CLEMSON — It was a rainy morning in Clemson on November 21, 1992, but that did not stop a young man and his girlfriend from walking around Memorial Stadium, as they scoured the Clemson and South Carolina tailgates in search of tickets.
His girlfriend was from a small town in North Florida and had never been to a college football game, while he was born and raised in South Carolina and loved the Tigers. Though he had been to many college football games, including every home game at Clemson that season, this young college student had never seen a Clemson-South Carolina game in person.
Finding a ticket was starting to look bleak for the two, as they walked for hours and were only approached by scalpers who wanted way too much for tickets. So, they waited, and just an hour before kickoff, a nice lady walked up to them and asked, “Are you looking for tickets?”
The young man said, “Yes ma’ma.”
She said, “I have two tickets, but there is one caveat.”
“What is that,” he asked.
“You have to pull for Clemson,” she replied.
“No problem,” he said. “How much do I owe you?”
“Not a thing,” she said. “They are free. I just wanted to give them to someone who would appreciate them, and I have a feeling you two would.”
The young couple was so excited. They grinned from ear to ear. On a wet and dreary day, someone out of the kindness of their heart brightened their day.
The two rushed in and found their seats, which were in the right corner of the North upper deck. After hitting concessions and finding a poncho for her to wear, the two settled in for what was a very memorable game in the Clemson-Carolina series.
It was not so much the game they remember. The Gamecocks came to Memorial Stadium and beat the Tigers for the first time since 1987, 24-13. So, they wanted to forget the score.
However, they never forgot the long-hair quarterback from Carolina, who picked apart the Clemson defense and then signed his name in the tiger paw at midfield following Carolina’s victory.
There is an iconic photo of Steve Taneyhill standing in the middle of the paw with his two arms extended in the air. That is what those two young people remember the most about that 1992 game in Clemson.
It was not that it was a rainy day and miserably cold. It was not the three hours they walked around the stadium looking for tickets. It was not the nice lady who gave them her tickets for free.
No. It was this cocky quarterback from Pennsylvania with a wet rat-tail hanging out the back of his helmet. That was the day Steve Taneyhill became a permanent character in the Clemson-Carolina rivalry, and a hero for Gamecock fans everywhere.
So, here I sit at my keyboard 33 years later and I still remember that day as well as the day I lived it with my girlfriend, who later became my wife, then my ex-wife.
Steve Taneyhill left us on Monday, after battling an extended illness. He was just 52 years old. Taneyhill will be remembered at South Carolina as one of its greatest quarterbacks in history. He will be remembered in the Clemson-Carolina series as one of its all-time greatest characters.
I will remember him signing his name on the turf of Memorial Stadium, permanently leaving a mark etched in my mind, whether I liked it or not at the time, or how I appreciate it now.
R.I.P. Steve Taneyhill. South Carolina and Clemson fans will miss you, but your legacy in the Clemson-Carolina rivalry will never be forgotten.