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The Ballad of Sir Big Spur: South Carolina's strange-but-true tale of a live mascot handler feud

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- While the rest of the college sports world spent the summer of 2022 wrangling myriad issues that threatened to tear asunder the sports we love, those in, around and supporters of University of South Carolina athletics found themselves snatched up into the claws of a much different type of name, image and likeness debate. One with feathers.

Over the course of four fowl weeks, the Gamecocks' live mascot, a regal red-winged, black-breasted Old English rooster, went from Sir Big Spur to Cock Commander (sort of) to a bunch of other names we've already forgotten to The General .