Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

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Rock Defender [53]

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Joined: 11/30/98

Here is my experience from Tiger Band

Nov 15, 2017, 2:55 PM

2013, Tiger Band goes to Williams Brice. I'm sorry about the length, but this is 100% true.

Police had us rally at a lot 1/2 mile away. We tried to drive right up to the stadium, but a large mob (150+ coot fans of all ages) was surrounding our buses and becoming increasingly violent (rocking the buses, blocking our path, flipping us off and screaming awful things at us, pelting buses with beer bottles and rocks). At one point, a group of younger coot fans tried to break into the bus the cheerleaders were on with a crowbar. They were very drunk and behaving very violently. SLED pulled the plug and made us rally at an industrial parking lot on the other side of the practice facility location. On one side of us, Williams Brice and the fairgrounds with thousands of hostile drunk coots, on the other side, a ghetto with gang banger looking people eyeing us up and jawing at us. It was scary, we wren't allowed off the buses and were told to change and warm up on the buses (it wasn't all bad since I was on the bus with the dancers).

We got into our parade block with SLED officers making a perimeter around us and started walking. immediately after leaving the parking lot, a large chevy truck with a truck bed full of drunk coot fans drove straight through our formation. Like, straight through the middle, spinning tires to try and spray us with gravel. They almost ran over the entire flute section. They also threw bottles at us. The truck was finally deterred when a SLED agent essentially drove his police cruiser in front of the truck as they turned around to make another pass at us.

Tiger Band then had to march straight through the entire length of the coot tailgate to the west of the stadium. It was a 1/2 mile march, and we had 6 Columbia PD officers (3 on each side of the band) guarding 300 Tiger Band members as we marched 1/2 mile through the thickets part of the coot tailgaters, thousands of them. SLED officers were called away and replaced with Columbia PD officers for the escort. For the next 20 minutes, we were

-pelted with bottles
-spit on
-flipped off
-called many 4 letter words
-assaulted (many times drunk coot fans would jump into our parade block and punch band members)
-had stuff stolen off of us (drunk coot fans jumping in, trying to rip our instruments away, take our hats, rip the sashes off our uniforms, punch holes through the drums, etc).

About 6 Tiger Band members had to be redirected to the EMTs because of head injuries and lacerations from coot fans throwing or swinging glass bottles at us, 2 officers had to escort them to the EMTs. So for about 1/4 of a mile we only had 4 officers escorting us.

The Columbia PD who replaced our SLED escorts also turned a blind eye to the coot fans assaulting us. In this situation, a drunk coot fan jumped into our parade block and smashed a beer bottle against a trombone player's head. The Columbia PD officers simply pushed him into the crowd and told him to settle down. 5 minutes later, a drunk Clemson fan walked up to the band and started high fiving us and accidentally bumped into one of the Columbia PD officers when he was backing up from giving us high fives. He was then tackled by one of the Columbia PD officers, tased, placed in handcuffs, and arrested. No repercussions for a coot fan swinging at our heads with a beer bottle, handcuffs and charges for a Clemson fan that accidentally tripped and stumbled into one of the officers.

When our band director, Dr. Spede, confronted the Columbia PD escorts and chewed them out for not providing enough protection against the drunk coot fans, the officer responded with "well, maybe the band should stay home next time". The police officer also claimed to be a lifelong fan of South Carolina and blamed the fans behavior on our presence.

One young man decided to try and pee on us from the top of a Cockaboose.

During the game, things were thrown at us, we were constantly harassed and berated, and passing coots would smack our instruments away from our faces or spit on us.

Leaving the stadium was almost just as bad, they beat us in 2013 so after the game they were less interested in harassing the band, although plenty people did. There weren't as many bottles thrown, but plenty of people still tried to jump into our parade and fight us, spit on us, swear at us, etc.

Just before we got back to our parking lot rally point, we heard gunshots nearby (less than 100 yards). Apparently a fight broke out between some redneck coot fans and some of the locals from the nearby ghetto. While the gun shots were not targeting us, they were close enough and reckless enough to have hit us. We were told to get on the buses, get down, and buses were to drive off. We weren't given a chance to pack up or eat, we just needed to get to a place that was safer for us to regroup. We moved to the parking lot at Harbison where we were able to get off the buses, change, and eat.

Fast forward 2 years, 2015. We are coming into Willy B undefeated and ranked #1. Coots come into Willy B with a 3-8 record, unranked.

This time in 2015, we had made arrangements to park at and stay within the coot practice facility to avoid being harassed by coot fans.

Time comes to suit up and march to the stadium. We get in our parade block and start marching, I was anticipating more violence. Nothing happens. State fairgrounds is mostly dead. A decent amount of tailgaters, but not as many as 2013, and none of them paid us any attention. They knew they were going to lose, so they left us alone. We had a nice, short walk to the stadium with no issues, and all was dead quiet on our way back after the game.

