Pressroom

• Media Contacts
• Press Releases
• ETV Management Team
• Logo Farm
• ETV Style Guidelines
• Stock Photos

South Carolina ETV

• About ETV
• History of ETV
• Testimonials
• Annual Reports
• Schedule a Tour
• Weather Center
• Contact Us

Stay Connected

ETV Stokes the White-Hot Carolina/Clemson Football Rivalry

Coach Tommy Bowden, Former Gamecock Quarterback Todd Ellis, Dan Barton and Others Appear in “Carolina Stories” Documentary Airing Friday, Nov. 23 at 9 p.m.

For Immediate Release
October 30, 2007

Columbia, SC...It usually starts something like this: "How is the Clemson football team like a possum? They play dead at home and get killed on the road." And is quickly followed up with: "What's the most useless thing in a USC fan's house? The USC fan." It’s good-natured jabs like these that feed the over a century-long rivalry and continue the battle for annual bragging rights between USC and Clemson football fans across the Palmetto State.

So, the day before this year’s blitzkrieg, ETV stirs up the excitement of this gridiron grudge-match with the broadcast of the Carolina Stories documentary, "Just a Game," a celebration of the history and culture of South Carolina’s most storied showdown. The hour-long program premieres Friday, Nov. 23rd at 9 p.m., with an encore presentation the next morning at 8:30 a.m. -- just hours before kick-off.

What’s more, ETV will be extending the South Carolina college football regular season one more week with a third broadcast on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. This version, however, will include additional footage from the 2007 game, allowing some to bask in the glow of victory again and again.

ETV Producer Steve Folks and his camera crew attended multiple games, pep rallies, fan appreciation events and of course, the always-important pre-game shindigs this season to get the inside scoop. He said that the program, "will certainly feed the frenzy of diehards everywhere, stirring up a pot that is already boiling over with high emotions and even higher expectations."

"From the best Carolina/Clemson joke to hilarious attempts at singing the fight song to families 'torn-apart' by their allegiances, both sides were more than willing to talk a little smack for ETV's cameras," said Folks, who would not divulge which team he was rooting for.

In addition to the fans’ antics, the show also features dozens of other pigskin bigwigs including Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden and former Gamecock Quarterback Todd Ellis.

"The football game only lasts 60 minutes, but 'The Game' lasts 365 days a year. It’s a state of mind," said Don Barton, former sports director for USC. Echoing that sentiment is former Clemson Coach Danny Ford. "It’s just a game. It’s just a football game," he said, pausing briefly before adding "that affects everybody that lives in South Carolina."

But can one football game truly be that monumental? What does it mean to bleed garnet or orange? "Just a Game" tackles these questions head on as well as captures the Palmetto State's unbridled passion for what some have dubbed South Carolina's Super Bowl.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

###

For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.