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YOUR BALANCE
Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!
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Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 25, 2022, 5:44 PM

Our chartered bus left Clemson on a frigid early evening and headed south to connect with I-95 for the straight shot on down to Miami.

It was raining and sleeting when we departed and we were all dressed for that weather. The trip was long, but the time on the road passed very quickly. When we arrived early the next morning, it was so balmy, clear, and nice. We shed our coats and sweaters and pulled our luggage to the hotel check-in. That evening during a pep rally we saw The Goodyear Blimp overhead and we began to understand that Clemson was now in the big time.

We had the thrill of staying in the team hotel (DuPont Plaza I believe) and there was a festive, if somewhat anxious atmosphere as the coaches and players prepared for the biggest game in Clemson history. We were ranked #1 and unbeaten, but still, this was uncharted territory for everyone involved. The media was dubious and it sort of spilled over to the fans. We didn’t know what expect.

And then the guys played THE GAME! And they WON! And Clemson ascended to the top o& the college football world!

It was an incredible experience … something I never expect to ever see … and something I assumed I would probably never live to see again.

I was right for a long, long time..

In the successive years, almost like one of those “Once Upon a Time” fairy tales, I loved telling my young sons about that trip and that night, wishing that they could have been there. It took decades, but eventually, the both got their own chance to witness a Clemson national title of their own … twice actually!

In an IRONIC TWIST one of the things that still stands out in my mind from 1982 was on the return trip being passed by a carload of Tar Heel fans waving a sign that said “The Tiger was a Cheetah!” … it really upset me and made me an ABC (anybody but Carolina) fan from then on … what a bunch of snotty condescending hypocrites … !! Now we all know who the real cheaters are. Winning 39-10 recently was so satisfying!

Having lived 73 years now with well over six decades as a Tiger fan, I have seen it from pretty much every perspective. The lows, the extreme lows, and the highs and the incredible highs.

Through it all, win or lose … I never wavered.

Howard to Hootie … Hatfield to West … Bowden to Dabo. It’s all been good and sometimes it’s been really really great!

And it’s so cool to be anticipating another Orange Bowl. The difference now is that I have the satisfaction of knowing this great season is now considered an “off year” and I’m comfortable in the complete confidence that the Tigers will be back in the national title picture again really soon.

Go Tigers … Whip those Vols!

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 25, 2022, 6:01 PM

Awesome post and it was a dream trip for us too. Our defense, JD, Fridge, Kinard and company were just not going to lose that game and Homer, Tuttle and the awesome O line got us just enough points. Maybe my favorite memory of the game was no Tiger fan leaving after the last whistle but we were staying and celebrating, listening to the band and watching the players just have a great time. The past was thrown aside and the football world knew who Clemson was.

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Clemson is going to take that team, program and fans...


Dec 25, 2022, 6:08 PM

out back of the woodshed and tan their hides. They are volunteers alright, volunteers to furnish butt for the whuppin we're about to hand out.

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 25, 2022, 6:56 PM

I watched the game with my best friend at his house. His mom took us to BiLo and we bought a case of the Clemson orange drinks, snacks and we also purchased fireworks from the booth that was sent up in the parking lot. After the game we took several of those big packs of fire crackers and tied them together and set them off. Man, that still registers as the best game ever for me. Frank was 12 and I was 11. We have watched all three of Clemson’s Natty wins together. Great to be a Tiger. Go Tigers beat the Vols.

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 25, 2022, 7:07 PM

We're the same age. What a trip of a lifetime. We took over Miami. Them ole cornhusker fans didn't know what the heck to think of all the rednecks from somewhere they couldn't find on a map. Glorious times.

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“Class of ‘82…this Bud’s for you” !!


Dec 25, 2022, 7:28 PM

I was a HS senior and still deciding on where to attend college… I wanted to do Architecture, but also play baseball & Clemson was one of the best at both. Winning the National Championship was a huge factor in my decision to attend Clemson that Fall. The BB & Arch. didn’t work out, but I did end up working for Coach Ellis and have been wearing the Tiger Paw ever since that great Orange Bowl victory over Nebraska.

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 25, 2022, 7:42 PM

Great post, Due West, (Ware Shoals boy here). The feeling I had leaving the stadium that night is indescribable. I wanted the season to continue (who else can we play; tee it up). Based on how Homer Jordan looked, I think he was ready for a break. What a courageous effort. It was a glorious night. The first time is always special.

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 26, 2022, 12:09 AM

You forgot to name the main one of the coaches when you named them, the man that coached our Tigers through the first National Championship was Danny Ford, and it was possible he may have won another if AD Bobby Robinson, and President Max Lennon hadn't bribed/forced Danny Ford to resign even with no direct evidence that proved Danny Ford had anything to do with the recruiting violation that he was being accused of, period. Just saying bc I didn't know if you were intentionally not mentioning Danny Ford as the National championship coach bc of the stink surrounding Danny Ford and recruiting violations that was never proved that Danny had anything to do with....

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Re: Re-living 1982 … when The Dream came true!


Dec 26, 2022, 12:29 AM

Since the entire post was basically about Danny, I didn’t feel the need to repeat. Thought it pretty much went without saying.

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Always enjoy these '82 Orange Bowl stories. I was


Dec 26, 2022, 5:29 AM

unable to attend due to business, but my youngest brother (a long time TNetter) called to ask if he and a couple of friends enroute to the game could stop by my place in Columbia.

When they arrived, I opened the door to find three big guys whose first words were, "We're hungry and you got any beer?" They cleaned me out! When they said they might stop by on their return, I joked and said I'd probably be out-of-state on business.

Les has always said it was one of the best trips of his younger days (they were mostly about 20 years old,) especially with that huge win.

I think most alumni and fans alive at the time were incredulous that we beat Nebraska and the legendary Tom Osborne. Reflecting, to me it wasn't just about a football game: it was national recognition that my Alma Mater had excelled to the nth degree in one of its most popular activities, and I was alive to witness it, Now, we've been to that same summit twice more.

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I watched the 1982 Orange Bowl at home with family and friends


Dec 26, 2022, 8:14 AM

Most alumni and fans at the time were not just incredulous. Great fans and high hopes, but that Nebraska team was filled with big names and a big-time Pedigree for the past decade. We only hoped that Clemson could win the national championship. We looked at that roster of All Americans and future NFL stars and saw Roger Craig, Mike Rozier, Irving Fryar, Dean Steinkuhler, and Dave Remington, etc. Turner Gill was on that team.

Our memories now are skewed because we remember everybody on that 1981 Clemson team as 1982 orange bowl champions and for their NFL careers. We knew that our players were good. We knew that William Perry, Jeff Bryant, Terry Kinard, Jeff Davis, Dan Benish, Danny Triplett, Bill Smith, Hollis Hall, and Rod McSwain were great players.

Did we know that the combination of William Devane and William Perry would absolutely wear out and overmatch a great all American Center, Dave Remington?

Did we know that Rod McSwain would go on to have a long NFL career as a quarterback with the patriots. Did we know that Johnny Rembert who was a freshman on that team were going to have a long NFL career. Did we know that Jeff Bryant and William Perry and Terry Kinard would be such high draft picks and go on to be household names in the NFL? Perry and Kinard were integral parts of Super Bowl Rosters. Nothing in Clemson’s history prior to that 1982 orange bowl suggested that we would really have that kind of elite talent all over the field on defense. We had great players prior to that, but they were at best sporadic in appearance on campus. Charlie Waters and Bennie Cunningham had won Super Bowls prior to this game.

Homer Jordan, Cliff Austin, Chuck McSwain, Perry Tuttle, Kevin Mack, etc generated 22 points.

Maybe we overachieved that year. There were some close games. But undeniably there was some serious talent on the defensive side of the ball, and they were some great offensive players as well.

We won that Orange Bowl. And we would have won at least one more 1987 to 1990 if we had successfully recruited one quarterback out of Woodruff South Carolina. We had all the pieces on the field, but Tony Rice just didn’t want to come to Clemson. Those were a string of two loss seasons with inexplicable losses each year. Infighting and arrogance on both sides, led to Danny Ford’s dismissal and the long period of wandering in the wilderness before Dabo.

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Re: I watched the 1982 Orange Bowl at home with family and friends


Dec 26, 2022, 8:16 AM

Sorry for siri - Rod McSwain cornerback

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