Inside Clemson's decision to play the game amidst hurricane impact

Clemson's Garrett Riley was all smiles late against Stanford.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sep 29, 2024, 3:30 PM

Clemson’s decision to play Saturday night’s home football game against Stanford was not made lightly or without thought to those impacted by the hurricane.

The hurricane swept through Florida late Thursday and impacted Georgia and the Carolinas Friday, and the devastation in swaths of the Upstate of South Carolina can’t be understated. I am sitting in a hotel lobby to write this because it has WiFi, and my own home will likely be without power for several days.

My wife was given tickets and decided to take our two little ones out of the house and to the football game, and both boys had a blast, and it was a needed and enjoyable distraction from the hours of cleaning up and moving around to find showers and food and gas.

As thousands and thousands deal with the same things we’ve been dealing with – and many on a larger scale that have lost homes and vehicles, and some of their lives, the decision for Clemson to play was met with criticism.

Appalachian State canceled its game against Liberty, but other games across the Carolinas were played as scheduled. Of course, the impacts of the hurricane are greater in the Clemson and in the Upstate than in other parts of both states, so many wondered if the game would be moved, canceled, postponed or played without fans.

I’ve spent much of the last few days talking to people in the program, in the Atlantic Coast Conference and even time speaking with members of the ESPN crew in the pressbox last night. That has allowed me to gather what I feel is reliable information regarding the decision to play.

I can start with the first question that was asked – is the game safe to play? Will fans, workers, players and coaches be safe? With most of the Clemson campus sustaining electricity throughout the crisis, the answer to that was yes. I can also say there were never really any serious discussions about playing the game without fans.

Stanford spent the better part of two days trying to get to Greenville and then Clemson (flight and mechanical issues, not hurricane related), ESPN was here and has been with their crews since Thursday, the officials were here, and everyone related to those entities said, “Let’s play.”

(NOTE: If there was a cancellation, the participants for the ACC championship game are first determined by winning percentage, not purely the number of wins).

A popular refrain from the critics is Clemson “selfishly diverting critical first responders and resources” from areas of need. If you came in for the game, you saw that was not true. Stop lights were not manned, and the overall law enforcement/first responder presence was heavily diminished. That was one of the first messages, as I understand it, conveyed to that community from Clemson – "The decision to come is your own. If your people are needed at home, then by all means stay at home. You know your communities better than we do.”

Yes, lines were longer. People had to be more patient. But the almost 80,000 fans who packed the stadium supported the decision. Was it the right one or the wrong one? I can’t tell you that; I can just offer some insight into the process. People who are mad will stay mad, and people who are happy they played will remain happy.

Me? I was happy to get a hot shower and write some game stories, and I can hope beyond hope that my power will be restored by the time we get back from Tallahassee next weekend. I don’t think it will, but a person can hope. And in times like this, hope (and a little football) go a long way.