So, to make it short, if the coots look competitive (ranked close to us or similar record with lots of hype like the 2013 game) expect a reenactment of Mad Max on the fairgrounds, be careful and stay around Clemson fans. If its a situation where the coots have had a terrible season and we are expected to blow them out, enjoy the peace and quiet and have a great time.

With this game coming up, I would not go. The coots will likely be 8-3 coming into this game, which is a good season for them and above their pre-season expectations. After seeing how NC State played us closely and Syracuse beat us, expect the coots to come out in full force thinking they are going to wipe the floor with us. They will be rabid and eager to beat us and will likely show up with the worst people and the worst attitudes.

If you are going, I would not tailgate before the game unless you have a very large tailgate of Clemson folks to share with. If you dont have a large group to tailgate with before the game, then do. not. tailgate. Get there in time for the game. I don't know what it is, maybe its the character of the school, the location of the stadium, or something in the water but the Palmetto Bowl at Williams Brice when the coots have a good season is not a safe place for you or your family. Also note, that in my experience, Columbia PD will NOT help you if you are a Clemson fan and you are the victim of an altercation between yourself and a coot instigator.

The bottom line: if you read coot forums or see their posts on facebook, you will see that they believe they are going to "stomp" us this year. They have 3 years of frustrations built up and they are royally P-Oed about the 56-7 beatdown and us winning the national championship this year. They will be drunk, rowdy, rude, and possibly violent towards Clemson fans. If you have made plans to go by yourself or your family and you do not plan to tailgate with a huge group of Clemson fans, then you should stay home because this area in these conditions will not be safe for you.

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Yup, very very real. It was not a fun trip.

Luckily, now that I've gotten out into the professional world, I have met more reasonable and family friendly coots, but I can never forget how they treated us in 2013.

I will say, college marching bands tend to attract the worst fans from every fanbase. Marching bands stick out like a sore thumb. Marching bands are the guardians and ambassadors of school spirit. Wherever Tiger Band goes, its like they are carrying the Clemson Arc of the Covenant and we are like a giant orange beacon to Clemson fans, but a big paw shaped target for all of the most degenerate fans of every fan base we encounter. So we are more prone to being the subject of abuse than your average fan.

HOWEVER, I have NEVER seen trash, violence, and harassment on the scale that you'll see at Williams Brice. When you go to a school with a trash reputation, like NC State or FSU, you'll be able to see and identify the pockets of trashy fans. They stick to their own secluded tailgates and seating sections. Basically, the average fans are the majority, while the trashy fans are the outliers, though some places have more outliers that are more vocal or obnoxious than others.

But at Carolina, the nastiness is so widely dispersed across their entire fanbase that this type of behavior IS the average. It is remarkable.

Your wife is only ten?***

Maybe she is a 10 and he's afraid she'll leave with a coot.***

maybe he's roy moore and he's started dating older

You know the drill on here

I'd keep them out of Cola all together

Re: I'd keep them out of Cola all together

Life lessons are a good thing.***

Re: Life lessons are a good thing.***

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Used to go to every on of them.

Too bad, you missed a helluva fun game in 1979!

It's a crap shoot***

Re: It's a crap shoot***

I'm going to need more information before I can help

I'll work on that lol***

^^^ ped o file

I wouldn’t recommend it.

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

I would not take my child to the game in WB at night. Period***

^^^this^^^***

That's what the terrorists .. er chicken fans want .... fear

Good chance to lead by example. You'll most certainly

Haven’t been back since the 63 to 17 game. The

Their fans will be in rare form at a night game

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

I'm not afraid to go to a game anywhere and never will be

Re: I'm not afraid to go to a game anywhere and never will be

Bring your own ice***

Re: Bring your own ice***

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Yep!

It will be awful. Their behavior will be terrible.

Here is my experience from Tiger Band

Gotdam, is this real? Aleppo sounds safer than that 2013

Re: Gotdam, is this real? Aleppo sounds safer than that 2013

Re: Gotdam, is this real? Aleppo sounds safer than that 2013

Re: Gotdam, is this real? Aleppo sounds safer than that 2013

TL BRA

That's horrible! They sound awful! You'd think there would

That is truly pathetic...really had no idea that our band

wow. USC’s music department should help arrange a better

Re: wow. USC’s music department should help arrange a better

I’m giving them benefit of doubt based past experience. But

Re: Here is my experience from Tiger Band

Re: Here is my experience from Tiger Band

Re: Here is my experience from Tiger Band

I'd be very hesitant to take children that age.***

You will see the worst of the human race on display there.

I went in 2015 with my wife and boys

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Except for the stragglers outside yelling F clemson

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

here's a chart for you

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Been to many games at W-B and had no trouble. W-B is

Re: Been to many games at W-B and had no trouble. W-B is

Of course not.***

Re: Is it a bad idea to bring wife and children, about 10 years

Are you bringing them up in one of those plastic bubble

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