Mickey Plyler's Blog for May 12 |
864-834-6060 Mickey, I agree with your assessment on May 8th blog with one exception. South Carolina has no chance at an upset and this is not a rivalry "I hate the Coots" thing. While ours is not a great rivalry in the grand scheme of college football, it may be the most bitter. SC has very little experience on the O-line and what they learn during the season leading up to our game is likely to be that football is a painful sport. Against our front seven, they have no chance. It will be ugly and to paraphrase a line from the original Rambo, they'd better bring a lot of body bags. That said, I am more worried about Wake. They lost almost no one from a team that has given us fits. But South Carolina, who will beat us one day (even Duke can beat us on a given Saturday) is still two years away from a reasonable shot. RJ RJ, I don’t think USC will beat Clemson in Death Valley this year either. I think Clemson is much more talented. Mickey, You do a great job Mickey. keep up the good work. Hope some day we can pick you up on house radio in Greer, S.C. can only pick you up on car radio! Denny Denny, You can always hear the station on the internet at www.wccpfm.com Mickey, How would you rank our OL in the conference at this time? James James, We will rank the entire ACC later this summer position by position. But I don’t there is a finer offensive line in the conference this season. Mickey,I enjoy reading our blogs everyday. I just wanted to know if you could talk about the true chances of Clemson making it to the ACC champ game and the chances of them winning it. I know it's only springtime but if you had to pick two teams in that game who would they be. Me being only 30 years old and a Clemson fan for half of that this is the first time I have had this much excitement going into a season and your blogs make it that much better. I am one of those fans that love your show but, hate when there is not enough Clemson football talk, I can listen to or talk about Clemson football 24/7 if I could. I want hold you up much longer just wanted to know your early picks or favorites to win the ACC. Chuck from Greenville Chuck, This week I talked about expectations in the blog. I think it answers most of your questions. I would also say Miami should be the favorite in the Coastal division. Thanks for the kind words and look for more Clemson football talk on the blog and show in the next two weeks. Mickey, About that Notre Dame game in ’77, my friends and I, just teens then, took my Mom’s car up from G’ville only to find out that there were no tickets available. We moaned and bitched and walked round and round the stadium til we found an old man taking tickets at an open gate. We mashed into the crowd entering the stadium and all three slipped right in. We crammed onto the hill and the band came out not playing music, but marching and mimicking the sound of a marching band… everyone was flipped out. When they finally got into position they slammed into Tiger Rag like never before… you know the drums finally went “tick, tick, tick, tick” and the song started, the crowd went into a sick frenzy! No one sat down that day in the valley and to this day, I have never been to a game that I remember standing to watch the whole game through. Thanks for reminding me. Dave Dave, Thanks for your story. It has to be one of the top five days in the Valley. Hopefully there will be more like it soon. Hey Mickey! I enjoy the daily blogs, and I especially liked the breakdown of BC's team coming into the '06 season. I too, along with several family members and friends, will be making the trip to Chestnut Hill. My question is this: What are the chances of getting tickets for this game if I don't have enough IPTAY points? Although I'm at a good IPTAY level, I've only been giving for the 11 years after graduation. I've seen several broker sites that have tickets available, and my instinct is to purchase tickets through a broker at a premium to ensure I have a ticket. What is your take? Thanks! Wes Class of 1994 Wes, I have never been to a sporting event where tickets were not being scalped outside of the gates. I would think you could pay much less to a scalper than a broker. Also, check Tigernet on their ticket section throughout the summer. Mickey, You nailed it on the BC game. The offense that day reminded me of the offense during the Hatfield era. Boring and predictable. Let’s hope this time we use the many offensive weapons available and take control early. Regards, Bill Bill, I think the staff understands BC more after seeing them. I look for a completely different game plan in 2006. Mickey, Awesome summary of the Pell years! I was at Clemson then, '77-'78, and sharing the weight room and training room with some of these athletes as