Bowl Tickets Going Faster at USC Than Clemson
2,000 tickets remain for USC, 9,000 for Clemson
Both South Carolina football powers are going bowling in Florida next month, but one team may have more company than the other.
Clemson University will face West Virginia during the FedEx Orange Bowl Jan. 4 in Miami and the University of South Carolina will play Nebraska during the Capital One Bowl Jan. 2.
Despite the excitement surrounding Clemson's ACC title and Orange Bowl berth, the Tigers' ticket office has only sold 8,500 tickets out of the 17,500 they are responsible for. At this point, the university could eat more than $1 million in unpurchased tickets.
"We still have 9,000 tickets that we can sell," Assistant Ticket Manager Tina Middleton said. "I guess with the timing of this game and the location that it may keep some people at home."
Clemson Tickets that are still available range from $225 for lower sideline seats to $75 for the top ten rows in the upper corner zone.
Middleton saw a return to school and the financial burden from the holidays as contributing factors in lower than expected ticket sales.
"Any ticket we have remaining will be donated to military families in the Florida area."
At USC, more tickets have been sold from a smaller allotment.
South Carolina has sold 10,500 tickets out of its allotment of 12,500, media relations director Steve Fink said. Tickets are still available for $87 each.
Both teams had impressive seasons, with Clemson defeating Virginia Tech twice on its way to the ACC Championship and USC winning 10 games for the second time ever.
The Gamecocks got the best of the Tigers during the annual rivalry game with a convincing 34-13 win.
Jason Galloway
9:33 am on Saturday, December 17, 2011
This article is misleading and seems to aim to deceive the reader. The authors seem to suggest that the reason south carolina has sold more tickets is because their fan base is more supportive and therefore superior to Clemson's. This is, in fact, not the case. The real reason for Clemson not selling more of their allotment of tickets than South Carolina is the day of the week of the respective bowl games. South Carolina plays on a Monday, Clemson on a Wed. It's much easier to take 1 or 2 extra days off after a holiday than 3 or 4, which is exactly what Clemson fans would have to do in order to make it to the Orange bowl. Not to mention a good majority of fans have children that would need care or have to miss school in order for their parents to attend either bowl game. These problems are obviously easier to deal with for a Monday game vs a Wednsday game. A little more research and thought should be put into the subject before writing a supposedly informed article in the future. As a historical fact Clemson fans travel better than South Carolina fans. In fact Clemson is known for having a fan base that will travel. While the facts of this article may not be in dispute, there certainly seems to be a gamecock bias present in it's content.
Tom
2:26 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011
There are quite a few things missing from this article. While the day of the week (timing and location) certainly are valid reasons why Clemson is having trouble selling tickets, your assertion that Clemson travels better is simply not true. In fact, USC travels as well or better than almost any football fan base for bowl games. Here are facts... USC took 25K+ to the Pizza Bowl in 2009 to watch a 7-5 team. USC filled as many seats as they could get tix to the Chick-Fil-A bowl last year. USC took 30K+ to the Liberty Bowl in 2006 (that's as far away as Miami) and that team was 7-5. USC took 30K+ to the Outback bowl in 2000 and 2001 not to mention 50K+ to the Gator Bowls 3 times in the 1980s. USC even took 20K+ to the Carquest Bowl in Miami in 1995 (not exactly the Orange Bowl). That team was 6-5. Finally, many USC fans (like myself) buy our tickets directly from the bowl to get better seats. Most people believe USC will have 25K+ at the Capitol One Bowl. I've heard Clemson will struggle to get 15K to the Orange Bowl this year. I know facts are a tough thing for Clemson fans, but please provide facts before making assertions (it will make you sound more intelligent).
chris
7:16 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011
Difficult to listen to someone who is obviously a USC backer use the phrase "make you sound more intelligent". When in fact the reason anyone goes to USC in the first place is because they couldn't get into Clemson!
Jaymz J Norris
8:46 pm on Saturday, December 24, 2011
bias, USC is in LA and Carolina is in Chapel Hill, NC so who are you referring too? You cant stand that we are in a BCS game and South Car is not. lol Clemson travels just as well as South Car and youre just mad about the bowl picture. I am going to be at the game with field level seats, so Ill let you know how well we travel