The Quest: Clemson University

The Quest is my attempt to go to a College Football game in as many places as possible and write about my experience. It starts with the place, there are incredible places to visit, college towns, big cities, north, south, east, west, they play College Football all over this great nation. Each individual football experience revolves around the “Gameday” which usually starts with tailgating. Food is an essential part of the sport for the fans, end of story. Then comes the game atmosphere, the stadium, the fans, the look fo the team, the entrance, the band, the songs, the chants, it all plays into the experience of being in the stands.

South Carolina is an incredible state, that’s all there is to it. From the gorgeous lowcountry, to Myrtle beach, the coastline of South Carolina is one of the most heavenly in the United States. While the coast has tourism, seafood, and pristine beaches, there’s another region of South Carolina that they call the Upstate. There, they have Clemson football.

Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness;
Where the Tigers play;
Here the sons of dear Old Clemson,
Reign supreme alway.
(Clemson University Alma Mater)

And they love their Tiger Football. Clemson has a rich football history and tradition. John Heisman coached the Tigers at the turn of the century. Clemson saw moderate success until Frank Howard came to the Upstate. The Alabama grad took over the Tigers in 1940, he would coach there until 1969. Howard went 165-118-12 in his tenure at Clemson, winning 8 conference championships (2 Southern Conference, 6 ACC). Howard is most famous for Howard’s Rock. In the 50’s Memorial Stadium started being called by a new name, “Death Valley.” The name was coined by a Prebyterian University coach whose teams played numerous times in Death Valley and rarely won or scored for that matter.

At Clemson, tradition is bursting at the seems. From the Tiger Walk before games, to touching Howard’s Rock and running down “the Hill”, to the students and fans rushing onto the field after the game, and gathering at the paw with the team to sing the Alma Mater. And let me say this, Clemson fans are crazy. There are few places where the crowd can actually affect what happens on the field, and Death Valley is notoriously one of them.

I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to the Clemson-Florida State game on September 24th. Florida State is Clemson’s biggest conference rival, and an early conference win over the Seminoles would put the Tigers in the driving seat to win the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The Tigers are hot off a huge win over Auburn in Death Valley the week before and offensive players Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins are quickly becoming household names.

Florida State is fresh off of a loss to #1 Oklahoma in a game in which they competed but couldn’t get a win. The Seminoles are banged up, they’ve lost a couple receivers, a safety and quarterback E.J. Manuel but a good team has depth of talent and Coach Jimbo Fischer has a lot to work with.

Gameday in Clemson is something entirely different yet delightfully similar to the SEC gamedays I am used to. The Tigers have this air of elegance about them. They have a classic tradition in football and their fans all have a great understanding of the richness that is Clemson’s tradition. And they all uphold it with dignity, but on game day, once the Tigers touch the Rock, these fans become some of the loudest, rowdiest, most electrifying, high flying, pie eating, eyebrow raising, spine popping, elbow dropping! (Woah, I’m talking about the wrong Rock) fans in the country.

My game day starts by driving my buddy Wes, a walk-on, to meet with the team. I’ve been in Clemson since the night before. Clemson is the definition of a college town. The University is it’s existence. And the existence of the university revolves around football (and incredible academics, it’s a top 25 university). On Saturdays in the fall, the little town swells into a metropolis of pigskin. The campus is picturesque Carolina beautiful.

On campus, I head to a tailgate to meet up with my buddy Nick. I’ve got an angel food cake with me for some reason, and while walking through campus, a lot of people waved at me. I don’t know if it was the cake or everyone was just friendly, but I came to the conclusion that if you want to make friends fast, carry a cake with you. It really works.

Tailgating in Clemson is an art form. And where artists have a pencil and paper, Clemson fans all have a tailgating tent. On Saturday’s they stretch for miles and miles. My buddy Nick has set up his tailgate on the Intramural fields next to the stadium, this, along with the parking lot on the North side of the stadium are the premier spots for tailgaters.

