You guys don't know how lucky you are

Oct 25, 2010, 1:26 PM

From the time I can remember first tackling my stuffed Bugs Bunny I wanted to be a Clemson Tiger. Started playing organized football at 6 yrs old and my orange blood never faded to that nasty Tennessee shade or darkened to the burgundy of those I detested, long before I could say gamecock without giggling.

There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to run down the hill on Saturdays and play football in the greatest place on earth.

Family/personal reasons doomed me into ignoring the football scholarship and and drove me far away, ultimately to several different countries but, though I was able to play for several years, I never attended school, played football or ran down the hill at Death Valley as a player. And the worst part, I never attended Clemson and got my degree. That is the one thing I've regretted my entire adult life.

While not everyone can play ball for the Tigers, each and every student at Clemson is part of that team on home Saturdays. Death Valley did not get its reputation because of the administration, west endzone, recruiting, or anything else but being one of the toughest places in the entire country for an opposing team to play football. That toughness starts and ends with the student section on and around the hill. Deandre Mcdaniel drew a flag for thanking you guys for what you do for that team during a football game Saturday.

Being a part of that team comes with an obligation and responsibility as a student on gameday. You only have so much time at Clemson as a student. I ask you, is it more important to:

Shotgun that last beer before getting on the hill late? or, being so loud as the Tigers run down the hill it drowns out the opposing band, instead of the opposite?

Leaving at the half to get dressed for the after-game party? or, being there in the 4th quarter to have your part in the sack by Daquan after the crowd noise caused miscommunication for the opposing QB?

You really do have a responsibility as a student on gameday. Those guys on the field rely on you to make things more difficult for opposing offenses, just as you rely on them to make the play when you've rattled their nerves.

I honestly don't think the justification you use for getting there late and leaving early is excusable. Most of those I see leaving (students and fans) are doing so to get drunk, drunker or redrunk. Really? That's more important?

Had I followed the path I should have and attended Clemson, if I never played football, I'd have been on that hill from well before start to finish, fulfilling my gameday obligation as a student at Clemson University.

Sure this post is a bit cheesy but honestly, is there any place better on earth?