How South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer used 'stupid sunglasses' to motivate Gamecocks

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer never addressed Kentucky coach Mark Stoops' comments at SEC Media Day with the team during preseason camp. When the Gamecocks were preparing to face the Wildcats last week though, he brought it back up.

At SEC Media Day, Stoops called out the difference between changing the climate of a program vs. the culture, commenting that "you can ... dance around, put on some stupid sunglasses" but culture goes deeper than that. Though Stoops later denied that the comment was directed at South Carolina, it came after a viral video of Beamer dancing in Pit Viper sunglasses to the song Turn My Swag On by Soulja Boy.

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After South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC) beat Kentucky (4-2, 1-2) at Kroger Field on Saturday 24-14, Beamer went into the locker room carrying the pair of the sunglasses that Stoops mocked. He flipped his hat backwards, put the glasses on and began dancing to the same song as the team cheered around him. The video of his celebration became another viral moment, garnering more than 16,000 likes on Twitter.

"Somebody mentioned to me at the beginning of the week, hey take those sunglasses for after the game if we were to win," Beamer said. "I guess early in the week I felt like okay, we have a chance, if we are fortunate enough to win that game, that was something I may do."

Despite the jab at Stoops in the celebration, Beamer emphasized that he has the utmost respect for his SEC East colleague. He said rehashing the comment was a motivation tactic to get his team fired up for the game.

"I had a great conversation with Mark before the game about that incident from media days and whatnot, and my respect level for Mark and that program couldn't be higher," Beamer said. "As a head coach though, I think you know, you're always looking for ways to find extra ways or extra motivation for your guys each week"

Beamer also said the viral reaction was him living in the joy of the moment. The win over Kentucky was arguably the biggest of his career so far: It was his first road win against an SEC opponent, his first win against a ranked opponent and the program's first win at Kroger Field since 2012.

"There's nothing like a winning locker room. You work (really) hard as a coach and as a college football player for 12 Saturdays a year, and when you're fortunate enough to win, we're going to celebrate the heck out of it," Beamer said. "When you're fortunate enough to win on the road as a big underdog against an SEC team at night, we're really going to celebrate it. When I got done with all the interview ... on the field after the game, and I walked on in, that locker room was already rocking with music and dancing."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How South Carolina football found motivation in 'stupid sunglasses'