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| My brother (center), dad (right) and me after Clemson beat Georgia Tech, 31-7, in 2006. This was the first time ESPN's College GameDay came to Clemson. |
I grew up a Tiger, my half-brother having walked-on to the late 1980s Danny Ford Clemson teams. My family was split - my mom a South Carolina grad and my dad a big Clemson fan. I had jerseys of both teams and wore both during those late November rivalry games until one team won, then I'd only wear the jersey of the winning team.
But I think I always knew which side of the fence I was on in the Palmetto State rivalry.
Some of my earliest memories are tossing the football in the tailgating lots around Clemson Memorial Stadium. I can't remember every game I've been to, but we didn't miss many.
There were early mornings loading up the car and putting the flags up to make the drive up I-26 and I-385 to the Upstate from Columbia listening to Leonard's Losers along the way. There were late nights falling asleep while my pops drove us home safely, exhausted from a full day of cheering for our Tigers.
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| My bro and I after Clemson beat South Carolina, 35-17, in 2014. Freshman QB Deshaun Watson played the game on a torn ACL and ended a 5-game losing streak to SC. |
There were incredible wins and bitter losses. I recount plays and scores from years past as if the game had been played yesterday. It's a "gift" my family tells me.
But the thing I remember the most is the time I had with my dad and my brother at the games. I can smell the grass and feel the breeze under the old tree where we parked. While Dad set up the tailgate, my brother and I would be over in the field throwing the football, scoring touchdowns for the Tigers against that day's opponent. I can still taste the chicken from Roddy's in West Pelzer (now closed). I can hear the Tiger Tailgate Show and Hurricane Duane's clever song remakes. I can hear the faint sound of Tiger Band warming up on the field across the street. We'd pack up and make our way toward Death Valley. It was a long walk filled with anticipation.
Often, we sat worlds apart. Our season tickets were in the southwest corner of the upper deck. I always found a way, however, to sit on The Hill. But we were there together. After the game, we'd meet under the goal posts, throw the football on the field, snag a pair of wide receiver's gloves, then make our way back to the car.
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| My bro and I before the 2016 National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona. The outcome wasn't what we wanted, but it was one of my favorite memories with him. |
I can taste the ham and mustard poppy seed biscuits and the cold mashed potatoes and gravy hours after the game as we waited for traffic to let up. We'd listen to the Fifth Quarter Show to catch all the postgame chatter and score updates from the Saturday that was. It was as if we didn't want to leave that town and those moments behind.
You see, Clemson football is more than a game. It's more than the orange and white paw prints. It's more than wins and losses.
It's spending time with your friends and family. It's talking football, throwing the football, watching football, and talking football some more. It was getting Tiger Paws painted on your cheeks and buying programs. It was purchasing that new shirt from Mr. Knickerbocker's downtown Clemson. It was taking pictures with Howard's Rock for the new family portrait. It's road tripping to bowl games after every season.
It was and still is everything.
As football approaches every year now that I live away from that town on the shores of Lake Hartwell, I reminisce on those days. I don't get back to Clemson as often as I should, but I want so bad to have one more gameday Saturday with my dad and brother.
We'll have to make that happen soon, guys!
-BtW
