Shane Beamer’s Go-To Phrase Becomes a Running Joke
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has picked up on something fans have been laughing about for a while: his constant use of the phrase “as well.”
If you’ve tuned into one of Beamer’s press conferences, chances are you’ve heard it. In fact, it’s almost impossible for him to get through an answer without dropping his unofficial catchphrase.
After South Carolina’s 24-11 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday, Beamer showed off his usual tendency when reflecting on the challenges of the opener.
“First games are tough,” Beamer said. “But this one’s extra tough just because of the unknown with Virginia Tech, with their new coordinators, the emotions of the game, all that as well.”
That session lasted 25 minutes, during which Beamer used “as well” 18 times — about average for him. In his pre-Virginia Tech press conference the week before, he said it 19 times.
One South Carolina fan, known on X (formerly Twitter) as Big Dave, even created an over/under betting line on how many times Beamer would say “as well.” He set the number at 20.5, then followed up with a video compilation of every single mention. He captioned the clip: “ELITE Performance from Coach Shane Beamer today.”
By Tuesday’s press conference, Beamer was aware of the joke — but breaking the habit proved harder than he thought.
Speaking about South Carolina’s new players, Beamer closed an answer with his favorite phrase, before realizing he’d done it again.
“… a lot of transfers who were playing in their very first game, either at the Power-4 level or here at South Carolina … as well. So we’ll definitely be better,” he said.
Then he immediately caught himself.
“Dang it,” Beamer said with a smile. “I know — what’s that guy on social media who counts all the ‘as wells’? I’m trying to be better today. Somebody sent me that one and I just did it, too. That’s gonna be the last one.”
Of course, it wasn’t.
Beamer went on to use the phrase at least 20 more times during the session — 14 of them after he admitted he was trying to cut back. Even when he tried swapping in “also” instead, old habits slipped through.
As for how long this verbal tic has been around? A look back at a 2010 interview, when Beamer was still an assistant at South Carolina, showed him dropping “as well” three times in just four minutes.
Safe to say, it’s not a new trend … as well
