Book news - "Pub Day" finally arrives!

A Gamecock Odyssey - University of South Carolina Sports in the Independent Era officially releases today!

The day earlier this month when the much-anticipated box came was surreal. It landed with a thud on our front stoop. Ten “author’s copies” in a neat little cardboard package with a pleasing heft arrived courtesy of Hopkins Fulfillment Services - the distributor for the University of South Carolina Press.

Inside was the culmination of countless 5am working sessions across the better part of six years. Beyond that, it was the physical embodiment of 43 years of Gamecock fandom - the wins, the losses, the games attended and watched from afar, the accumulated emotional highs and lows and thrills and disappointments across more than four decades, spilled out across 300 pages of remembrance and catharsis. To hold it, to leaf through its pages, to see that beautiful garnet cover (the jacket designer nailed it!); to see it all come to fruition was humbling, and amazing, and joyful. It was a moment I had pondered a million times along the journey, and wondered if it would ever come to pass.

Since that box’s arrival, and the arrival of the additional copies I ordered, I have taken great joy in giving away copies to people who have encouraged or helped me in some way. Though it seemed awkward at first to sign them (“who are you to presume people want your signature?,” the voice in my head mocks, “what an egomaniac!”), that’s just what you do in these situations, I guess. It has been fun to mail them off, and to hear back from those who have received them. It has been a banner week for UPS, and if my royalties ultimately cover the shipping, I’ll consider it a win. I don’t even care, really, it has been a joy.

It has been gratifying as well as humbling to see the many people who have stepped forward to help get the word out about this little book. I want to thank especially,

My friends at USC Press, Michael McGandy, Ehren Foley, Cathy Esposito and Kerri Tolan, among others. They have been amazing partners in this endeavor, and have worked tirelessly on my behalf to produce a beautiful product.

The late Tommy Moody, whose loss is still incomprehensible, and who kindly took an interest in my book. I benefitted from his passion for all things Gamecock. It was one of the great joys of my life to count him as a mentor and a friend, and true honor to be a guest on his radio show. We talked over several installments, including his final show, about the twenty years covered in this book, Tommy to the end dropping pearls and slinging stats in his frenetic, joyful manner.

Bob Gillespie, formerly senior sports editor at The State, has also been a mentor and a friend, and wrote a piece for Straight-Up Sports highlighting the book in the same expert prose I grew up reading. You simply cannot put a price on being able to pick up the phone and call a guy like Bob. To pick his brain, to seek advice, to bounce ideas.

Chris Horn, whose outstanding podcast, Remembering The Days, covers over 200 years of USC history in his unique and whimsical way, produced a recent episode from our August conversation about the book, titled The Wilderness Years. Chris is a gifted storyteller and his passion for the full history of USC is inspirational.

Brad Muller with the USC Athletics Department took the time to talk with me for a piece on the book for Gamecocksonline.com - the official website of Gamecock athletics. What a thrill and an honor to be profiled there.

Thanks also to Mike Chibbaro, Bethany Bradsher, Jim Sonefeld, and David Cloninger, who along with Bob Gillespie took the time to read advanced copies of the book and offered kind reviews for the dust jacket. They are all people I respect and admire greatly.

Brian Shoemaker at Gamecock Central, who for 20 years has done a great service to the Gamecock community with his site. He was a huge help to me in publishing an early version of chapter one from the book, which, in the single most fortuitous moment of my writing career, caught the attention of USC Press. Thanks as well for your continued partnership in publishing my pieces from SxSE on GCC.

To my mom & dad, whose support and encouragement has been consistent and indispensable.

And finally, to my wife, Melissa, who has taken this journey with me, who has been my first-line editor and whose tireless enthusiasm and gentle cajoling have as much to do with book seeing the light of day as any of my own efforts.

Thank you all!