Varsity [246]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 37
Joined: 11/29/15
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Thoughts from the student section...
Oct 4, 2016, 1:26 PM
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I'm sure everyone is tired of these posts talking about the same thing. I've been coming to Clemson games for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is beating Florida State in '03. I've been to nearly ever single Clemson home game as far back as I can remember. I know I haven't been around as some of you old love-able farts, but I've had my fair share of grand experiences in Death Valley.
My first game as a student here was 2013 Georgia, and man was that a fun one. The student section was rocking all night long, much like it was for the FSU, Louisville, and USuCk games since I've been here.
Last week was different. I could feel it in the air starting on Thursday. Walking around campus and downtown as everyone started to roll in for the weekend, GameDay setting up, and the RV campers parking out by the baseball fields. Families of alums, young and old, visiting the place that we all love so much. It was heartwarming to see young families walk their kids around campus much like my father did for me not so long ago. I could feel a spark.
That feeling continued to grow throughout Friday, and waking up Saturday morning I could hardly contain my excitement as I woke up my roommates blaring the "Tiger Rag" and "We Too Deep" over our speaker system. Driving to campus at 10, it was already bustling and the parking lots were filling up. Hopping tailgates and consuming ridiculous amounts of food left everyone in a great mood. Every fan ecstatic, as it was the first big home game of the season.
The day crawled by ever so slowly for me, but 7 o'clock came along and my friends and I headed into the stadium and claimed our seats on the Hill. During warmups, the countdown clock lasted forever, but before we knew it, we prayed and sang the national anthem, and players boarded the buses bound for the Hill.
That spark I talked about earlier had grown into an electric current that flowed through each and every fan in Death Valley. It was surreal.
I don't need to summarize the game for everyone, we know how that went, so I'll wrap it up quickly.
I have NEVER seen Death Valley that way, in my relatively short history of coming there for gamedays. It was like no other, and when Marcus Edmond sealed the deal for us, it was almost as if the entire student section had been filled with wild animals. Hugging, yelling, jumping up and down, picking up random strangers, nothing mattered because we had won, it was unreal. My younger brother was with me, and I turned to him and told him to NEVER forget this, because he had witnessed something special. Tears in my eyes, we all sang the Alma Mater, and I stood there in silence, just soaking in the atmosphere.
I love Clemson, I love football, and I wouldn't trade last Saturday (or any Saturday for that matter) for anything.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Go Tigers!
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