How about: 5 Reasons to pity USC...

May 17, 2006, 12:02 PM

I don't hate. Life's too short. But there's something almost heart-wrenchingly pitiful about the poster just down the board who dislikes Clemson. So I offer Five reasons to pity the Chickens. If you wish to hate, feel free. But that, to me, is sort of like teasing the Village Idiot.

1. An inability to tell the difference between fact and desperate desire: When you want ... REALLY want .. something to be true so desperately that in your mind it becomes reality, you suffer a pitiful disconnect from what the rest of the world calls reality. Everything connected to the so-called excellent traditions mentioned below screams disconnect. A person so desperate to cling to something that never existed in the first place cries out for pity, not hatred.

2. An intense distaste for ideals others hail as good: Clemson people, as a rule, hold high expectations, both of their teams and themselves. Sometimes they are disappointed, and they react in predictable dourness. But they persevere and work toward a better tomorrow. This is generally seen as a positive action in society. To endure misery after misery and do nothing to improve the outcome is nothing more than pitiful.

3. Jealousy is a pitiful, and annoying, attribute: Don't like seeing Clemson folks proudly sharing their allegiance? Tired of the majority of the fans at our events being cloaked in a victorious orange? Change the outcome or change your expectation. Don't dislike folks because they're better than you. Either strive to be better or accept the fact that you are where you are and always will be.

4. Success and class attracts; pettiness and failure repels Clemson attracts people of all types, embraces people of all types...including rednecks. As the beacon of educational and athletic excellence in South Carolina, it is our duty and honor to uplift all those who wish to come along.

To stay behind and belittle those who move ahead ... well, it's sort of like those folks in the original "Poseidon Adventure." Gene Hackman is leading one group and some no-name is taking the others. "You're going the wrong way!" Hackman yells. "Come with us and live!" But they don't. They sink with the doomed ship. That's how I see people who belittle Clemson....marching away on a doomed ship, blind to the truth. That's just pitiful.

5. Those who criticize, or fear, what they don't understand are pitiful: Rocks are a strange thing to hate. Getting your butt kicked by a team that rubs a rock and hating the rock for your shortcomings is pitiful. You cannot defeat a person, so you delve into ad hominem reaction. Many Clemson fans react with awe and wonder at USC's long-standing tradition of walking to their cars long before the battle is over, but it's just something y'all do. Personally I'll take a rock and sticking around for the alma mater after the game.

We cannot hate a person who invoke only pity in the soul. We're better than that.

Message was edited by: RevDodd®