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The story behind the orange pants

Danny Ford was searching for something to spark his football team.

Prior to the 1980 season, Ford had his team manger order a special pair of pants for the Tigers to wear against archrival South Carolina in the season finale. Ford wasn’t sure how he was going to introduce the pants to the team or if he would even wear them at all that year.

But after falling to Maryland 34-7 the week before the Palmetto State’s biggest game, Ford knew it was time to break out these so-called special pants. It was either now or never.