My weekend football recap

Oct 9, 2006, 7:32 PM

So, there I am, sitting in Wake Forest's Groves Stadium (pop. 31,500) saturday afteroon. We'd made the trip up from Greenville to enjoy a nice ### kicking, courtesy of James Davis, Gaines Adams, and the rest of the Clemson Tigers. Despite the wind and rain and unusually chilly temperatures, we sat and waited patiently for the brutality to begin. There, we waited...and waited, and waited. What we were treated to was yet another Clemson team playing down to its competition and squandering opportunities at every chance. But wasn't this team supposed to be different? Wasn't this supposed to be our year for once? For the first three quarters of that game, it looked like the same old situation (subtle Motley Crue reference). I'll admit I'd given up. I'd seen NOTHING that led me to believe that we could come back from a 17-3 4th quarter Wake Forest lead. I was preparing for life without the thought of an ACC championship. I was steeling myself for another run at a 2nd tier bowl. I was writing my will.

And then, as the 3rd quarter came to a close, from out of nowhere, the Wake Forest band kicked into "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and the crossdressing Deacon began to dance with the cheerleaders on their little ledge in front of the fans who sat quietly on their hands and entertained themselves with thoughts of basketball. From across the field I watched this with a murderous rage burning in my gut and I cried out loud, "How in the hell are we losing to THESE people?"

A veil of silence hung over the Clemson crowd.

On the field though, one man heard my plea--number 93, Gaines Adams. That's BIG Gaines Adams; future 1st round NFL draft pick, All-American defensive end, checking in at 6'5" 260lbs and, for future reference, Gaines hates the Bee Gees.

Wake Forest took the field in the 4th quarter and lined up for a field goal. This would make it a 20-3 lead with just under 15:00 to play. This was going to put it out of reach and put Clemson out of their misery. The Demon Deacons knelt down in a three point stance, their black uniforms giving the apperance of an impenetrable wall of protection around their kicker. This kick was for the game. Wake Forest was going to be battling for the divisional lead and Clemson would be left begging for scraps. The ####### black shirts had their foot on our throat...

Today, however, the good guys were wearing white.

As I watched through the 300mm lens of my camera, the ball was snapped to the holder, but the snap was bad and the ball landed sideways. The kicker froze, unsure of whether to continue his motion or not. The holder, now realizing what disaster was about to befall him stood up to try to run the ball to the right, away from where the Clemson rush was supposed to be coming and that, my friends, was when he was rudely introduced to number 93, Gaines Adams. It wasn't a thunderous blow that Adams dealt, but it was enough to send the ball skyward where it seemed to hang for an eternity in the cold, damp air.

The orange clad crowd that had driven so far and waited so long released their collective frustrations in an explosive roar as they watched the ball settle into the giant hands of Gaines Adams and down the field he rumbled, gaining speed with each yard line he passed. There would be no catching him. There were no flags. It was victory seized from the jaws of defeat. It was a definitive turning point and everyone in the stadium knew it. There was no way now that Clemson was not going to win.

The tide had turned, and with each subsequent play, momentum gathered on the Clemson side. A 72 yard touchdown run for CJ Spiller. A 20 yard touchdown pass from Will Proctor to Aaron Kelly. A 23 yard field goal from Jad Deaon. In the fourth quarter, Clemson shut out Wake Forest 24-0 and sent the Deacons packing with their first loss of the year. It was the ultimate performance under pressure and that's what makes good teams great.

The final score: Clemson 27, Wake Forest 17.

Suck it #######.

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