Something in these hills

So, instead of talking about what to expect in Blacksburg, because I don’t know, I wanted to go another direction. Instead of talking about the keys (as ALWAYS they will be turnovers and special teams), I want to talk about the greatness of Clemson as a place.

Joe Sherman does a better job than me:
“There is something in these hills that brings together and binds together and holds together men and women of all persuasions, of all heights, sizes, weights, and cultural backgrounds - something that cuts across every difference, spans every gap, penetrates every wall - something that makes a man or a woman stand taller, feel better and say with a high pride to all within earshot, "I went to Clemson."
There is something in these hills that you and I can't define and others can't understand. A wave of warmth always surges through me when "outsiders" say, "I don't know what it is about you Clemson people, but your undying love for Clemson is admired by everyone I know."

There's something in these hills and I suspect that's what it is - the ability of an institution through the unending dedication and greatness of its people - its administration, its faculty, its staff, its students and alumni - to impart to all it touches a respect, an admiration, an affection that stands firm in disquieting times when things around it give impressions of coming unglued.
Yes, there's something in these hills where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness.”
That’s only half the poem and if you went to Clemson and haven’t read the whole thing in a while, I highly recommend.

The point is I was wandering around on Friday and the campus was its usual gorgeous self, the weather was amazing and I wanted to grab each student walking by and shake them and make them understand, “Never take this for granted!! This is the greatest four to eight years of your life!! You will never have this much free time again!! You will never have this little responsibility!! You will hopefully never be this poor again, but who cares!!”

This from a person who loves his job and loves his new wife (at least for now) and can’t complain about anything (other than the sad state of our federal govt.). All that said, my years at Clemson were AWESOME!! I lived with three of my best friends and a kegerator. It doesn’t get much better than that.

A few recent stories as well to show the awesomeness of the place. I got my diploma reframed after it took a tumble off the shelf. They quoted me 60 to do the etched glass again. I get there and she sees the picture is scratched up. Get’s me a new picture. Has to do more matting to make it fit and then charges me $50. I got more stuff and it was less than the quote.

Friends of ours were sold fake tickets by a scalper (obviously not a Clemson local) and the athletic department was nice enough to give them free tickets.
Speaking of free tickets, Clemson gave free tickets to anyone from FL that year hurricanes kept destroying that state, so my parents got four free tickets.
Got a burger, fries and a pint of yuengling for $5 at TDs. It’s as if this town is stuck in the 70s with its prices.

Last April, I was rolling through Clemson and had some time to kill, so I marched up to Dabo’s office and asked him if, as a fellow coach, I could ask him some questions about running a program and recruiting. He took 15 minutes of his day to sit down with me and answer some questions. That is pretty awesome.

It is a wonderful place. It puts me in a good mood just being there. I have nothing but fond memories of my time there, except for the heart wrenching football defeats and the entire Larry W. Shyatt era I had to endure. I made a ton of lifelong friends and memories. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend a trip. If you have been, I highly recommend you get up there for a game this year, because there is something in those hills. Hopefully an ACC Championship is added to those hills this year too.

Oh yeah, and:
Va Tech 30 Clemson 27

But what the hell do I know? Usually the optimist that is wrong, now I am the other
way and loving it!!
Also, enough with all the scary defensive stats from Va. Tech. Their d is probably pretty good, but it won't be top 5 at the end of the year. If it was a great d, they would be #1 in every stat, because no big boy school has played an easier schedule than Va Tech. No one.