the first captain of Clemson's Women's Volleyball Team. It was such an exciting time! I was in the end zone at the USC game where Jerry Butler caught that incredible pass! Thanks for the memories! Blessings, Teresa Teresa, Thanks for writing. How did our volleyball fair in the late 70s? Mickey, What’s up? Pretty accurate account of late 70’s, but I’ve always felt Red Parker got shafted and Charley Pell got way too much credit (see career at Fla). The program turned w/ the recruiting class of ’75. Steve Fuller was my best friend in his and a lot of the visits took place at my house(unlimited in those days). Harold Steelman was the point guy and Lawson Holland basically moved to Spartanburg. They had 200-300 personal contacts w/ Steve (he finally signed in late July-early August)…came to every basketball, baseball game and track meet. That class had Steve, Dwight, Jerry, Joe Bostic, Steve Kenney…next year Jim Stuckey, etc. Many started as freshmen and sophs and by the time they were Jrs(when Parker got fired) you or I could have “taught them to win”….spot the ball and get out of the way….and you’re right, it was fun…Steve still grimaces over the 4th Q fumble against ND. John John, I probably did not give Parker enough credit. Those staffs worked extremely hard and were very hungry to turn their program around. Thanks for your recollection. Mickey, I agree with your recollection of Pell and the Clemson turning point. I first met him at Clemson Tiger Football camp in the summer of 78. I also listened to Jim Phillips call that 7-6 victory on that rainy day in Athens. I was also in the Valley when Montana in his gold helmet and Devine in his green windbreaker eked out a win. I also was at the game when Fuller hit Butler for "the Catch". Great Blog. Thanks, Frank Frank, Thanks for sharing your memories. I still miss Jim Phillips. Mickey, Just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed the blog entry on Coach Pell and forwarded it on to my father who I know will love it. My father was a scout team player (or sh!tbird as they called themselves) on Pell's 1977 team and he always told me growing up that Charlie Pell is the man who brought a championship team to Clemson. He loves to point out that Pell recruited the seniors on the national title team and the juniors chose Clemson following that magical 1978 season. As another anecdote, it was also Coach Pell who worked with my dad to start another Clemson tradition in the 1978 season. As the mascot, my dad started doing pushups in the east end zone after scores and Coach Pell instructed Obed Ariri to "struggle" placing the ball on the tee to allow my father the opportunity to finish the pushups before kickoff. He also allowed my father to sit in a lounge chair with an inflatable Heineken bottle in the end zone that the visiting team was trying to score in. The NCAA banned mascots from the during the game after the season, but the pushup tradition was there to stay (and copied by the rest of the schools around the south). I know that one of Coach Pell's final speeches was given to the Clemson team before the spring game in 2001. I wish I could've been there because my father listened to Coach Pell in the locker room as a player and at IPTAY functions as the mascot and swears that he's never heard a better motivator. There's no doubt that he convinced Clemson players and fans that they were some of the best in the country and set the stage for Coach Ford's dominant program of the 1980's. Just wanted to let you know that there are two Clemson fans out there who really appreciate you taking the opportunity to give Coach Pell the credit that he deserves from Clemson fans. Have a good one. Heath Heath, Thanks for your stories. As we have discussed I remember your dad working hard with those pushups during the Fuller-to-Butler days. Again, those were special days. Thanks for your e-mail. Mickey, Thanks for answering my email re Barry Richardson and Marion Dukes. You talked about the Pell years....heard Jeff Bostic tell the story when Clemson fell behind before the Butler catch. He tells the story of how Carolina kicked off to Clemson. Steve Fuller comes to the huddle and tell the team not worry. First play incomplete, he again says, no problem, second play, incomplete and again he says, don't worry and then third down, if I am remembering the story right, incomplete and on fourth down he complete a pass and the another, think Rick Weddington was on of the receivers and then the Butler catch. Bostic laughed and says when Steve was saying it was okay, they started looking at each other as each down went by.....thought it was a great story. He also said of the Super Bowls, etc that he had played in, the Clemson/Carolina game mentioned above was the greatest game he has ever played in. Thanks