Tuesday February 09, 2010

A Proposal

A Proposal
In September 2004, Ryan, Kelly, my college roommate, his wife and three kids and another good friend took a great RV trip to College Station, TX to see Clemson play at Texas A&M. We left a day early because of the threat of the hurricane that was about to hit the gulf. We also wanted to experience College Station and the traditions of the Aggies.

One of the best parts of the trip was going to Texas A&M’s famed Midnight Yell Practice. This is where about 25,000 Aggie fans and students get together at the stadium for a pep rally the night before each home game.

As soon as we got back, I got on the phone and started calling some Clemson leaders to see how we could start this kind of tradition at Clemson. I was told fairly frequently how the stadium could not work because of security and how some in the athletic department thought it would be too expensive.

Since that September night in 2004 I can only remember a handful of pep rally-type events at Clemson. We started back Cocky’s funeral a few years ago but the Thanksgiving holiday gets in the way of the event and we have it 10 days or so before the game. I think a pep rally ten days before a game is a difficult draw.

The past two years Dabo has had the football team at Tigerramma. I think that has been pretty cool and hope that tradition will stick but my mind is constantly racing with ideas to maximize the potential of our programs.

I am aware that winning is the best catalyst for school spirit but there has to be a way for us to find more ways to maximize the energy around the program.

I have this renewed enthusiasm towards getting something like this started again and would love your feedback on which ideas work and which ones don’t.

Over the past few weeks and in the next few months I am talking to member of Clemson’s city council, the athletic department, the football program, the letterman’s association, downtown businesses and the Clemson police department in an attempt to see what can be done.

Here is what I have in my head so far:

*The Friday nights before home football games, the university and city host a downtown pep rally on College Avenue. I am not sure what time the event would start or how long it would go but that decision could come from input from fans, the football program and downtown businesses.

*A stage could be set up similar to what we see in the Welcome Back festival and what we saw for the Midnight Madness deal a few years ago.

*The pep rally would obviously include cheerleaders, rally cats, the Tiger, the Tiger Cub and the marching band.

*At Texas A&M the head coach participates in Yell Practice and I think Dabo or a member of his staff would be a great addition. Maybe you could have an offensive assistant one week and a defensive assistant the next. If the coaches were out of town recruiting, maybe Jeff Davis or Woody McCorvey could speak to the crowd.

*Speaking of Jeff Davis, I think it would be awesome of former Tiger greats could come back for the event. One week we could have Jerry Butler and Steve Fuller. The next week it could be Terry Kinard, When the NFL guys like Brian Dawkins, James Davis or C.J. Spiller have a week off or retire from the game then they could be enticed to come back home.

*One of the keys would be for the downtown businesses to participate. The stores could open up for a couple of hours for the events. Maybe the restaurants could have some outside vending where they could sell samples on the streets with their booths. The bars would have to be involved and I think the city could over look downtown drinking of beers in a cup for a couple of hours. This might help with some student participation.

*A band could have a downtown concert following the pep rally if the city wanted to keep the streets closed down for a couple of more hours depending on the time of the event.

*The events would not take place during homecoming because of Tigerramma.

Maybe we could have a trail run for one event next year to see how it would be received but I think this could grow into an outstanding tradition.

In my original conversations I ran into a ton of reasons why something like this would not work. Security concerns, businesses’ participation, alcohol laws, staffing the event, etc.

But I do know that this would create some excitement in a different way. I know it could create revenue for downtown businesses is a rough economy. I know that several former Clemson football players like the idea and like the idea of participating. I know several businesses could sign on as sponsors to offset the cost involved in putting on the events each week. And I know that many fans and families I have talked to have interest.

In my head, I just see this thing taking off and becoming another terrific Clemson tradition.

I have had discussions with the Clemson basketball staff on ways to make Clemson basketball more of an event. The original conversations included bands on the lawn at Littlejohn, former players signing autographs, food venders setting up outside the coliseum, and games for kids and the entire family outside. I saw an opportunity to change the game day experience for Tiger basketball and have people tailgating for home basketball games. The major issue I ran into with this idea is the unpredictable weather for basketball season. It is difficult to expect people to tailgate and hang out around the coliseum if a wintery mix is in the forecast but weather in the fall is not as much of a threat for football season.

I am asking for your participation in this planning. Please e-mail me ideas of what you think could work or not work regarding the football Friday pep rallies. My e-mail address is mickeyplyler@hotmail.com. Because I think readers would be interested, I will publish many of these in Friday’s E-Mail bag. Thanks for your consideration.

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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, the Coyle familty.