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Orange Blooded [2820]
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To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:03 PM
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you would see the day where our program is now? I always considered the ‘81 Championship as a payback for those of us that suffered through the great Frank Howard. But to still be alive and see what we have done...unbelievable!
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110%er [8867]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:16 PM
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I always felt we was just one good coach away from changing the culture and then after Ford bringing the fans back together. It is surreal that when I started going to games the only team we felt secure in was Virginia. We were happy with wins over Wake etc. Georgia Tech was always a really tough game as well as NC. Even during those years there was something different you felt when you entered the stadium and the Tigers ran down the hill.
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110%er [8867]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:16 PM
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I always felt we was just one good coach away from changing the culture and then after Ford bringing the fans back together. It is surreal that when I started going to games the only team we felt secure in was Virginia. We were happy with wins over Wake etc. Georgia Tech was always a really tough game as well as NC. Even during those years there was something different you felt when you entered the stadium and the Tigers ran down the hill.
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Oculus Spirit [92033]
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Nupe...can't believe it either since
Aug 1, 2019, 6:16 PM
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I'm a 1966'er grad too!
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Orange Blooded [2358]
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Re: Nupe...can't believe it either since
Aug 1, 2019, 6:27 PM
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I started in the Last Rat Season year, 1969, and finished in 1998, My own fault. With the last of Johnstone and the Loggia to be torn down, the old times will be only memories. The will be no one in twenty years to remember Johnstone with no A/C in the main sections of Johnstone, one pay phone on each hall, all the females living on East Campus, The Upper and Lower Quads, Saturday morning classes, the Red Carpet, The Clemson Theater And its Late Shows on Friday and Saturday nights, BJU students handing out pamphlets, panty raids, dunking the Male cheerleaders in the Reflecting ponds after pep rallies. Many more memories.
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110%er [5712]
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Re: Nupe...can't believe it either since
Aug 1, 2019, 7:27 PM
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An upperclassman sending you to Dan’s to get a fur burger.
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Varsity [211]
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Varsity [211]
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Re: Nupe...can't believe it either since
Aug 1, 2019, 9:05 PM
[ in reply to Re: Nupe...can't believe it either since ] |
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Me too, freshman as the last rat season class. Awkward, with the next long haired freshmen not taught the many lessons of respect... I was ticked they predicted my GPA to be 1.46. Want’a guess what I got my 1st semester? 1.46, Really? Well I needed that cause motivated me to show them. My last two years I averaged a 3.86 and graduated ‘72, and had a great job offer waiting for me. My exposure to drugs, a fellow freshman next to us was desperate to get a passing grade and learned about popping a pill. He pick one and didn’t seem to feel anything so he popped another. I remember tapping on his dorm room door slightly open the next morning as I was heading out to class and he was sitting on his bunk intensively polishing his ROTC drill shoes that he did apparently all night. That was enough for me: No to drugs! My first FB game was the famous NCST home game, white shoes/orange shoes...was really an awesome baptism to CFB. I remember starting out in the “tin cans”, but we didn’t realize we had it so bad. Remember the night of the freshman death march. My roommate and I wired the window frame to our TV creating a live current so the upperclassmen could get to us for the March. Unfortunately we paid for that later. Fortunately we secretly learned there were rooms in the Y to rent. What a deal, our own private campus parking and literally seconds away from from Dan’s! I think to class and he was sitting the first and only sellout movie downtown in 4 years was Conquerer Worm. It was a crazy scene, clearly a Fire Marshall violation. And then there was Jane Fonda’s visit. Students were hanging in the trees at the Amphitheatre. Boy did she pick the wrong college campus. Famous first words remembered: Jane Fonda, “Do you think...” and a student hanging in the tree yelled out, “yes lady we think, but what bout you!... That was fun. Sad bout her politics, cuz I had the hots for her. Those were some tough FB years. Kind’a likened us being the Israelites in the desert for 40 years, and then comes Dabo taking us into the Promise Land. So many really neat stories and experiences for 4 years. In spite of myself, God watched over me all the way through. Thank You Lord. BS Industrial Management with Health Care Administration Concentration ‘72!
