The University of South Carolina Found the Worst Possible Way to Spend $1 Million: a Giant Cock Statue

This is the one. This is what did it. I never want to hear another college administrator even dare to say there is not money available to pay the players when these schools are casually dropping $1 million to put giant bird statues outside the stadium. In the interest of full disclosure, this statue was funded by donors, but if they can give money to the school for this, they can give money to a fund to pay the student-athletes.

When South Carolina was thinking of ways to make its school more desirable to recruits, I wonder how far into that meeting the million-dollar rooster idea came into play. This has to be at the very top of the Maslow's hierarchy of college football needs.

And the "cock" jokes are always overused when talking about South Carolina, but when you literally buy a $1 million cock, you are inviting the ridicule on yourself.

The Big Spur — "We needed something iconic," said David Seaton, who is retired after serving as the Chairman and CEO of the Fluor Corporation and currently lives in Dallas. "I had a smaller one done by an artist in New Mexico and it's inside Colonial Life Arena. I figured we needed something at Williams-Brice, and we needed something iconic. I think it's going to outdo my expectations. I've seen the progress pictures, and every time I saw them, I got excited. It's incredible.”

Iconic?! I guess if we go by the most liberal of definitions this thing will be "well-recognized" but I'm not sure it will be in a positive way. This statue will be the million-dollar laughing stock of the Southeastern Conference — and that includes the middle school football stadium Vanderbilt plays in.

Next time your school is thinking about spending $1 million on a rooster, don't.