I “tailgate jump” and head over to another tailgate to meet some other friends that go to Clemson (shout out to Jacob Clarke and Elyse Dengler). These fans are legendary “painters.” A couple games a year they will paint up and spell out something on their bodies (for example Deuces Wild for Sammy Watkins). A noble undertaking and a display of elite fan-dome that I am personally in awe of.

On a side note, do not “paint up” unless you are for sure sitting on the front row, then it’s just awkward and no one can really see you anyways. Your chances of getting on television are slim and taking a shower later and picking the paint off of your skin is thus, no longer worth it.

Inside the stadium, I have been blessed to get a ticket in the student section with Nick and his friends. Clemson students are crazy fans, and always have a good time at the game. Before kick-off, I get a chance to take part in an old Clemson tradition. . .

Pre-game festivities begin, all leading up to “The Most Exciting 25 seconds in College Football,” which is one of the most unique entrances and one of my favorites that I have ever witnessed. Here’s the intro video they play on the screen that drives the crowd batty.

As the video ends, Dabo Swinney appears through the gates, steps forwerd amidst the sea of screaming orange, kisses the rock, and points skyward giving the Lord his due before the rest of Tigers join their coach at the top of the Hill. By this time, the air in the stadium is already electric. You can feel the thrill creeping through your bones and you instantly understand what makes this place so special. The cannon fires, and the Tigers come spilling down the Hill.

Clemson gets off to a slow start, Florida State takes the opening kick-off and drives down the field and kicks a field goal. This is the only time the Seminoles will ever lead the game. Clemson answers with a touchdown from none other than freshman stud, Sammy Watkins.

Tajh Boyd has come to play on this day in Death Valley. At the half, he has led the Tigers to a 21-10 lead over the Seminoles. The second half starts badly for the Tigers, a freak interception by Boyd turns into a defensive touchdown for the Noles to cut the lead to 21-17, but the Clemson defense was relentless on Florida State back up quarterback Clint Trickett, who was sacked 4 times on the day, and never seemed to be comfortable in the pocket.

At the begining of the 4th quarter, Clemson is up 28-17 after an Andre Ellington touchdown run late in the third. Florida State scores on the first play of the fourth and cuts the lead again to 28-23, this is the point where I’m thinking “we’re about to see Clemson pull a ‘Clemson’ where they find a way to lose the big game.” Here’s what happens next . . .

Florida State would later cut the score to 35-30 and actually got the ball back with 2 minutes left in the game. With no more timeouts, and a 4th and 10, Death Valley got loud. Here’s what it looked (and sounded) like from where I was sitting in the student section:

Trickett is sacked for the fourth time on the day, turning the ball over. Clemson has won, pulling off another upset of a ranked team. (though now, I wouldn’t call that an upset). After each game, Clemson students and fans are all allowed on the field, but after this win, they rush it (me included). It was a madhouse out there, but I managed to find my buddy Wes in the middle of it all.

Later, after the game I actually got to meet quarterback Tajh Boyd (He liked my goatee) and hang out with some Clemson football players. Much like the university they play for, they are classy men.

Clemson is one of the most unique experiences in College Football and one of the many reasons we fans love it so dearly. That Saturday was the most fun I’ve ever had at a College Football game. Games like that remind me what it means to be a fan and how much fun it really can be. To me, it’s visiting places like Death Valley, touching the Rock, going crazy in a student section, and just enjoying the game with fellow friends and fans that make College Football that greatest sport in America. Every Saturday there is something different, something new to experience, and a new place to see.

So if you’re a fan of the game, I encourage you to turn off the TV set one Saturday, and head to a football stadium and experience the game. Go see as many places as you can, I guarantee you will never have the same experience twice. And that’s the point of this “Quest” series, to see as many places as possible.

This is Sam Scott saying, God bless, and may there always be beautiful Saturday’s in the Fall. May there always be brats to grill, footballs to throw, friends to meet, and paint to adorn bodies. May there always be winners with class and losers with grace. And may there always be College Football.