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CU Medallion [68893]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:26 PM
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suffering? try being a student during the Hootie years. You know Coach- "Oh lets ditch the Hill entrance."
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All-TigerNet [10134]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:29 PM
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I’ve always thought we were on the verge, even in the Bowden days. I never would have thought it would have come from a coach no one had ever heard of before or someone who was unproven at the head coach ranks.
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Orange Blooded [2203]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:30 PM
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I always felt like we should get there. It seemed to me like Clemson University had all of right ingredients to be right there at the top with those other storied programs. But I seriously began to doubt we were ever going to find the right coach. And I'm not one to reminisce over Danny either. He wasn't perfect. I think the point when I felt like Dabo was the right coach is when I saw an interview when he talked about as an assistant at Alabama he literally filled up several notebooks with ideas about how to coach a championship team. I still have to pinch myself at times. It almost doesn't seem real.
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CU Medallion [64855]
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I was a freshman in 1981 and I can tell you...
Aug 1, 2019, 6:33 PM
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as awesome as that season was, none of us could have ever envisioned the level of success we have experienced under Dabo.
It won't last forever. Nothing good ever does, so I am going to revel in every second of it.
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All-TigerNet [11280]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 6:34 PM
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'76 and Dad was '51 so I have been aware of Clemson football since about '60 and have listened on the radio in the beginning and watched Ol' Frank on Sundays recap things. I can still here his voice calling out Jimmy Addison or Ray Yauger, Buddy Gore up the middle. Spent lot of Saturdays getting burnt on the left side of my face and hoarse couldn't talk afterwards. Watched a lot of great moments like keeping Hershel out of the end zone or Jimmy Williamson(LB) have a career game against Notre Dame only to lose in a valliant effort. Then, the rise of the Ford years and again the "wandering in the wilderness". It is extremely gratifying to see all the pieces finally fall into place and the almost miracle of the rise of Dabo from humble beginnings to the most admired coach, probably in college football. All the Clemson alums and good fans seem to accept it with wonder and a certain grace. When a clucker enters the area we change the subject and just put on a sad face. LOL! We remember what ######### they were when they had a few good years. Somehow this small part of the Universe seems balanced with a bright future. Wished the rest of the world was as bright.
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All-In [27446]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 7:10 PM
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Class of 64. I don’t believe any of us “old timers”, or youngsters for that matter, could vision what was going to happen at Clemson U! Football and otherwise. It’s been an unbelievable event for those of us who have been Tiger supporters for sixty plus years. The success has been tremendous but the way it happened is what impressed me most. I never fear reading the morning paper and hoping Clemson isn’t in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I have suggested to those in control that any addition to the stadium should consider those fans like yourself who struggle with the hardships of game day. I’m nearing the big 80 and it’s tougher than it once was!!!!!
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Walk-On [146]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 7:03 PM
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Class of '66 also and the short answer is "NO!" By the grace of God I moved from 25 miles north of Manhattan in '54 when I was ten and never went back except for a visit. In our mid-teen years in Liberty we would pile six of us into whoever could get the family car and drive the 12 miles and sit on the hill for 50 cents. At least one of us had to be 16 with a license. Fourteen year olds could not drive after 5 o'clock and traffic after the games would be bumper to bumper through Liberty for every home game so getting home before 5 was out of the question. #### that was fun!
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All-TigerNet [11934]
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My first experience w/Tiger football was the ‘58 Sugar Bowl
Aug 1, 2019, 7:24 PM
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I was 8 years old and I believed that this was the normal situation for Clemson football.
We were among the best!
Of course we played in only one more bowl before going the next 18 years with no post season invites.
Basically, all through that drought, I was confident that it was just a matter of time before we returned to our rightful place.
Of course that was The naïveté of youth.
We were fighting on an extremely unlevel playing field due to the ACC academic requirements that put us at a tremendous disadvantage against the SEC.
I was always hopeful. I was always confident. With no particular evidence, I believed fervently that Clemson could be as good a program as any in the nation.
It took a long, long time. The better part of my life. But, here we are. I have lived to see it!
My Dad, bless his heart and rest and Rest In Peace, lived to see the 80s and he told me many times that the Ford era exceeded his wildest dreams.,
I wish he was here today to see how far we’ve come. He died in 2012 just before Dabo began to hit his stride.
