<P> Every year, each school engages in a ritual involving the other team's mascot . South Carolina holds the "Tiger Burn", and Clemson holds a mock funeral for Cocky . After 7 students (6 from USC, 1 from Clemson) died in the Ocean Isle Beach house fire in 2007, the Cocky funeral was cancelled and the Tiger Burn was changed to the "Tiger Tear Down" for that year . </P> <P> When Clemson began its football program in 1896, coached by Walter Riggs, they scheduled the rival South Carolina College for a Thursday morning game in conjunction with the State Fair . Carolina won that game 12--6 and a new tradition was born--Big Thursday . Clemson would win the next four contests (including a 51--0 win in 1900, still the largest margin of victory by either team in the series) before the 1st break in the series took place in 1901 . </P> <P> The Gamecock mascot made its first appearance in 1902 . In that first season as the Gamecocks, Carolina defeated a highly favored Clemson team coached by the legendary John Heisman 12--6 . But it was the full - scale riot that broke out in the wake of the game that is remembered most . </P> <P> "The Carolina fans that week were carrying around a poster with the image of a tiger with a gamecock standing on top of it, holding the tiger's tail as if he was steering the tiger by the tail," Jay McCormick said . "Naturally, the Clemson guys didn't take too kindly to that, and on Wednesday and again on Thursday, there were sporadic fistfights involving brass knuckles and other objects and so forth, some of which resulted, according to the newspapers, in blood being spilled and persons having to seek medical assistance . After the game on Thursday, the Clemson guys frankly told the Carolina students that if you bring this poster, which is insulting to us, to the big parade on Friday, you're going to be in trouble . And naturally, of course, the Carolina students brought the poster to the parade . If you give someone an ultimatum and they are your rival, they're going to do exactly what you told them not to do ." </P>

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