In 2013 I named my goat after Stephen Garcia

On April 9, 2013, two baby goats were born on our homestead. As soon as I saw his face, I named one goat after Stephen Garcia.

Garcia is an enigmatic figure. Steve Spurrier's first big-time quarterback recruit, Garcia came to South Carolina from Tampa, Florida, as a brash, long-haired, five-star player. During his career he played extremely well at times. In 2009, he was the starting quarterback when the Gamecocks began their current five game winning streak over Clemson. In 2010, he led the Gamecocks to their first and only SEC East football championship.

However, on October 11, 2011, then Athletic Director Eric Hyman, who had no patience for Garcia's antics, kicked Garcia off the Gamecock football team for a failure to follow, "established guidelines." Garcia Dismissed from Football Team. The sudden and shocking dismissal followed a tumultuous career of highs and lows. The lows in many cases involved bad luck and poor choices associated with Garcia's love of partying. His love of fun did not correlate well with also existing under the media microscope trained on starting SEC quarterbacks.

The Gamecock fanbase was divided over Garcia. Some fans were critical or upset because Garcia's partying allegedly meant that he was unable to meet high expectations associated with his five-star talent. Others were more understanding and sympathetic, recollecting back to their own lives as students at the University of South Carolina. I am one of the latter. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Stephen Garcia's of this world. 

This past week, I was thrilled when Garcia emerged as a celebrity at the unofficial beginning of college football -- SEC Media Days. (SEC Media Days is a huge event for college football fans in the deep south.) A  few weeks before SEC Media Days started, a self-described "non-corporate" sports media site, Saturday Down South, hired Garcia as a reporter/blogger. This was a brilliant PR move by SDS! Garcia made a huge splash at SEC Media Days and the SDS brand is exploding.  

@thejournalist44 We're just getting started... #VivaGarcía #CousinTy @itISwhatITisSG5 @thardin52
— Drew Roberts (@DrewSDS) July 17, 2014

SDS took full advantage of Garcia's celebrity status, and plans a Garcia clothing line to go with his video blogging. As a celebrity-reporter, Garcia already has an avid following. Garcia was interviewed over 150 times by reporters, bloggers, and broadcasters covering SEC Media Days. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of Stephen Garcia.

I need one of these #vivagarcia shirts @JOXRoundtable pic.twitter.com/7IBbZRuJIB
— Keith Wallace (@RKeithWallace) July 15, 2014

@SDS @JOXRoundtable I MUST have one of those! #VivaGarcia
— ✋Anti-Clemson ✋ (@TaterSpeak) July 15, 2014

Second. RT @mtRoth29: @itISwhatITisSG5 how do I get a Viva Garcia shirt?!?
— Dustin Tucker (@dustintucker) July 15, 2014

@itISwhatITisSG5 how long do I have to wait to get one of the #VivaGarcia shirts? Should I just have @BrandiCMills bring me one?
— kbruce (@kbruce) July 16, 2014

I will marry anyone who gets me a viva Garcia tshirt @itISwhatITisSG5 #vivagarcia #hebeatbama
— Caroline Garris (@carolinegarris) July 16, 2014

I am so happy to see Garcia succeed! I named my goat after Garcia more than a year before he burst on the scene again this July.  Thus, with this post, I am claiming my status as the first generation of true Stephen Garcia fans. I am publishing this and tweeting to SDS hoping to snag one of the Viva Garcia T-shirts! 

Besides the fact I am a huge Stephen Garcia fan, here's a clue about why I named my goat Garcia after Stephen Garcia. 

Viva Garcia. Viva Saturday Down South.