South Carolina reporter takes savage shot at Mark Stoops and Kentucky

Emmy-winning Mike Uva took his shot at the Wildcats and didn't miss

Some rivalries are built on history. Others are built on pettiness. The South Carolina–Kentucky football feud? It’s both. Shane Beamer had taken over for Will Muschamp and was fired and Beamer didn't have the best first year, going just 7-6 but that was a step in the right direction. Mark Stoops was coming off a 10 win season in 2021 and the stage was set.

Shane Beamer created a viral video of him dancing around and putting sunglasses, you can see it here.

In the off-season of 2022, Mark Stoops couldn’t resist a little jab during SEC Media Days. “It’s easy to change the climate… you just change a uniform, talk a little game, dance around, put on some stupid sunglasses,” Stoops said. He claimed he wasn’t talking about Shane Beamer directly. Sure, Coach.

At the time, Stoops had every reason to be confident. Kentucky had beaten South Carolina in seven of the previous eight meetings. But the Gamecocks didn’t just take note — they responded.

That fall, South Carolina came into Kroger Field and left with a 24–14 win. In 2023, they won a slugfest in Columbia 17–14. And last year? They humiliated Kentucky in Lexington, 31–6, in a game that was never competitive. Since October 2022, South Carolina has as many SEC road wins at Kroger Field as Kentucky does, two. Yikes.

Now, Gamecocks reporter Mike Uva has taken the trolling to another level. He posted a shirt reading “Culture > Climate,” with “culture” in Gamecock red and “climate” in Kentucky blue. The caption? “Stupid sunglasses.”

The burn works on multiple levels — it calls back Stoops’ own words, flips the insult, and reminds everyone of South Carolina’s recent dominance in the series.

In college football, receipts don’t expire. And right now, South Carolina is enjoying every second of cashing them in. The Cats travel to Columbia on September 27th to try and reverse the curse of the sunglasses.