Three SC teams ranked #1 this spring ...

I'm not sure golf is an Olympic sport ... maybe it is, I dunno, I might be out of touch. I've not followed the Olympics in decades although I did attend the '80 and '84 Winter Olympics in Lake Pacid and Sarajevo. I had a friend in Tupper Lake who let me stay with him on leave in '80 and I was stationed in Vicenza, Italy not far from Sarajevo in '84.

Anyways, I remember vividly when The Blatt was completed in the late 70s. It was state of the art at the time because it could open into a semi-outdoor facility.

It has since become antiquated, you're right. When they were designing The Strom it was supposed to replace The Blatt but that was abandoned at some point in time, I'm not sure why.

I remember when the basketball practice facility was completed next to The Frank ... I helped Dave Odom move-in to some degree. He was a good friend and one of the best people I've ever come to know. But it was great when it opened, and that was not long ago ... but already they are wanting something newer and more modern and bigger and fancier ... I have no idea when it will all stop and the bubble will burst, but it will eventually - one day it's gotta pop.

What they are going to do with the old Carolina Colosseum and The Frank ... I have no idea. I keep hearing rumors. Gosh, I remember when the Colosseum opened ... it was the finest in all the ACC at the time, Coach McGuire made sure of that ... his palace. I guess I had to be around 16 0r 17 maybe, but I could not believe the size and grandeur of the place the first time I walked in. I had been to plenty of games in the old Field House, and even one in Longstreet between the time the old Field House burned down and the time they opened the Colosseum ... but I never imagined a basketball facility that could seat 12k ... and we filled it every single home game! Even when the games were televised locally by WIS! It was amazing. You could not get a ticket to get in the place, especially on weekends it was almost impossible. Students would line-up and camp-out for blocks to get their tickets.

I dunno, things have changed. It's all about keeping up with the Jones these days I guess ... and I get it, but there was something to be said for The Frank. I was there for the last game and I was sad to walk out of the doors that day ... NIT or not, it was sad. Lots of great memories with friends and family in that place. And the same goes for The Sarge .... we needed the new ballpark but man there were a lot of great memories made at The Sarge.

Greek Village ... hell, I don't see how kids can afford to even pledge and then get involved with the Greek life these days. One of my daughters almost broke me when she was doing it up at UNC until I said enough was enough. The other two could have cared less. But even that was tame compared to what it costs these days, especially at SC ... and the facilities, the houses, they are just unreal.

I think Ray wants to be known as the greatest builder in SC AD history. You know Mike McGee was really a great builder - he left a lot of things in place for Hyman that made Hyman really look good. Whereas Hyman left a mess for Tanner in terms of no money in the bank, no emergency fund, etc.

It's going to be interesting to see how Tanner handles it over the next decade or so. He seems to be a fairly fiscally responsible guy. He's not the same person he was when he was coaching - and I miss the old Ray to some degree - but that's okay.

It'll be interesting to see what he gets built during his tenure and how he pays for it all ... but I know he seems to have surrounded himself with good people who are giving him some direction - we'll just have to see how it goes.

We need three things right now IMHO. A new Natatorium, a women's gymnastics program and a men's and women's rifle program.

ETA: had to edit - autocorrect got me

Those are great memories to have.. I bet the Coliseum was amazing in it's heyday. I remember when the lady G's played LSU there a few years ago.. I was there for that game and it was pretty cool. There were about 6,000 people there or so and it had a really unique intimate environment. I can only imagine how intimidating that place was sold out, probably felt crazier than Duke's Cameron.. It's really cool how it seems as if you're sitting right on top of the action.. I bet the crowd noise just rains down on the court..

Have you ever been inside one of those houses in the Greek Village? They are like mansions... I know the University wants to expand the GV to the other side of Blossom as well..

I agree with what you said about Ray. I think he's really ambitious and does want to be known as SC's greatest builder... for what its worth, I attribute Carolina Stadium to him. That's his baby in all honesty.. and if he does for our other programs what he has done for baseball then we are in good hands.

I definitely understand how you feel about the Coliseum.. it means A LOT to the fans, it represents a whole different era of USC athletics.. which is why I think it should continue to be used as an athletic facility to an extent. When I was in school a few years ago, I know the University wanted to move fast and make it the new Student Union, but the state shot it down when they saw the price tag. I'm sure the renderings are still online if you look for it. They looked really nice too. That Blossom/Assembly intersection is prime real estate.. it's kind of the gateway to campus now, so USC is not gonna just let a building go down in the middle of campus like that, especially with the new Moore school right next door and that new IBM research building going up across Assembly from the Strom.

The state gov made this huge deal about USC spending close to $100 million to repurpose/renovate the Coliseum into a Student Union/Classroom building.. which is why I think it would be a good idea if the University and the Athletic Dept went in together and did this.. make the existing part into a natatorium/gymnastics facility and then expand the building towards the current basketball practice facility for the new student union annex.. That's an important intersection for the University and a great opportunity for us to put a landmark/centerpiece like athletic facility in the middle of campus for everybody to see it.. Something that says "USC has arrived"


I wish I was a billionaire several times over.. I would totally donate the money and build the damn thing myself haha..