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Legend [19933]
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SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...
Sep 13, 2013, 9:10 AM
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....let's not forget the tremendous contributions he made to the advancement of our football program and us getting to where we are today!
CTB did the heavy lifting to get our facilities upgrades going, placed a very strong emphasis on running a clean athletic program with a high standard for academic excellence, and brought in the type coaches who would move the future style of football at Clemson toward a modern and highly competitive scheme that is fun and effective for our team and fans.
Most of all, CTB laid the groundwork to ensure stability and cohesiveness with the Administration and alumni by ensuring that his successor, Coach Dabo Swinney, was in the fold and ready to step up into the Head Coach position at the proper time....leaving us in the hands of a man of high moral character --- unabashed enthusiasm for our University --- a tremendous work ethic --- and a fantastically likeable personality who seeks out charitable efforts and community involvement!
Say what you will about his own personal mannerisms or traits, Tommy Bowden was a man of VISION for Clemson University...and we owe a deep debt of gratitude to him for enduring the harsh criticism that was sometimes heaped on his shoulders so that he could help this University that he loved.
Thank you CTB, for being ALL IN!!!
CLEMSON ROCKS!!!!! TIGERS ROLL!!!!!!!!!
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Oculus Spirit [90820]
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Agree...Good man, clean program, some big wins & Dabo!
Sep 13, 2013, 9:12 AM
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Go#3TiGERS!
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CU Medallion [64590]
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While I will gladly acknowledge.....
Sep 13, 2013, 9:15 AM
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and thank him for the contributions he did make for the advancement of our football program, but to even remotely suggest that he "loved" Clemson is a bit of a stretch IMO.
Unlike Frank Howard, Danny Ford and now Dabo, Tommy Bowden never was and never will be a true "Clemson man".
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Legend [19933]
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...can't believe you forgot about "the lip quiver"
Sep 13, 2013, 9:43 AM
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He wasn't the popular extroverted type person, but inside I believe he was a very sensitive and caring man.
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CU Medallion [58415]
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All-In [28802]
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good gosh, what does it take?
Sep 13, 2013, 11:21 AM
[ in reply to While I will gladly acknowledge..... ] |
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All of the guy's kids went to Clemson, and he said he wanted to retire at Clemson. It's only in your own mind that Bowden wasn't a "Clemson man."
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Rock Defender [66]
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All-TigerNet [11161]
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I shouted "out!" to him numerous times.***
Sep 13, 2013, 9:16 AM
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Orange Blooded [3881]
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hahahahaha...me too! While I do give him credit for what he
Sep 13, 2013, 9:19 AM
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did for OUR great university, I'm glad we have the staff that we have now and I'm glad he's gone!
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod
Sep 13, 2013, 9:23 AM
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to a good D1 program, and then fell on his face when his crutch was removed.
Yeah, he got the ball rolling on the WEZ project, but any coach would've done that because our facilities were extremely outdated.
I don't hate the man, but i refuse to acknowledge that he did a good job.
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Orange Blooded [4504]
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LOL at anybody riding the shoulders of Rich Rod. Would
Sep 13, 2013, 9:25 AM
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much rather have Bowden back if had to make a choice. Let RR stay in AZ.
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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Come on. The man was a great offensive coordinator
Sep 13, 2013, 9:31 AM
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and had a fantastic run at WVU before he left and became a train wreck.
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CU Medallion [51535]
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Orange Blooded [2563]
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You're right - Ken Hatfield and Tommy West...
Sep 13, 2013, 10:13 AM
[ in reply to Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod ] |
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Were way better. Both those men were just ahead of their time and will be remembered in the future as the Saban's of their day.
Joking aside, there's no doubt TB did elevate our game and made playing FSU a legitimate rivalry. While I'll admit he lacked "the fire" that Dabo has and our fan base craves, he wasn't a bad coach, just not the perfect fit at Clemson. I'm honestly surprised some school never picked him up after us. He would be a phenomenal coach at a smaller school with a fan base that doesn't expect as much as we do.
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Scout Team [194]
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Re: You're right - Ken Hatfield and Tommy West...
Sep 13, 2013, 11:05 AM
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He did get picked up. He was at the University of Memphis for a while...running a spread offense, if you can believe it. I don't know where he is now, though.
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Enthusiast [145]
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Re: Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod
Sep 13, 2013, 3:38 PM
[ in reply to Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod ] |
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RRod and TB helped each other. I think RRod was/is a better game coach, but TB's best year at Clemson was without RRod. In fact TB ran the offense and called the plays that year.
