-get downtown churches to assist: through FCA, scheduling events after rally, etc. Lots of resources and parking to be advantageous and they could bring more folks.

-boy scouts: they coordinate some of the parking in that area on game day, so maybe they would be willing to offer additional thoughts

-maybe a"movie on the lawn" or "highlights on the lawn" on Bowman a few times when still summer time weather. After rally everyone could watch a sports movie on giant projection screen or highlights. Just a thought...ATL has something similar in summers at Piedmont Park. You could run the same highlight on side of BB&T too.

-think the idea of assistant coach involvement is great, puts a name with face. Go a step further and ask golf, volleyball, tennis, soccer coaches/team members to be a part of event. Sort met the teams.

I like the whole idea, but remember it is still really expensive for an out of towner like me to stay in Clemson on Friday. All the hotels ding you for both Fri and Sat if a weekend reservation is made at a already heightened rate. It is smarter for us to just carpool up/back on Saturday. Still I would love for the Fri gig to take off.

I was astonished to see so many empty seats in the student section at the FSU game. I know this has been a recurring problem throughout this season. A Clemson student states that the basketball games are not promoted very much to the student body. There is, also, a frustration with waiting in line for hours with no guarantee of getting a ticket to the game.

I am just looking for solutions for the sake of the team. It would seem that the athletic department could devise a more efficient process for ticket distribution to the student body. This should be done in a way that unused tickets are made available to the general public in a reasonable amount of time.

Regards,

I have to say I was a little worried in the second half (~13 minutes) about deja vu last night when the Seminoles scored 5 points and our offense seemed to go to sleep. I think for us to have any chance at 8-8 or even 9-7 will be to continue to play with intensity and to show some semblance of a half-court offense.

Any idea when Stitt will be 100%? Young has done a good job stepping in. Yet, the Tigers will need Stitt to finish the season well.

I read your blog but have never written to you.

I’m a 1970 grad. I recall during Frank Howard’s era we had pep rallies on either Thursday or Friday nights before game day. We had them at the amphitheater on campus. The band, cheerleaders, the coach and several of the players all participated on stage. The cheerleaders occasionally used the time to teach us a new cheer they wanted to initiate. It was a great setting attended by so many that the amphitheater overflowed.

However, I like your idea of placing it downtown to accommodate a crowd and simultaneously make an economical impact.

For every accomplishment in life those hundreds of nay sayers are continually passed by the few who dare to ask, “Why not?”

Regards,

All week I've seen the posts and articles about the officiating in Blacksburg on Saturday. While I'd love to buy into the Karl Hess conspiracy theory, I have a hard time overlooking some basic concepts that could have contributed to the difference in FT attempts.

1. Remember the question that the analysts asked OP on College Gameday in LJ? "Do you feel the play has gotten too physical?" Considering how physical we play, I was shocked to hear him agree with the analysts. If I'm an official watching that broadcast, I could easily take that discussion to mean that I'm not setting the tone well enough or don't understand how physical the play should be.

2. Since the discussion on Gameday, I've heard other ACC game commentators talk about the physical nature of play in the league. Don't you think that the entire crew of officials in Blacksburg could have gone in with the mindset, "OK, you think it's too physical? Watch this!" If you watched that game, you should have seen that they were making a statement. I also wonder how many calls were made by Hess versus the other officials in the crew. Either way I felt like touch fouls were called against both teams.

3. Malcolm Delaney is an excellent athlete that causes problems for a lot of teams. Strict officiating creates a huge advantage for him. This is also the case for the teams that are more talented than us in the league. Unfortunately, despite good recruiting classes of late, we are not in the top 4 or 5 in talent level. We have to rely on defensive scheme (press) and hustle to win games. Our style of play is more aggressive than a talented team that just simply outscores you. I still think Duke and UNC get the edge against us in terms of officiating, but I'm never surprised to see us have more fouls than them.

4. VT took more advantage of opportunities from the line. I don't know the stats, but I know they looked better on the front end of 1 and 1's.

