6AM City In-house

We’re cocky about our mascot 🐣

Celebrating 42 years of Cocky
Cocky is the new mascot.jpg
A newspaper clipping from The Columbia Record after Cocky’s gameday debut. | Clipping via Newspapers.com
Happy Birthday, Cocky. The Gamecocks award-winning mascot turned 42 yesterday, though we don’t think he looks a day over 21.

On Oct. 18, 1980, South Carolina’s new mascot took the field as the Gamecock’s took on Cincinnati for the season’s homecoming game. Presented as the son of the then mascot Big Spur, it ended up being Cocky’s only game of the season.

“The telephone rang off the hook for weeks” Linda Singer, UofSC’s athletic director for women’s sports told The Columbia Record at the time. “A lot of people really didn’t like him. He was little on the top and big through the middle and he looked, well, pregnant.”

Carolina fans’ reaction + passion for our mascot sounds a bit familiar, but thankfully Cocky was immune to the boos at his debut and has since become Sports Illustrated’s No. 7 college mascot of all time.

A brief history of the mascot:
  • 1971 — Former professor + alumnus John Nelson and his mother created the first homemade costume called “The Rooster.”
  • 1980 — Big Spurs son, Cocky, makes his first appearance in Williams-Brice Stadium at the homecoming game against Cincinnati.
  • 1984 — Cocky is “kidnapped” after the owner of the costume left it in the back seat of their 1967 Mustang that was stolen in the Rosewood area.
  • 1986 — Cocky was chosen as America’s First “National Mascot” by the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA), Ford Motor Company, and American Airlines.
  • 1986 — Cocky wins his first UCA Mascot Championship.
  • 1994 — Cocky wins his second UCA Mascot Championship.
  • 2003 — Cocky wins the Capitol One mascot championship.
  • 2017 — Measuring 6-foot-5 and weighing 773 pounds, Cocky’s bronze statue is erected outside of Davis College.
  • 2021 — Cocky gets a makeover with a “little added fluff.”
Today we celebrate you Cocky; thank you for representing South Carolina as an official Goodwill Ambassador, showing up at weddings, hospitals, and bringing joy to children and fans everywhere.
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Monday, October 17
  • USA XVI Black Bass World Championship | Mon., Oct. 17 - Sat., Oct. 22 | 11 a.m.-10 p.m. | Dreher Island State Park, 3677 State Park Rd, Prosperity, SC 29127, Prosperity | Free | Capital City Lake Murray Country will host the 2022 16th Annual Black Bass World Championship in Columbia, South Carolina on Lake Murray.
  • South Carolina State Fair | Mon., Oct. 17 - Sun., Oct. 23 | 12 p.m. | South Carolina State Fairgrounds, 1200 Rosewood Dr, Columbia | $10.00 - $20.00 | The South Carolina State Fair back for another year, featuring the free daily circus, concerts, exhibits, rides, fair food, and so much more.*
Tuesday, October 18
  • Koger Center Presents Live in the Lobby Jazz: Pianist Spike Wilner | Tue., Oct. 18 | Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene St, Columbia | Spike Wilner started playing piano at an early age and because he was inspired by a television program about the life of Scott Joplin, he learned to play ragtime music.
  • Focal Points Tour: Stories and Symbols | Tue., Oct. 18 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | Columbia Museum of Art, 1515 Main St, Columbia | The works in European Splendors: Highlights from the Kress Collection are full of symbolism: stars, dragons, cherubs, finches, gold, clothing, and more.
Thursday, October 20
  • Boo at the Zoo | Thu., Oct. 20 - Sun., Oct. 30 | 6-9 p.m. | Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, 500 Wildlife Pkwy, Columbia | $12.00 - $15.00 | Trick or treat through Halloween lights, enjoy live magic, take a spin on the haunted carousel, and more.
  • Bulleit Bourbon Dinner | Thu., Oct. 20 | 6-9 p.m. | Columbia | Bulleit Bourbon Dinner 6:00pm - 9:00pm | All tickets include full four-course meal, an opening cocktail, and four pours of Bulleit Bourbon.
  • COLAughs Comedy-Laughs Out Back | Thu., Oct. 20 | 8:03 p.m. | The Warmouth, 209 Franklin St, Columbia | $12.50 | COLAughs Comedy returns to the back patio of The War Mouth featuring New Orleans comics Amanda G and Keeda.
Saturday, October 22

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
100+ MORE EVENTS
Nephron Pharmaceuticals
Weather
  • 81º | Partly cloudy | 15% chance of rain
Opening
  • Hinabi Hibachi, located in the old Main Course on the 1600 block of Main Street, will celebrate its opening on Thurs., Oct. 20. The restaurant will feature two separate spaces — a garden-inspired Sushi Bar and the Hibachi Room with a lively environment. 🦐
Award
  • South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley was awarded the Billie Jean King Leadership Award at the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Annual Salute to Women in Sports. The prize honors those “who champion equal rights, opportunity and access in sports, regardless of race, gender or any other factor.” 🏆 (AP News)
Seasonal
  • Richland Library Main announced a “Not-so-Spooky Stroll” happening on Thurs., Oct. 27 from 2-5 p.m. Dress up as a family and trick or treat through the library and to nearby participating businesses + organizations in the Main Street District. 👻
Plan Ahead
  • Easterseals South Carolina will host Golfing Fore the Kids at the Players Club (virtual indoor golf) on Main Street happening on Sun., Nov. 13. Proceeds go to serving kids with disabilities and their families. Sign up for a team of four or attend the free 19th hole after party, beginning at 5:30 p.m. 🏌️
Older Adults
  • Did you know Palmetto Primary Care Physicians offers geriatric care (read: specialized care for Soda Citizens 55+) in the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Grand Strand? To receive care for chronic medical conditions, dementia, frailty, geriatric depression + more, call the respective provider offices directly.*
Shop
  • Chances are, if you’ve been to Upper Crust for a wood-fired pizza, you ended the meal with one of the eatery’s iconic brownies. If you’re like us and one just isn’t enough, Upper Crust also sells its brownies on Etsy. Flavors range from peanut butter bacon to sea salt caramel.*
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South Carolina at bat

Bat Appreciation Month in Columbia, SC
Bat hanging.jpg

The big brown bat can be found as far south as Venezuela. | Photo via Pexels


It’s Bat Appreciation Month, or as we like to call it — Bat-ober. Bats’ affinity for bug-cuisine makes them a natural pesticide and they save South Carolina’s agricultural industry over $115 million each year in pesticides.

There are 14 bats that call South Carolina their home, but let’s take a look at just a few of the bats that can be found in the Upstate:

🦇 Big brown bat | Among the largest of the South Carolinian bats, these big browns average at four to five inches in length and can eat a third of its weight in one night.

🦇 Eastern small-footed bat | Like its name suggests, this bat is among the smallest of its region. It’s also relatively rare and can be identified by its black ears and muzzle.

🦇 Evening bat | These beetle-eating bats coexist well with humans and their appetite for Japanese beetles can save your lawn from infestation.

Celebrate SC Bat Week in the Midlands on Sat., Oct. 22 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Nature as Teacher Preserve for Education (247 Chestnut Ferry Rd., Camden) where it’s hosting a Trick or Treat Trail. In addition to bats, you may just see a real life “bigfoot” hiding in the trees.
6AM City In-house
THE WRAP
Today’s issue was written by David.

Editor’s pick: Cocky’s birthday is celebrated on Oct. 16, the same day as mine, which is two days before his debut at the homecoming football game that year. One can only assume that he was hatched, incubated, and fed with a specialty worm diet to grow up that fast.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Read about 10 developments underway in Cola, here.
Connect with us.

Editorial: Samantha Robertson, David Stringer, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Kaylee Holland, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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