CCU’s Tim Beck chugs beer on ESPN, Darth Vader appears before App State game. What happened
The 2024 installment of Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State’s college football rivalry was not short on notable moments.
The game had a lot to live up to after the 2023 iteration in Boone, N.C. Coastal won that meeting on a last-second field goal, and App State fans threw trash and drinks at Coastal players as they celebrated their first win at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.
CCU even memorialized the hostility from the 2023 game by putting a photo of App State fans flipping off CCU players in the Marrio & Josh Norman Field House. This year, it was Conway, S.C.’s turn to host the rivalry game, and CCU Head Coach Tim Beck started the festivities on national television.
ESPN SportsCenter aired part of its 2-3 p.m. show from Brooks Stadium in Conway, and Beck chugged a beer with hosts Matt Barrie and Dan Mullen. Beck took the longest sip and hit the can against his head after finishing his swig. Beck’s chug attracted much social media attention on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Beck said after the game that the drink had no lasting side effects. He added that the moment called for him to take a hard drink. He had coached Barrie while a high school coach in Arizona, and Coastal Carolina fans were chanting for him to do it.
“I’m sure my wife was really proud,” Beck said. “Coach Mullen couldn’t believe I did it.”
It wasn’t the only notable moment. Famed Star Wars villain Darth Vader appeared and fought a lightsaber duel with the Coastal Carolina mascot Chauncey the Chanticleer. Chauncey bested Vader, of course.
CCU fans also gave the Mountaineers football team a rough welcome. Brooks Stadium shouted “F— App State” before the Boone-based squad took the field. When App State ran onto the field before the opening kickoff, some Mountaineer players ran toward the CCU student section to pray in the end zone before the game.
One Coastal fan threw their drink at the Mountaineer players while they knelt to pray. When asked for a comment or statement, a CCU spokesperson said they hadn’t seen the incident and couldn’t comment.
The high-energy atmosphere remained throughout the game as CCU fans continued to heckle the Mountaineers. After CCU secured its 38-24 victory, CCU students stormed the field and jumped onto the field to celebrate. CCU running back Braydon Bennett said after the game he was at first worried that the students would injure themselves as some did after CCU last played App State in Conway in 2022. The jump from the student section to the teal field is several feet.
“I thought someone would break their leg again like people did two years ago,” Bennett said. “But then they came over, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, we lit. We won.’”
The game was especially sweet for Coastal because the victory came at the expense of their North Carolina rivals. During the press conference after the game, Beck said he spent the week before the match making sure his team was bought into the team and the rest of the season.
Bennett added that morale was low due to three straight losses during the week before the App State game, but the prospect of beating the Mountaineers galvanized the Chants.
“Everybody had a bad taste in their mouths, (but everyone) was like, ‘There’s no way we lose to these boys,’” Bennett said. “Everybody turned up their intensity. Everybody worked hard all week.”
“I think a lot of fans, people in Conway, feel that way,” Beck said. “So, I’ll just leave it at that.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 11:30 PM.
