The long-awaited bronze statue of USC's official mascot, Cocky, moved into its permanent home Friday in a ceremony outside Davis College.
A generous crowd formed to take in the unveiling alongside a performance by USC's Pep Band and speeches from prominent USC figures including President Harris Pastides, student body president Ross Lordo and John Routh, one of the first Cocky portrayers in the early 1980s. USC alumnus Robert Allison sculpted the statue, which Pastides joked will soon become "the most selfied' bird in the history of all avian culture."
Though measuring 6-foot-5 and weighing 773 pounds, the bird resting on the bronze bench is unmistakably Cocky, donning Carolina's elusive #01 with his right hand eternally held to the sky in the "spurs up" manner. The left hand rests atop a short stack of reading material to symbolize the 116,017 books Cocky's Reading Express has given to South Carolina school children since 2004.
The State reported the project's budget to be $85,000, all of it privately funded. A crowdfunding campaign organized by USC earlier this year raised over $30,000 toward the statue's construction through April 30.
While overseeing the festivities from the Melton Observatory lawn, third-year broadcast journalism student Allen Harter said he saw the statue as a "testament" to Carolina pride.
"It's definitely something just to show how big our school spirit at USC," Harter said.
Third-year public relations student Michael Matheny attended the ceremony because he saw it as a "special moment to witness," given Cocky's importance in the USC community. A transfer from Winthrop University, Matheny moved to Columbia for the atmosphere that a larger university could afford.
"I craved this," Matheny said, regarding the crowd. "I craved the big school, the big school spirit, the community that loved its university. So far I've definitely gotten it."
Cocky received an official shout-out at Saturday's football game against the University of Kentucky. John Routh, the first Cocky mascot ever, began the "Gamecocks" cheer at the start of the game.
After the first quarter, several past Cocky mascots sporting the feet of their old costumes took the field in honor of what was rightfully called "Cocky Weekend."
Matheny also said the new statue in particular is a representation of the "big school spirit" for which he came to USC.
"I think this is a huge part of it," Matheny said. "The school I came from, there was no focus on the mascot or even the athletic program, and so that sense of community and school spirit just didn't exist."
CORRECTION: A previous version of the story described the statue's left hand as making the the "spurs up" gesture, with the right hand resting atop a stack of books.