Pelica Debrief
Fansided

New Orleans Pelicans: Zion’s USC football praise ages poorly

ByXaiver Aguiar|
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 20: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on before the start of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on December 20, 2019 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 20: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on before the start of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on December 20, 2019 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

The New Orleans Pelicans are in the midst of the dead portion of their off-season. That means coaches and players alike are doing whatever they please before training camp starts in a few weeks, including superstar Zion Williamson.

This past weekend Zion went to the USC football game against Stanford in Los Angeles. Cheering presumably for the Trojans, USC posted this video of the former first overall pick to their Twitter account:

There’s a lot to unpack from this video, starting with Zion didn’t attend the university. USC was one of Zion’s final choices of where he would attend school, but he ended up choosing coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke University instead. He isn’t from Southern California either, growing up 3 hours from Duke’s campus in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

His harping upon the “USC environment” was also fairly comical. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but many have complained about the lack of fan atmosphere from the Trojans in the last few years. That even includes some who have worn the red and yellow.

Current Nebraska tailback Markese Stepp played three years in Los Angeles before transferring to Scott Frost’s program in Lincoln. He had this to say about the contrast between the Cornhusker and Trojan fanbase:

Even at the game, Zion was at – the turnout wasn’t as impressive as advertised. The reported attendance was a little over 53,000, which is high for a game in recent years for the program. Stanford is a small rivalry game for the program, so it makes sense.m

For reference, Zion’s school he was projected to go to before garnering national attention, Clemson, had over 73,000 this past Saturday. They played an FCS school SC State that was coming off a loss to Alabama A&M.

Zion wasn’t the only athlete in attendance to watch the Cardinal victory. Former Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley also made an appearance. In this video USC posted of the former star, you can see just how many open seats were in the Coliseum:

To add insult to injury, USC football is at a low point in its illustrious history. A few days removed from that loss to Stanford, the school announced it had fired head coach Clay Helton. The USC athletic department will be searching for a coach that can win more games and put more butts in seats.

Hopefully, Zion can put this hilariously weird take behind him and can get geared up for another monster season with the Pelicans.

Home/Pelicans News