. The Citadel led in the 4th and it took a late Mitchell-directed drive to secure the win. If you look down the guardrail behind the north end zone you will see a noticeable bend in the railing between the goalpost and the flag pole. That was where some Citadel receiver went long and BAM right into the guardrail and BENT it. It's still there. The hedges were also sort of brand new as they had only been planted the year before when Joe had the astroturf pulled up. There wasn't a whole lot between the back of the endzone and that guardrail.

[RHHS8068]

I thought Morrison brought it with him from the beginning, which would have been the start of the 83 season, but maybe I'm remembering wrong.

[orlandogamecock]

Thanks, Stillwearingmyjoehat!:thumbsup:

And great recall of the game!

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

Thanks, Stillwearingmyjoehat!:thumbsup:

And great recall of the game!

Well, I'm an '83 Carolina grad. My brother is El Cid '79. That's the only game so far he's ever gone to at Williams Brice. My parents, me, my girlfriend, him and my sister-in-law all went up to the seat where we only had four together. I still remember waiting breathlessly to see if the usual no shows next to us would come to the season opener. NO! We had two extra seats and the ones we had tickets to in the upper deck went to whoever wanted them.

The only other "big time" college game he had ever been to was the '76 Citadel-Klempsun game up there. (He was on the cannon crew.) He was really impressed with Williams-Brice and kept talking about how much more of a great place it was compared to all that orange.

So, yeah, I remember that game very well.

By the way, as I thought about it, I remembered how we won. That was the game where Morrison installed the halfback option and Quinton Lewis through a perfect strike to the end zone. I think it was Chris Wade who caught the ball. You have NEVER seen a more flabbergasted group of fans as Williams-Brice saw that night.

I mean, after eight years of Carlen and Bell, what are the odds of EVER seeing a so-called "trick play" from Carolina?

It was totally cool.

[CockRoche]

Also Sprach Zarathustra. I believe a great user name could be inspired by that title. I believe I'll still call it 2001 though because I don't want all my friends to think I'm a show-off.

[mickholtlaw]

1984 opening game against the Citadel.

Carolina won 31-24.

Those of us in the Club Row couldn't hear real well and we knew there was something weird coming out of the loudspeakers. All of a suddent there were these trumpets playing.

Me, being the world's greatest fan of Kubrick's masterpiece, knew instantly what it was. I said to my parents, my girlfriend and everyone with 100 feet, "goddamn, that's ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA!" Everybody kind of looked at each other and said, "goddamn, you're right!"

Then for the first time the smoke erupted in the southwest corner and the 'Cocks took the field. We were happy.

That game was a nail biter. The Citadel led in the 4th and it took a late Mitchell-directed drive to secure the win. If you look down the guardrail behind the north end zone you will see a noticeable bend in the railing between the goalpost and the flag pole. That was where some Citadel receiver went long and BAM right into the guardrail and BENT it. It's still there. The hedges were also sort of brand new as they had only been planted the year before when Joe had the astroturf pulled up. There wasn't a whole lot between the back of the endzone and that guardrail.

You have a terrific memory. I too was at that game and I remember wondering how in the heck this was happening. That kid that hit the guardrail made a great play for the ball and after that play did not play again the rest of the day. Someone threw in Quinten Lewis' throw which was correct. Those '84 guys were household names back in the day.

But as for 2001, I may be wrong and probably am wrong but I thought the first time I heard it was 1983 against Southern Cal. With the passage of time some things get a little fuzzy and this may be one of them but I always thought it was 83 when 2001 came into being.

Thanks for walk down memory lane. Go Cocks.

[Hoovnasty]

I remember a couple of phish shows where i yelled "Go Cocks!" when they started playing 2001....needless to say when you're in like Vermont and you yell that you get odd looks, but what the hell do they know?!

[Feathers]

It was used in the first game Morrison coached at Carolina in 1983 against North Carolina. I was there and remember it. It has been used every home game since then.

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

Well, I'll be honest. First of all, my parents were great donors. THEY had the seats in Section 200. We sat under the upper deck kind of high. So when we got to our seats we actually had to kind of duck our heads down to see under the balcony so we knew the game time. Couldn't see the clock on top of the scoreboard. And back then there were no ribbon displays on each of the sideline stands.

Where we sat, though, also hid the speakers a little. What I remember from late in th 1983 was some kind of a "promo" announcing Carolina's 20-year long celebration of the 200th anniversary and 2001 was playing in the background. I don't think it was part of any introduction of the team.

The whole buildup/fire extinguisher/team run out/band play the fight song thing started in '84.

Oh, another thing. Me knowing and loving the song, I used to grate my teeth everytime it played. Up until the early '90s, for some reason Carolina had a BOTCHED recording of the song. Anyone who knows it now knows it starts with a 16-beat tuba note that's down around low C somewhere. Then the Trumpets come in.

Well, for the first ten years or so, the sound would start and the low bass note intro was cut off. Just "blat" trumpets. No intro. No build up. Finally, at some point a media guy noticed it and got it fixed.

