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Replies: 6
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Orange Blooded [2685]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 2130
Joined: 10/29/99
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Wow... an 11 y.o.'s first football game and trip to Clemson
Sep 20, 2007, 12:26 AM
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This past Saturday I met up with an 11 year old I have been mentoring for almost 4 years (named Zak) and took him to his first football game ever - Clemson versus Furman. I had been hoping to take him to Clemson for over a year and things finally worked out to go. Not only was it his first trip to Clemson, it was also his first football game - at any level above the Upward Flag Football league he was in. I figured this was a big enough occasion that I saved my 500th post to write about it with Zak's help.
The day started with me meeting up with Zak and his mom in Asheville, where he switched over to my car and we started towards Clemson. He was excited the whole way. As we got closer, the number of vehicles with Clemson paws, tails, etc. and the Tiger Paws on the roads added to the excitement. As we neared Clemson, I found out that the parking I was hoping for near the stadium fell through and at this point I still didn't have tickets. So we parked near the Brooks Center and began our walk across campus. In a way I'm glad we had to park farther away because it gave me a chance to show the campus to him and we walked by the amphitheater just as the Pep Rally was going on. From there, we went to the church congregation I attended while at Clemson (Clemson Church of Christ) which is near the stadium. We tailgated with people from the church and as I was about to head over to find tickets, a Clemson student offered me two extras that he had obtained and then refused to take money for them (I donated the money I would have paid to the church).
About 30 minutes before kickoff, we walked over to the stadium. There, we discovered that the tickets we had been given were not just any tickets - they were about half way up on the 40 yard line (North Stands, lower deck, Section O). As we walked through the portal, Zak's eyes widened and the only word he said was "WOW!" We found our seats and the student that gave us the tickets was already there in the other two seats he had. As the game went on, Zak enjoyed most aspects of it - except for the heat. A kind Clemson fan in front of us let us borrow some sunscreen to help with that. After the game, we tried to get down on the field to get some autographs, but we took too long and didn't wind up with any. But we did throw a football around and took several pictures. He also slid down the hill a few times. After taking pictures with The Rock, we went back to the church building and then to our hotel in Anderson. He, of course, wanted to jump in the pool. There we met a member of Tiger Band and his family including his younger brother that was about Zak's age. They hit it off well and had a good time.
Sunday afternoon after church services we toured Clemson's campus and downtown. I walked him through several key landmarks and we went in several stores to get an idea what souvenirs he wanted. We then went over to get Clemson ice cream, which he loved. Then it was back to the hotel for more swimming. Monday we went back to downtown Clemson and got several souvenirs including the ever-popular Clemson Under Armour shirt and Clemson wristbands. Before leaving campus, Zak convinced me to take one more trip for more Clemson ice cream (convincing me wasn't that hard!). Then, we headed out of town - with now two of us missing Clemson already.
It was a memorable experience for him, but also for me. Thanks to the many Clemson fans who had some part in making this such a great experience for him - and that includes all 70,000 or so that were in attendance.
Zak wanted me to make sure I added this on the end:
GO TIGERS!!!
BEAT NC STATE!!!
Ken Pittman
Clemson Class of 2002
P.S.
I wanted to give credit to Tobacco Road Tiger, who wrote what in my opinion is the best post ever written on Tigernet - "The Greatest Day of My Life" - back in 2003. While this post is nowhere near the quality of his, it was in part inspired by his and therefore I wanted to again thank him for that post.
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null [202]
TigerPulse: null%
Posts: 565
Joined: 11/1/05
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truly inspirational***
Sep 20, 2007, 12:40 AM
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Orange Blooded [2099]
TigerPulse: 93%
Posts: 2248
Joined: 8/16/05
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That is awesome!!***
Sep 20, 2007, 12:57 AM
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All-TigerNet [11161]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 14224
Joined: 10/5/01
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that's cool, reminds me of my wife's first game, she posted
Sep 20, 2007, 6:21 AM
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about it, this was before we were married. Dang, where does the time go? 
thanks for the story!
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110%er [6034]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 2535
Joined: 7/25/07
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Thank you, I needed that this morning.***
Sep 20, 2007, 8:08 AM
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null [678]
TigerPulse: 11%
Posts: 2165
Joined: 6/2/03
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good stuff, Ken. Hope you are doing well.***
Sep 20, 2007, 11:07 AM
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