I could be wrong. Hess could have it in for us. However, if we're going to turn things around, we better figure something out on the offensive end, find someone who can shoot 3's consistently to keep defenses honest, and start hitting FTs more consistently. We also need to play smarter to stay out of foul trouble. We have three guys who lose minutes due to fouls almost every game, and many of the fouls are 40 feet from the basket. Long term, I hope we can find some true scorers who don't mind having their playing time depend on being able to play good defense.

I totally appreciate your passion for increasing the buzz around Clemson athletic events and improving the fan experience for football and basketball games. However, I think that Tiger Nation may be getting a bit carried away with "traditions".

I think you run a risk of watering down traditions when you try to maintain too many of them. Clemson football has enough traditions for me already. Howard's Rock, Running Down the Hill, the Tombstones etc. I also think we have a great tradition of sportsmanship and hospitality to visiting fans that has been recognized by schools such as Texas A&M and Boston College in a way that should make us all proud to be Tigers. Coach Swinney has recently added the Tigerwalk as a new tradition. (Although I think it's debatable if something less than 10 years old can really be a tradition)

You can't go around adding a new tradition every year or so without making some folks wonder why the old traditions weren't good enough.

The only tradition I'm really interested in right now is our former tradition of being the team to beat when it comes to the ACC championship because at the end of the day the difference between having a set of traditions versus a sit of gimmicks is winning.

The reason that running down the hill became one of the great traditions in college football wasn't the mere act of a football team sprinting down an incline. It became exciting and respected because of who was doing the running. When our opponents entered Death Valley during the Ford era, they knew what that bunch wearing orange was going to do when they got to the bottom of that hill and it struck fear and apprehension in their minds before the ball was even kicked off. When we start playing football that way again i think we'll see that Clemson football has all of the traditions it needs.

The problems that I see are:

1. The cheerleaders and current students are clueless about the true Clemson cheers and traditions. They need to be brought on board. There is no mike man or any of the crazy antics that occurred when I was a student.

2. While "Zombie Nation" has it's moments, they have completely derailed the classic waving your right hand in the air (which was taken from the cadets who waived their hats when Clemson was a military college) and dragging out "Goooooooo Tigers" as the ball is kicked. I've never been happy about that.

3.Screwing with Tiger Rag, period! The sacrilege that is The Woo Hoo. I know, I know. It is sickening. When you mess with Tiger Rag, then there is a fundamental problem with that.

Solutions:

1. Educate the entire Clemson family on all the classic cheers and traditions and how they are properly recited. New traditions are great, but we must hold strong to the classics or they too will be lost. In some ways, they already are.

2. Why can't Clemson's version of Yell Practice be held in DV? Treat it the same as say, the Orange and white game. Contact the parties who handle Yell Practice for A&M and discuss logistics, concerns, etc. Shouldn't be too hard.

3.If the University can make this a weekly event prior to each home game, then the entire Clemson business community could stand to increase their revenues by an extra 7 days each Fall. It may start at say 5-10k people, but it could swell to 25-30k people or more if it's done right.

If this really could come to fruition, then we can make DV the premier football environment in the country. The Hill, The Rock and 80k fans in unison. Wow! Clemson people are like no other. They are the best fans in the world. We just need to get everyone on board. Mickey, even though you and I have never met,I am 100% willing to help you with this endeavor in any way I can. I'm completely serious. Let's make it happen.

I am following up on your request in today's blog, but I am going to offer an addition to the experience during the actual football games. I have made several trips to Blacksburg to see the Hokies play (against Clemson as well as other teams). One of the things I really liked was the large guns their ROTC fired after each TD. Is this something that we could work in to our gameday as well?

I too was blessed to attend Yell Practice at A&M and was blown away! I think your idea is a great one if the details can be worked out. What a great recruiting tool as well! Just make sure we include the fact that us guys get a smacker on the lips from our date at some point in time! I was the beneficiary of a nice kiss from a lovely Aggie that I didn't even know! Best fans in the country if you want my opinion!!!

Best wishes with this idea!

Thanks for giving the occasional shout out to my cousin Roy in Israel and it was a pleasure meeting you at the kickoff party last year! Hope Ryan is doing well!

