Renewed Enthusiasm

by Mickey Plyler - Radio Host - Tue Feb 16 09:41:35 GMT-04:00 2016

Renewed Enthusiasm

I have mentioned many times on my radio show and on this blog that I love Clemson baseball. However, it was pretty clear if you paid attention that I had lost enthusiasm in the program the past couple of seasons.

Personally, Clemson baseball the last few seasons felt like the movie Groundhog Day. It seems like it had turned into the same ole, same ole.

When Clemson was winning ACC titles and going to the College World Series, it was fun to go to the ballpark. I rarely missed a home game. When the program slipped, the fun went with it. I got tired of losing and became frustrated with the lack of titles.

I became a bad fan because I got irritated with small aspects of the program. When we were winning, it didn't bother me when Jack Leggett jumped into the huddle after exchanging lineup cards. When the program slipped, I hated it.

Winning meant I didn't notice Leggett tipping his cap to the third base admirers. Losing caused me to despise that individual attention.

I was irrational in my analysis. When we would lose 2-1, I complained about the offense and the evaluation of the position players. After an 8-7 loss I blamed the program's pitching evaluations and thought we would could never win again with these arms.

I became totally irrational. The promotions got old to me. Candy toss began to get stale. I cringed when I heard the song, "She Thinks My Tractors Sexy." I was not having fun and was letting little things aggravate me. Frustration was at every turn. I was upset with concession prices. It was too cold in February and too hot in May. When we made an error, I would think out loud, "Here we go again." I acted like a runner picked off of first base was something that happened every inning. If a batter took a third strike, I would sigh loud enough for people around me to hear. Simply stated, I wasn't fun to be around. I am surprised my friends didn't ask me to leave because I probably dragged them down too.

This is the residual of nine straight years without winning 50 games. Clemson has won one ACC title in 21 years. In the last eight years the Tigers were just 23 games over .500 in ACC play. Clemson hasn't been to the CWS in five years and has only one trip in the last nine years. The Tigers have won just two of the past ten NCAA tournament games.

The last nine years were not up to my standards of Clemson baseball and it affected my attitude about the program. Fair or unfair, I just felt different walking into the stadium.

Friday the Monte Lee Era begins and I couldn't be more excited. My guess is this team will score runs, but pitching will be an issue. I don't have high expectations for this team, but I am excited to go to the ballpark again. This weekend the music won't grate my nerves. The concession prices won't grind my gears. I am going into this year with a new attitude.

Eventually Lee will have to win here, but that is not the main theme this weekend or this year. The immediate future is more about the newness of the program. I am taking a clean slate into the games this weekend. I am looking forward to enjoying the games again, having fun again.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

src="https://2cic.b-cdn.net/t/ads/plyler/allstate_logo.gif" border=0>

border=0>

Prayer List

The prayer list is a medium for our community to recognize those that are in need. If you would like to add someone to the list, please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com. Please let me know when it is appropriate to remove a person off the list.

Those who need our prayers include: Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got Igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S., Daniel Rosborough, the Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L., Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys," Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas V. family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers, Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Stacey McKeown, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr., Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Lillian, Mark Feit, David Frame, the family of Matthew M. Watson, the Dowis family, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Jim Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Smith, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jake David family, Angie Crowley, Ira, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, Scott Johns, Frank Carroll, Brandon Thompson, Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Amanda Peake, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, the Sturkey family, the Lance family, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Jonathan and Jacki Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, Elizabeth Galloway and family, Anita McDonald, Willard Harryman, Liz Surratt, Molly Senn, Jackie Shearer, Richard Sellers, Tim Drisdelle, Susan and Mike Brown, Julie Goodman Marshall, Willard and Dorothy Harryman, Justin Jernigan, Jack Cunningham, Mia Daughtery, Tee Senn, Skylar, Joseph Thomas, Mrs. Nelis, Sean Rowell, George Parker, Levon Kirkland and family, Catherine Sewell, Randy Davenport, David Vaughn, Keith Dalton, B.T., Bill Hilbig, Rita Elrod Hammond and family, Jim McKeller, Tony Alewine, Sharon Storck, Dick Baird, Richard Bagnal, Dustin and Brittany Peurifoy, Jan Allan, Josh Cox, Gregg and Sylvia Lewis, Travis Hamrick, Kaki Harmon, Jammie McKellar and babies, Karen Edwards, Jackson Lindsey, Cathy Hutson Gregg, Kristin Heckman, Jennifer Johnson, Jay Johnson, Lyndsie Johnson, Emily Davis, Hayes Davis, Judy Towe, Johnny Towe, Ken Brown, Elaine Brown, Rhonda Thompson, Tim Davis, Jacob Greinke, Jack Finley, Richard and Clara Crawford, Zach and Griffin Johnson, Israel, Frankie Allen, Bobby Allen, the Wessinger family, the Parsons family, Todd Price and family, Rosemary A Flynn, Dr. Mickey Shealy family, Mr. Gillespie, Bobbi Nicholson, Dr. Matt Stower, Tyler Kemmerlin, Parks Hutto, Patrick Destefano, Robert Summerville, Michelle Richey, Julie Moore, Ashley Fitch, Drew Moyer, Kevin Anderson, Lyn Price, John Robert Smith, Allison Williams, Nicholas Wickiser, Lena Wright, Elizabeth Bruner, Bobbi Simpson, Hammond Family, Elaine G. Duvall, Addison Grace, Bennie Cunningham, Kevin Orcutt, Alan Finley, Keith Wells, Steve Byrd, Jessica Hernandez, Wayne Mullins, Rita Alexander, Tony Osterman, family and friends of Gary Cooper, Tonya Gibson, Mary Carmen Harman, Derk Denton, Tim Vacek, Mike Vacek, Jerry Brown, Phil Compton, Alma Jean Sullivan, Lindsey Motley, and our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day, plus their families.