Drove me nuts, though, for ten years.

[mickholtlaw]

It was used in the first game Morrison coached at Carolina in 1983 against North Carolina. I was there and remember it. It has been used every home game since then.

You sound confident. I thought it was '83 so I am going with your answer. It seems we played So Cal early which would likely be why I thought it was the first time it was played. The So Cal game was crazy. We beat them all over the field. We then lost to Notre Dame that same year. I still remember a couple of yankees standing in front of us in the endzone holding up a makeshift banner with "suck notre dames cock." An oldtimer who didn't appreciate them being drunk, crude and obnoxious in front of his wife got into a tug of war over that banner with those Noterd Dame guys and nearly came to fistocuffs. Wherever that Carolina fan is today, I give a toast to him for his fighting gamecock spirit.

[Feathers]

It was played just before the team came on the field in 1983. I'm not sure of what year the smoke and other things were started but I think it was later than 1984. As I recall I think Tommy Suggs suggested 2001. He got the idea from attending an Elvis concert. If I remember correctly he had suggested this idea to JIm Carlen but he wasn't interested. He tried it again when Morrison became coach and the rest is history.

[lawdog100]

1984 opening game against the Citadel.

Carolina won 31-24.

That game was a nail biter. The Citadel led in the 4th and it took a late Mitchell-directed drive to secure the win.

Blake's been around that long? That's gotta be some kind of record!
:lol:


(I know....Allen Mitchell. I just couldn't resist.)

[Bigmo-cock]

Blake's been around that long? That's gotta be some kind of record!
:lol:


(I know....Allen Mitchell. I just couldn't resist.)Id get tired of going to class too if I was him:rotfl:

[cocknblue]

It was the 1983 game against the Heels....I was there too. In his first year as coach, Morrison wanted to do something to jazz up the crowd...though I remember the crowd doing a collective "what the heck is that?" when it first started. I thought then (and now) that it was a great idea.

[tptgamecock]

It was 83 against UNC. I remember it also.

[RHHS8068]

What I remember from late in th 1983 was some kind of a "promo" announcing Carolina's 20-year long celebration of the 200th anniversary and 2001 was playing in the background.

"2001" started with the UNC game in 1983. It had nothing to do with Carolina being founded in 1801, Morrison just wanted an inspiring entrance. And there was no 20-year long celebration of our 200th anniversary. Carolina fans can party with the best, but nobody celebrates anything for 20 years.

[cockyhoskins]

No doubt that JoMo first used it in 1983 against UNC. If I remember correctly, this is still the highest ranked opponent we have beaten to date. Ranked #3 at the time. Whipped them good.

However it was first used in 1981.

[cockyhoskins]

Credit for starting the “2001” introduction at USC is sometimes mistakenly given to former Coach Joe Morrison or one of his assistants, said Tommy Suggs, the former USC quarterback and color commentator on USC radio broadcasts for 32 seasons. Suggs first pitched the idea to Coach Jim Carlen after seeing Elvis Presley use it for his entrance at concerts. “When I saw it, it was very emotional,” Suggs said.

Carlen agreed to try the entrance in 1981, which turned out to be his final season. He insisted, however, that the band play it rather than having it played over the public address system. “I tried to discourage that because I knew no one would hear it,” Suggs said. “We only tried it for a couple of games.”

Suggs pitched the idea again in 1982 to new athletics director Bob Marcum. Marcum loved the idea, but postponed it until 1983 because the sound system at Williams-Brice was in poor condition and needed to be overhauled. By 1983, Morrison had replaced Richard Bell, who lasted only one season as coach; consequently, many assumed the new coach had brought the introduction with him.

Suggs remembers the Thursday night before the 1983 season opener against North Carolina. “Bob Marcum and I were on the practice field before the first game. The band was going off the field, and the team was going on. They played ‘2001,’ and everyone just stopped. They couldn’t believe it, they couldn’t understand what it was. From that point on, the rest is history. It’s just taken off and gone on from there.”

http://www.sc.edu/carolinian/features/fea_05aug_01b.html

There is my little known fact of the day for y'all!

[GamecockSeven]

When he says they only tried a couple times, does that mean the Band played it?

Thanks for the link, CH. Just reading that gave me goosebumps.

[cockyhoskins]

Yes, the band definitely played it during games in 1981.

[RHHS8068]

No doubt that JoMo first used it in 1983 against UNC. If I remember correctly, this is still the highest ranked opponent we have beaten to date. Ranked #3 at the time. Whipped them good.

However it was first used in 1981.

Thanks for the link, CH. Suggs was right about the band. I certainly don't recall them playing it in 81, I guess I didn't hear it.

One point of clarification, however. We lost to UNC in 83, 24-8. The beating we put on them when they were #3 that you're thinking of was 1981 at Chapel Hill, 31-13. Gordon Beckham kept dumping the slant to the tight end and we wore them out. Dick Crum never adjusted the UNC defense.

[eklypised]

Anybody got the VIDEO?