Your proposal:

I was also enamored with the Aggie Cheer Practice. Folks may dismiss it as cultish or crazy but it is definitely something special that sets Texas A&M apart. They, like Clemson, have a family type atmosphere and a tight-knit community of fans nationwide that swell with Aggie pride during the ups and the downs. When Texas A&M came to Clemson a few years back they rented out the Bi-Lo Center parking lot to host the cheer practice. How incredible is that for a team traveling from Texas?

If you run into problems with City Council or local police you could always pitch the idea to multiple locations. Your idea of always having a pep rally the Friday night before a game might be too much for the town of Clemson, but what if Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg, Easley or Seneca were all given chances to host the event? That would alleviate the shortage of hotels in the Clemson area problem and would open the door to other cities to experience the economic bump. On top of that, it would give businesses and Clemson fans in other towns a chance to show off their spirit. I bet IPTAY would be willing to get involved with that movement a little more since they have cut out many of those Clemson Clubs along the way. Let Clemson host the first big game and Tigerama then let other towns get involved.

Thanks for posting your ideas!

I like the idea you have presented to upstart some traditions that are unique to Clemson. The idea of yell practice or downtown festival the Friday before games is a great idea, however I don't think it would be successful beyond a college street party. Reason being, Clemson is isolated from the fan base. Most of the 80,000 people who attend Clemson game come 20-150 miles away. Similar events would work wonderfully at places like SC, where the majority of the fans live, work and play in the Columbia area. I just think it would be hard to have fans travel extended distances or stay in hotels for Friday and Saturday events.

I think any tradition which involves a gathering of fans, would have to be a once a year thing, or held on game day, such as yell practice at Littlejohn or tailgating / camping on the eve of "BIG" games.

On the other hand, there are some traditions I would like to see changed. For example, I don't like the band tune and crowd shouting "GO!" after 1st downs. (and don't get me started on the Woo Hoo.) I like it much better if the announcer would say "and that’s a Tiger..." and the crowd continues with "1st DOWN!" While I know it is not original, I think it is impressive when everyone participates.

The Wave. The wave was a great tradition in the 80's and it was really impressive when it was in full force. I would love to see it come back.

With that being said, I do like the traditions we have, the cannon, the Rock, the hill (although I don't like how we continuously refer to it as the most 25 seconds of college football on the scoreboard as it happens.) I like Frank Howard over the loud speaker telling the players to touch the rock or keep their filthy hands off of it. I like the new Tiger Walk.

I read your blog about the proposal on a pep rally before each home game. I think it's a great idea. Surely the businesses would stay open for a couple of hours during this event. As for as security, why would it be any different than a big win after the game. The Esso Club is packed after a game. Do they have any issues? I believe it can be done with the support from the community. Great idea and keep thinking. By the way, I'm not quitting on the ban the woo hoo effort. Trying to reach a few people at a time.
Enjoy your show.

I’d also like to propose sharing a tradition I observed in Norman. At the end of the Star Spangled Banner before the game; the crowd roared “SOONERS” in place of “brave”. It was awesome and in no way disrespectful. Perhaps we could do same with “TIGERS”.

With all that said, one thing I thought of that could be great for all age groups was some stand-up comedy. I was thinking that maybe some local guys (so you don't have to spend cash on someone famous) could do it and aim their comedy at 'bashing' the opponent for that week. Nothing real serious but maybe some small digs at how the other schools do things. Example: Duke is a basketball school, why do they even show up? And why is it called Duke? There is no one at that school who is the 'Duke' of anything, even though we ALL know Coach K thinks he is!!! Watch out Clemson, you might pick up another foul :)~

Not what you are looking for from your article, however, speaking of traditions, what about a tiger-rag? Think I e-mailed a couple of years ago regarding this, but received no traction. Don't care for the "pom-poms". To go along with the "Tiger-Rag" fight song, everyone should bring to the game his/her own RAG. Patterned after the Steelers "Terrible Towels" or whatever they are called. For those of us that catch the games on TV now and then (mileage a problem ) believe it would add to the totally orange appearance for 80,000 people to also be waving their "RAGS". Surely there is a mill in the area that could make these towels at reasonable price.
p.s. Can also work as sweat towel at those hot Sept. games.