Smells like Team Spirit

So many cool new things about the 34th annual Cooper Bridge Run, so little time.

The wave start was a big improvement.

More bands on the course, including rockin' Two 3 Ways with the coveted top-of-the-bridge gig.

The one and only Ruben Studdard singing "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" in Marion Square.

Plus even more of the typically tasty food. Muffins. Brats. Barbecue.

Apples. Bananas.

More muffins.

But by far the best Saturday twist: Now the Cooper River Bridge Run is a team sport.

For the first time, runners and walkers were allowed to register as teams, and more than 700 defined squads took part.

Small teams (two people), large teams (25).

Real teams.

The Charleston Battery contributed with 20 professional soccer players and staff members. They ran in official yellow and black jerseys.

"It's good for us to get out in the community," said defender Nigel Marples, a 25-year-old former Towson University player from the Vancouver suburb of Delta, British Columbia. "It was fun to do something like this as a team, even though we didn't all stick together for the whole run."

Semper Fi

Of course, there was a little competition within a competitive team. And semi-trash talking.

"Yeah," Marples said. "You can't expect the goalies to keep up with the other players."

Team Semper Fi — injured Marines representing the Semper Fi Fund — locked onto the Cooper River Bridge Run team concept before it officially existed.

They were back at it Saturday, inspiring fellow runners and spectators from Moultrie Middle School in Mount Pleasant to the Meeting Street finish line.

Bridge running as a team sport is so South Carolina. We pay lots of money to see us vs. them. Team running is why next week's second annual Palmetto 200 (200 miles from Columbia to Folly Beach) is much bigger than the inaugural event.

Support always has been a soulful part of the bridge run and now you can cheer for entire entities.

A real wave start

"The other good thing about it," Marples said, "is that we got in a really good workout together heading into our season opener (Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium against the Charlotte Eagles)."

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

This could be the start of something really big, bigger than the 40,000 participant list we already have.

More teams.

Real teams.

College football, baseball and basketball teams.

The entire Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Southern Conference, Big South, VCU and Butler.

Some year soon, the corrals will stretch way down Coleman Boulevard and all the way to the beachfront on Sullivan?s Island. Team spirit, for sure, and a wave start with real waves.