Tickets have been secured for a terminally ill Gaffney man to attend his first South Carolina football game.

Blacksburg resident Linda McDaniel received numerous phone calls with ticket offers from South Carolina fans over the weekend. The Blacksburg Primary secretary's school phone began to ring shortly after a story was published in Friday's edition of The Gaffney Ledger.

McDaniel issued a public appeal for tickets so her friend could attend a home game this season.

Her friend is a longtime Gamecock fan who has lung and brain cancer. He has never had an opportunity to attend a University of South Carolina football game.

The streak will end when he attends the Kentucky game on Oct. 4 at Williams-Brice Stadium.

McDaniel is not willing yet to identify her friend's name. At the football game, she hopes to get a picture of her friend that can be published in the newspaper with more details on his Gamecock game experience.

"His wife wants to surprise him with the tickets. A man is donating the tickets to the Kentucky game in memory of a sister, who lost her life to cancer," McDaniel said. "My friend is starting to experience some breathing problems when he walks long distances. A parking pass was provided with the tickets so my friend will not have to walk far to get to his seat."

McDaniel expressed her appreciation to the many local residents who have responded over the past couple of days with ticket offers to a South Carolina football game this season.

A scheduling conflict forced the family to turn down some tempting offers, including an offer of two tickets on the 50-yard line with a free pre-game meal.

"The family would like to thank all the people who called to offer their tickets. There were some wonderful offers," McDaniel said. "It just goes to show how wonderful the Cherokee County community really is and how willing our residents are to help others."