He lies up on Cemetery Hill behind the South Stands ... on about the 50 yard line ... so I have to believe he’s watching the Tigers play today and he’s loving it!!
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All-In [27366]
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Dreamed of it.
Aug 1, 2019, 7:26 PM
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But certainly never expected it.
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CU Medallion [59111]
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Not an alum, but life-long fan. I remember Frank Howard's
Aug 1, 2019, 7:33 PM
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final few seasons, and the horrific Hootie Ingram years. Danny definitely put us on top of the mountain, gave our program a new level of respect, and kept us among college football's best for over a decade. Still, I never imagined we'd amass the kind of talent we have now and be recognized as perhaps THE best football program in the land. I just wish my Dad, who passed in 2006, and my Mother, who passed on '03, were here to see it.
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CU Guru [1116]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 8:13 PM
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We had talent in 63-67 when I was there but the obsolete " three yards and A cloud of dust" offense stymied any offensive production. Frank Howard, Banks McFadden, Whitey Jordan, Goat McMillan were well beyond their time plus they wouldn't let the players lift weights. I was stronger than most of the team thanks to the Cub Room.
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1st Rounder [619]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 1, 2019, 9:17 PM
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Thought of it, dreamed it, but had to be satisfied with the ACC championships(62-66). Love the new culture Dabo has brought to Clemson football.
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Commissioner [961]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 2, 2019, 12:14 AM
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‘69 was a tough season. I did enjoy the Maryland best down in the rain though. One of our tougher schedules that year.
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110%er [6752]
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Orange Bowl 1956, lost to Colorado, but came back in 2nd
Aug 1, 2019, 10:52 PM
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half to almost pull it out, Charlie Bussy at Qb and Joel Wells was outstanding halfback. I was 12 then and graduated in 1966, but lived at home and worked my way through, so did not know many fellow students. I was Lab asst. for Dr. Jud Hair, and we worked on creating Tiger Aid, a couple of years after Gatoraid. Too bad, we did not follow through, as you can imagine how well a Tigeraid would sell in last few years after all this amazing success.
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All-In [25510]
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Never, ever believed this type of success was possible,
Aug 2, 2019, 6:51 AM
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and after the '81 title, I said that I hoped to live to see another.
When the second title was won, I quickly changed my "hoping" to say I hope I live to see many, many more! lol.
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Orange Blooded [2425]
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Re: To my fellow “older” alums (I am C’66), did you ever think
Aug 2, 2019, 7:42 AM
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I t is really hard to believe we are where we are today. Dabo said he was going to create a program everyone else will try to copy and he has done that. Adding coach V really help our cause and the combination of Winning coaches from Al and Cu propelled us to the top.
The changing of the format has enabled Clemson to get better. We still have to earn it, but we are getting a little more respect today. The old blue bloods get the benefit of the doubt, because of the size of the schools and the writers they have. The difference is the games are played on the field and the champion comes from that.
Our talent now is unbelievable compared to previous years. Dabo and company can cherry pick our players from every state. The players all recognize Clemson and we do a good job of recognizing team players, good people that enjoy playing football. We don’t always agree with who that go after, but the results speak for itself. Go Tigers and spot the ball.
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Oculus Spirit [94490]
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I hoped that Clemson would win a conference title,
Aug 2, 2019, 7:56 AM
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then a bowl game like we did in the eighties with Coach Ford and be respected as a clean program befitting the Clemson community. I would never have prayed for, or even dreamed of what we have now.
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Orange Blooded [2358]
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Re: I hoped that Clemson would win a conference title,
Aug 2, 2019, 10:36 PM
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We were robbed in 74 of going to a bowl game because they gave out bowl invitations in early November. We were 4-4 at the time and UNC had a winning record. They were picked to go to a bowl and we took it out on them the following Saturday. This was also the last year of Tiger Band wearing Busbees. This was truly an all volunteer band. We had fun in Knoxville and at NC State despite loosing. The days of the Bum lines is long past. These younger alums will never know the fun of thumbing to Hotlanta and going to Ruby Reds.
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