Eight-year-old Alexandria Manuel’s hands fidgeted nervously with a piece of paper as she stared up Main Street wearing her Gamecock baseball hat Sunday afternoon. She was waiting to get a glimpse of the champions as they came through.
Thousands of fans young and old lined Main Street to celebrate the South Carolina women’s basketball team’s national championship win a week ago. Gamecock faithful began packing the street several hours before the 3 p.m. parade, which included former USC basketball players, USC cheerleaders, lawmakers, elected officials, and USC mascots Cocky and Sir Big Spur.
Latasha Gandy is a friend of Alexandria’s mother and a USC alum who drove in from Charleston to take Alexandria to Sunday’s parade.