again, Big Fan in Chapel Hill Walt Walt, Thanks for the stories. I think that might be the greatest drive in Clemson history. That win saved the Gator Bowl season. Loved the huddle story. Mickey, Thank you for mentioning Red Parker. I always thought he was a fine coach. Too many Tiger fans forget about him. Anyone who can win at a military school, The Citadel, has to be a good coach because he did not do it with talent. Jake Jake, I don’t know coach Parker but have friends that were very close to him and hold him in the highest regards. I probably should have given him more credit. Mickey: I think your blog today was pretty darn accurate! I started Clemson in 72 with Hootie Ingram at the helm and finished with my Masters in 1978, so I was in school and was in attendance at most of the games you discussed today! Yes, no doubt, Charley Pell turned the program around in one year from the rather so-so to poor showing in ’76. It all started with our victory in Death Valley in ’76 however over the Gamecocks, I think the score that day was 28 – 9. You could hear the team scrimmaging before the game on the soccer field (behind the North Stands at that time) because we all knew the team started all the games too slowly that year. As I recall, the game was more one sided than the 28 -9 score (isn’t it always against the Gamecocks?). Why do I think Charley turned the program around, simple story here ……… I was an intramural basketball hack and played with several of the FB players (Ken Weichel, John Goodloe, and Roy Epps) on our intramural team. I was at the track one day in early June about 4PM (and at about 95 degrees, typical Clemson summer day!) and Ken Weichel (he was a big Defensive Lineman) was running wind sprints. I said, “Ken, for the love of #######, what are you doing, inducing heart failure”? He said in a quite serious tone, “We are going to win next year”. I remembering thinking at the time that Ken had been out in the sun too long, but I could tell too that he meant want he said, and I thought, “Oh, OK, sure”. Until our game against MD I did not think about it again. I thought we played a great game, but it wasn’t until the UGA win in Athens the next week, I had the feeling then I was witnessing something special (I remember being in McAlister Square in Greenville at Belks buying a suit for my upcoming job interviews), when I heard the last play of the game (as I recall, the weather in Athens and Clemson was overcast and drizzling), and I got Goosebumps because I felt like this day WAS history in the making for Tiger FB (of course at the time, you are not sure, only time gives us that advantage of perspective), and it turned out to be the bellwether win for our program, maybe to this day? No doubt that Red had recruited the Steve Fullers, Jerry Butlers, Dwight Clarks (who did not play that much, BTW), Archie Reese and others BUT Charley instilled the “we are going to win, PERIOD” attitude. Also, if ND, Joe Montana and Ken McAfee did not make a furious 17 point (I think?) 4th quarter comeback against us in the Valley, they were not National Champs in ’77 (I spent $50 at Judge Keller’s for a fluorescent orange jumpsuit with a Tiger Paw on the hip pocket, still had it until recently and even wore it to one or two UT games here!). I had NEVER heard the Valley as loud as it was that day, reminded me of last year’s Miami game! Anyway, it was sure great to re-live the foundation of the modern era of Clemson FB from the teams of ’76 – 78 and the players and coaches that made it all happen. I would hope that the current FB team, coaches, administration, and fans realize that you were so very accurate in the defining moment; it was our 7-6 victory on a rainy afternoon in Athens when we knocked down their 2 point conversion pass attempt in the end zone as time expired. You don’t get too many defining moments in any venue, but that one, I will always remember. I think we have a chance to be this special in the next few years again at Clemson; we have everything in place to make it happen again, just want everyone to remember when it all started, at least for me anyway. Up until that point, we were not close to a .500 team during my tenure at Clemson. For the next 11 years, we had to be one of the top 10 programs in winning % in the country! There will never be anything more special than my time at Clemson. I wish the folks in Knoxville knew the “Real Big Orange” (Clemson), oh well, they can dream, I suppose! Thanks for a great blog today Mickey and to reading (if you made it this far) the ramblings of a huge Clemson alumnus and fan here in Knoxville, very good and very accurate work! David David, Your recollection added so much more. I loved your stories. Thanks for sharing them with us. Dear Mickey, I honestly don’t know why I am