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CU Medallion [55426]
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Re: Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod
Sep 14, 2013, 2:14 PM
[ in reply to Blah. Fraud coach that rode on the shoulders of RRod ] |
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You are exactly right. If the upgrades hadn't been made, he would have had a hard time recruiting. But he wasn't a good coach, and he couldn't hire very good coaches. Dabo has in a short time hired better coaches than TB hands down. IMPO, Dabo is a much better coach with a vision of Clemson FB being a power house FB program. TB had a vision of a giant pay check with 8/9 wins a season. It surly wasn't a vision of winning championships. In 9 years he won none. TB loved Clemson, Bull Sh!t!!! I love Clemson, we love Clemson, and we would never try and strong arm our Clemson for more money than we deserved. Dabo gives more of his check to his coaches than TB would have ever considered. Dabo won't ever threaten to leave to get more money either. What TB did for Clemson was only done to make his job easier. DABO truly LOVES Clemson University!!!
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CU Guru [1236]
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I agree 100%. Thanks for putting it in black and white.***
Sep 13, 2013, 9:29 AM
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Orange Blooded [2468]
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When Bowden jogged in am & fans would cheer & holler
Sep 13, 2013, 9:34 AM
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for him before games, he wouldn't even look over. When President Barker was hollered at, he would stop and talk with the fans.
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All-In [26968]
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Why would you yell at someone while they are jogging?
Sep 13, 2013, 9:39 AM
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Most people probably like peace and quiet while doing that.
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Oculus Spirit [93672]
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It's better than mugging them...
Sep 13, 2013, 10:17 AM
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insert a referrence to a particular school in a dirty SC city with a certain non flying bird mascot. 
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CU Medallion [64590]
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All-In [26968]
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OK...good to know, I guess.
Sep 13, 2013, 10:23 AM
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Doesn't really answer the question.
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Orange Blooded [2468]
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In the South, when you see someone like the Coach of your
Sep 13, 2013, 7:24 PM
[ in reply to Why would you yell at someone while they are jogging? ] |
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favorite team you might say "Hey Coach Bowden!!" bc you are glad to see him, or if you see somebody you know, you speak to them. If you don't understand that, then you are probably from a big city where people never speak to each other, or maybe you just don't have a personality.
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All-In [28802]
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Orange Blooded [2468]
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Sure he did.***
Sep 13, 2013, 7:30 PM
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CU Medallion [58415]
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All of that may be true, and I'm grateful for what he did,
Sep 13, 2013, 10:10 AM
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but I never liked him. I have heard stories from friends of less than pleasant encounters with him - he could be a real a-hole and behaved in a very arrogant manner on occasion.
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Oculus Spirit [93672]
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Another shout out to TB.
Sep 13, 2013, 10:21 AM
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Thank you TB for making 'Pulling a Clemson,' a universally known phrase. Nothing says love like being the butt of a joke that's gone global.
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110%er [6219]
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How many times...
Sep 13, 2013, 10:30 AM
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...do we have to go through this? We get it. Everybody gets it.
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All-TigerNet [11170]
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^^^^this***
Sep 13, 2013, 10:32 AM
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All-In [28802]
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if everybody got it, you wouldn't have any argument
Sep 13, 2013, 11:31 AM
[ in reply to How many times... ] |
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Obviously everybody doesn't get it.
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Legend [16507]
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Think you are giving him a bit much credit..............***
Sep 13, 2013, 10:45 AM
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Team Captain [453]
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Not sure how long you've been following the program
Sep 13, 2013, 12:40 PM
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But i can not overstate the loss of talent that took place under the hatfield regime. Hatfield took a team with perennial top 10 talent and by the time he was done we had a squad of 2-3 star talent. Tommy West was well liked but was in over his head as a coach. As a result there was no consistent direction offensively and defensively and again, the talent Clemson attracted was marginal at best as players had no idea what type of systems were being run year to year (sometimes game to game).
I'm not going to tell you TB was a great coach, and most of what he did early was a result of Rich Rod's offense, but he put the program back on the map in the eyes of recruits. He made us a desired program to play for.
Were the results often mixed. Yes. Did he make bad coaching hires. Yes. But he won a respectable amount of games, kept us nationally relevant and typically ranked and did that with a program that had absolutely nothing when he got here.
TB takes plenty of heat on here and rightfully so for the tail end of his coaching career, but what he accomplished was very impressive if you understood where this program was when he arrived, and he certainly deserves some credit for the success of the past few seasons.
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110%er [6219]
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"kept us nationally relevant"?
Sep 13, 2013, 2:48 PM
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No. 72-45, or .615 is not "nationally relevant".
