Thursday January 28, 2010

State of the Union

State of the Union
I have to admit that I did not watch the state of the union address last night but I have seen about 25 or so in my time. In an attempt to avoid politics, I will just move forward with today’s blog which is address to Tiger Nation and our state of the union. This is about Clemson athletics so I will keep the address limited to only issues in athletics.

Before I get into it, let me say that I am not the leader but only a fan and encourage you to add your own state of the union for Tiger Nation. My opinion is only that and is not worth any more than yours. Therefore yours is very welcomed in this format.

Also, please don’t feel the need to stand up and applaud 300 times. There is no need to feel obligated. We are not trying to convince any anyone so no need for the phony standing ovations.

Dear Tiger Nation,
I come today with my views of where we are and where we need to go. We have a brilliant past but I think our future is even brighter. Maybe I am too optimistic but we have been great and we will be great again.

The reason we were great in the past is because of leadership. When Joe Sherman talks about “There’s Something in These Hills” the something he is talking about is the Clemson people. He is talking about Tiger Nation. He wrote it in 1969 after years of watching great Clemson leaders like Dr. R.C. Edwards lead great Clemson people.

Leaders lead in good times and in bad. They inspire. And trust me we will be great again because we will continue to find new leaders who can and will inspire us.

We have already started some of that and have some outstanding leaders on campus today but more are needed and more are coming.

As Tiger Nation let’s look at where we are.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment is that we are still divided in so many ways. I read where President Obama talked about division last night and I think the same holds true in Tiger Nation. It breaks my heart that we disagree on so much but I truly believe that there has been some unbelievable efforts to unify Tiger Nation, especially by Dabo Swinney. He has inspired us to unite and follow him. I think we are more together today than we have been in years but more work is needed and it is needed across the board. We need more leaders who inspire us to unite and follow.

We all know the issues that the poor economy has brought upon our Tiger Nation and our rivals but I think we have done a terrific job there. I don’t know exactly where IPTAY stands at this point but it looks like they are doing a lot to survive the crisis. Attendance at sporting events is down but I think it has been less of an issue here than it has been at other places.

Facilities are on hold at this point, with the exception of baseball. I understand budget concerns and don’t have a problem with that decision.

In football we won nine games, the ACC’s Atlantic Division and a bowl game. C.J Spiller finished high in the Heisman voting and he broke a ton of records with a remarkable senior campaign. No season that includes a loss to South Carolina can be considered great but it was a success.

Football recruiting seems to be going very well this year and the foundation for a top 10-type of class for 2011 has been laid. I would say Dabo and his staff have stabilized themselves and should reap the benefits fairly soon.

The men’s basketball program is in a current slump but that was brought on by an injury. I still feel good about this basketball staff and this program. I am amazed at the transformation Oliver Purnell has been able to pull off with this program.

There are future plans for improvements in the basketball facilities that should help the program.

The baseball program is a pre-season top 20 selection. The team returns a lot of position players but pitching is a concern. Speaking of pitching, I hear very good things about the new pitching coach Dan Pepicelli.

There is good news and bad news for the fans coming to the stadium this season. The good news is the two new additions to the outfield with the new seats that look terrific. The bad news is some of the seats on the one closest to the scoreboard have an obstructed view of some of the outfield because of the scoreboard. I am not sure how the engineers let this happen but would think the scoreboard will have to be moved at the end of this season.

There is good news in some of the Olympic sports programs and bad news in some.

The good news includes another very good year from the folks in Vickery Hall. Student-athletes continue to do well in the classroom.

There was an ACC title in rowing this past year and the staff feels good about the future in that sport.

The women’s indoor track team is ranked 10th in the pre-season poll and that program appears to be back.

Golf, volleyball and women’s tennis programs continue to be very solid and have competed at a high level this past season. All three coaches have won ACC titles in the past and are on solid ground.

The men’s tennis program enjoyed a terrific recruiting class and the staff thinks they are closer to returning to power soon.

Men’s cross country, men’s indoor and outdoor track are still trying to rebuild and need more time to properly evaluate. They will miss Spiller and Jacoby Ford this year.

The bad news comes in the form of men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s basketball. All three programs have really struggled. There is hope the new men’s soccer coach can turn things around but women’s soccer appears to headed down the same path as so many players are leaving the program. The women’s basketball team continues to struggle.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving cannot be judged because it would not be fair. Clemson does not have a full-sized pool and it is not appropriate to hold the staff accountable if they are not on a level playing field. I think we need to either build the facility with the proper size pool or drop the sport.

I have preached championships lately and I think football, golf, women’s tennis and volleyball are getting closer to returning to that level. Rowing just won their first of hopefully many ACC titles.

Men’s basketball always has an uphill climb as does both swimming programs.

I think baseball is more difficult now too because the league is better and out of state tuition really hurts with only 11.7 scholarships.

Women’s track has made great strides towards winning an ACC title again.

At this point though I just don’t see either soccer program or women’s basketball winning a title anytime soon.

There are two good pieces of news to finish this address. The board of trustees has developed an athletic department oversight committee. This was not met with enthusiasm among all involved across campus but I applaud the board for taking the initiative. Obviously, Clemson athletics has some issues and I hope this committee will make tough decisions to help the department reach its full potential.

The other piece of good news I can finish with is hope for the future. As I mentioned earlier, Clemson has been great in the past and WE WILL BE GREAT AGAIN! The Clemson people will demand it from its leaders and new leadership will be on the way at some point. When we put these dynamic leaders in place greatness will follow.

As I mentioned earlier, I look forward to your state of the union address as well.

Go Tigers!

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims.