South Carolina football fans are nearly split down the middle when it comes to their favorite pregame entrance for beloved mascot Cocky — but the edge goes to the train.
For decades, longtime fans grew accustomed to Cocky’s iconic appearance during the pregame playing of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In the traditional version, a massive black box was wheeled to midfield, shrouded in a curtain. As smoke poured out and the music built to its dramatic crescendo, the curtain dropped, revealing Cocky in a moment that always sent Williams-Brice Stadium into a roar.
That classic entrance changed in 2023 when the program unveiled a new twist. Instead of the black box, a Cockaboose Railroad train now rolls onto the field during pregame hype. A celebrity starter usually emerges from the train to lead the “Game-Cocks” chant, while Cocky rises from the top of the locomotive as the crowd erupts to “2001.”
However, when heavy weather delays disrupted South Carolina’s home opener against S.C. State on Sept. 6, the train was shelved for the night. Instead, the Gamecocks brought back the black box entrance for nostalgia — and it reignited debate among fans.
That led The State to launch a poll from Sept. 10–16, asking which Cocky entrance reigned supreme: the traditional black box or the flashy Cockaboose train.
When the results came in, the new-school approach won by the slimmest of margins. A total of 53% of voters chose the Cockaboose train, while 47% held strong for the black box. More than 1,000 fans cast their votes.
South Carolina will hit the road this weekend for a matchup at Missouri on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The next chance for Gamecock fans to see Cocky’s entrance at home comes on Sept. 27, when USC hosts Kentucky under the lights at 7:45 p.m.