Of the 8 full years he was here, we did not end the season ranked in 4 of them. In the other 4 years, we finished with an average of 20. Zero conference titles.
I give him credit with being the guy that began the turnaround, but he did not keep us relevant on the field.
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110%er [7148]
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I have another good thing to add about Tommy
Sep 13, 2013, 10:50 AM
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Bowden...
63-17!
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Orange Blooded [2522]
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Hey Tommy, don't you have a show or something to do?
Sep 13, 2013, 10:55 AM
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We get it. You coached here and did a fine job of handling USuC. Thanks again. Now let it go.
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MVP [535]
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To Tigers And Cubs...
Sep 13, 2013, 11:15 AM
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And the others that aren't willing to give Tommy his proper credit. You are dead wrong. Without Tommy, we would not have Dabo here. Do you remember the few years prior to Tommy's arrival? Tommy rebuilt the foundation - period. To say anything else is cootish IMO.
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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What is proper credit? I give him credit for getting
Sep 13, 2013, 4:01 PM
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the ball rolling on the WEZ and subsequently upgrading the talent level here, but I'm not going to commend him for doing a mediocre job. I just feel that a lot of coaches could've done as much as he did. We might not have quite been a sleeping giant, but we were Clemson, not Wake Forest or Duke. Cutcliffe and Grobe (at least for awhile) pulling in talent at those schools were/are true accomplishments.
Right now Bowden's most lasting legacy is "pulling a Clemson." That and the quotes i read every year to the tune of "Clemson has as much talent as anyone, but they've always have talent and haven't won with it."
Mediocre coach who did a mediocre job. If you want to have a toast to Tommy Bowden for that, so be it.
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All-TigerNet [11252]
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He would be an adequate replacement for Lou
Sep 13, 2013, 11:15 AM
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on ESPN. Of course, there is a large population to choose from there.
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Orange Blooded [2218]
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Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...***
Sep 13, 2013, 2:55 PM
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Orange Blooded [2218]
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Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...
Sep 13, 2013, 2:58 PM
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I agree , but somebody in the adm. needs to reach out to Bowden because he is still bitter about being fired
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110%er [6219]
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Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...
Sep 13, 2013, 3:13 PM
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We're bitter about paying him $4M to leave... All water under the bridge at this point.
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CU Medallion [55426]
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Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...
Sep 14, 2013, 2:21 PM
[ in reply to Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden... ] |
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I can't believe he is mad about getting paid over a mil a year for doing nothing. I beg to be fired under those conditions.
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Orange Blooded [2283]
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Re: SHOUT OUT to Coach Tommy Bowden...
Sep 13, 2013, 6:00 PM
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I'll give that credit to Danny Ford. Bowden did ok when he had Rodriguez as his offensive coordinator and Tommy West recruits like Woody Dantzler and Keith Adams. I'll give him credit for bringing in Dabo who is a real leader and is truely passionate about Clemson football.
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110%er [6982]
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Lol, Tommy Bowden was a loser, plain and simple
Sep 13, 2013, 6:56 PM
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Just because he hired Dabo does not make him a great coach. He hired many other assistants who were terrible. Bowden was a silver spoon clown who got the job because of his name and Rich Rod had one good year at Tulane. My Labrador Retriever could have won 7 games per year at Clemson like Bowden. When fired, he was never targeted by another school. We paid him $14 million for a Chick-Fil-A bowl trophy. Makes me sick to even think about.
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All-In [27374]
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Re: Lol, Tommy Bowden was a loser, plain and simple
Sep 14, 2013, 10:24 AM
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Amen to that. If he was a coaching savior someone would have hired him to rebuild their program. Plenty of job openings since he left and he is NEVER mentioned as a candidate for any of them. Clemson began to move forward when Robinson was released. You seem to forget what a detriment he was to our athletic department. If he and Bowden were still here we would not be in the top 100!
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110%er [5330]
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Some of my favorite Clemson memories are from TB's
Sep 13, 2013, 7:35 PM
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era here at Clemson... beating USuC in the 100th game in 2002, beating FSU for the first time in forever in 2003, beating Texas A&M to start the year in 2005, the last second kick to beat the Gamecocks in 2007...
He had some bizarre losses (like the 45-17 Wake Forest debacle in 2003) but for the most part, when Tommy was here you believed we had a chance to win... Even if we didn't do it consistently.
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CU Medallion [55426]
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Re: Some of my favorite Clemson memories are from TB's
Sep 14, 2013, 2:27 PM
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Yep, we had a chance to win, and a chance to pull a Clemson. The name he left us with. Pulling a Clemson is TB's tradition he left us with.
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