The Truth Behind South Carolina’s Famous “Fireworks Shortage” vs. Tennessee
When South Carolina stunned No. 5 Tennessee with a 63-38 win at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2022, the Gamecocks piled up nine touchdowns in one of the program’s most memorable nights. But it wasn’t just the scoreboard lighting up — ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler turned heads when he declared on live television:
“They have exhausted the fireworks supply,” Fowler said. “Done.”
That line quickly went viral, fueling headlines that South Carolina had literally run out of fireworks. But as it turns out, that wasn’t the full story.
Russ Ellis, the on-site manager in Columbia for Pyro Shows, the company responsible for USC’s fireworks, cleared up the confusion.
“The extra shots were loaded and added to the end-of-the-game celebration,” Ellis explained. “We didn’t run out. We just missed the TD because of reloading more.”
At the time, Pyro Shows followed a policy of bringing 10 “touchdown shots” to each game, with eight preloaded before kickoff. When the Gamecocks scored their eighth touchdown, Ellis and his crew began the process of reloading. That’s when Spencer Rattler connected with Jalen Brooks on a 20-yard touchdown — while workers were still near the launching point.
For safety reasons, Ellis and his team decided not to fire the pyro mid-reload and instead saved the remaining shots for the postgame celebration.
Since that Tennessee game, the company has expanded its stockpile.
“We always come with 10 touchdowns that we go in ahead and get loaded,” Ellis said. “We always bring an additional five touchdowns that we have with us if they have an unbelievably high-scoring game.”
So while Fowler’s remark about Williams-Brice “exhausting the fireworks supply” made for a legendary broadcast call, the truth is more about safety and timing than scarcity. And for South Carolina fans, it would take another record-breaking offensive explosion to even test that limit again.