writing this. I have never done anything like this before. I entered Clemson in 1977 as a freshman and graduated in December 1981. I lived through everything that you just mentioned and the memories are so intense it is hard to describe. I was in the valley when Dan Devine came to town. By the way we were all wearing orange overalls, the start of a brief and now luckily extinct tradition. I traveled to the Maryland game where we drove down the field in the fourth quarter and stuck it in the end zone for the come from behind win. By the way, both Jerry Butler and Dwight Clark had spectacular and long touch down receptions that day. Two pretty good receivers I’m sure you’d agree. What a game. I also was at the Carolina game where Butler made that spectacular grab and still have a poster on my desk with a picture of that catch. No cigar tonight indeed! I also was at the Gator Bowl when Pitt hammered us that year and then when we beat Ohio State the next year. My last semester at Clemson was in the fall of 1981! I attended several away games that year including the 10-8 win at NC. Need I say more? My father graduated from Clemson in the 50’s and as you can see my blood definitely runs Bright Orange. I have lived on the west coast for may years and just moved back to the east coast 1 ½ years ago. I had followed my beloved tigers from afar but it was very difficult. Though I now live in Rhode Island it is much easier now. I just joined IPTAY for the first time in my life this year and hopefully will attend several games this year. I am as optimistic about the program now as I have been in years. I am sorry about the ramble but your blog stirred up so many vivid memories that I was compelled to write. By the way you hit everything perfectly. Keep up the wonderful work. Thanks for the memories, Michael Class of 1981 Michael, I am so glad you wrote in. Please stay in touch and let us know what you want in the blog. Glad to have you back on the East Coast. Mickey,Your May 3 blog is right on the facts. The USC-Clemson game was on TV, which was rare in the days before cable, and the comeback and those damn t-shirts the coots wore mad me a Clemson fan for life. Great write-up. Paul, I think there were a lot of lessons learned that day about the t-shirts. I know I learned a lot about humility and seeing someone humbled even though I was nine years old. Mickey, The sad fact is Clemson has not won an ACC title in baseball in over a decade. However, several teams in the ACC have won titles since Clemson. I personally believe that if a team cannot win its league title I do not think its odds of winning a national championship is great. Mickey, if a team is not good enough to win its own league title what makes one think it is good enough to win a national title? Maybe, the team is good enough to win an ACC title this year, I hope so, but I am hoping for the best but expecting problems in the tournament. Just imagine if Coach Bowden goes over a decade without winning an ACC championship what the fans and media will be writing and saying on the airways! Thanks for your information concerning Clemson sports. Sincerely, Jeff Jeff, Thanks. You are right when you say it has been a few years since Clemson won the ACC tournament. This year the ACC is the nation’s strongest conference and I think it is possible to not win your conference and still win the national title. I would give the conference more credit than take away from what Clemson has accomplished. The league has been very good. Mickey, What are you thoughts on the final two series of the season for the Tiger’s baseball team? There seems to be a log jam atop the Atlantic division between Clemson and it next 2 ACC opponents, Wake and FSU, who do you see pulling it out in the end and what does that mean along the lines of hosting regionals and super regionals? Chris in Charlotte Chris, I think this weekend’s series vs FSU is the key. If the Tigers could take two of three from FSU then they will put a little more distance between them and the Noles and WF. The Tigers enter this weekend with a 3 ½ game lead over FSU and a 2 ½ game lead over WF. They could clinch the division this weekend actually. The bigger race may be with UNC for the number-one spot overall in the conference tournament. I think if Clemson can win four of the final seven regular season games they will host a regional and a super-regional. Please visit our sponsors, Mr. Knickerbockers, George Coleman Ford and Brad Hughes All-State Agency. It is their patronage that keeps the blog free. We are adding more sponsors for this month as well. If you are interested in great advertising opportunities on the blog contact me @ mickey.plyler@tigernet.comMickey's new Blog brought to you by:
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