Review the Rivalry: Clemson Tigers

CLEMSON IS A REDNECK SCHOOL, DOO DAH DOO DAH
CLEMSON IS A REDNECK SCHOOL, OH DAH DOO DAH DAY
GONNA MOO ALL NIGHT
GONNA MOO ALL DAY
CLEMSON IS A REDNECK SCHOOL OH DAH DOO DAH DAY

I was a little kid when I started watching the Clemson games at Grant Field. After several seasons I realized we played some of the teams every other year, but Clemson came to Grant Field every season. I asked my dad why we didn’t play Auburn every year. He explained that Auburn wanted us to play at their stadium as much as we wanted them to play at Grant Field. I asked, “Doesn’t Clemson have a stadium?”

The Clemson $2 bill, per Arm Chair GM

Clemson fans have a tradition of bringing $2 bills with them when going to away games. You usually don’t find very many $2 bills just lying around, so Clemson fans will order them through their local banks. This tradition started one year back in the late 1970’s. Clemson and Georgia Tech had been playing each other for a good number of years now. For those of you that don’t know, Clemson and Georgia Tech are only about an hour and 45 minute drive away from one another. This made for a good little rivalry even though Clemson was in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Georgia Tech was not.
   Before that game in the late 1970’s, Georgia Tech officials (who shall remain unnamed) decided that they no longer needed Clemson to come to Atlanta to play football. In fact, one of them said that if they stop playing Clemson, it would have no effect on the local economy. This made Clemson fans want to show the Georgia Tech officials, and the city of Atlanta, just how much of an economic impact that the Clemson fans have on the host city. Basically what it turned out to be was a challenge to keep the series alive.
   Clemson wanted to show they would make an impact, but how? They decided that they would take all of their planned spending money, and get them in all $2 bills. They took the $2 bills and stamped tiger paws on them to show that they came from a Clemson fan. The Atlanta area became flooded with these $2 bills. This showed the Georgia Tech administration just how much money the Clemson fans were bringing into the local economy, and the series lived on. Later on that year, Clemson played in the Gator bowl, and fans decided to use the $2 bills again, and since then the tradition has stuck. This led to many people believing Clemson to be a school that “travels well.”

I’ve always enjoyed to Clemson GT series. I think the one game that really sets out in my mind would be the match up in 2004, when we had the game won, and pissed it away at the end with an errant snap to the punter, and then I believe the legend of Calvin Johnson beginning with his pushoff high jump for the ball. Ever since this is one of the many games I look forward to each year. Purple uni’s, our defense doing its best to shut down CPJ’s offense, and whatever miracle play occurs from our O, the bourbon flows and is always enjoyable.

If only Block-C was still doing their tailgates I would do my best to run into you guys again. Looking forward to this years game.

I sat in the nosebleeds with the Clemson folks a few years back, Bowden’s last time to Grant Field.

They were fine, but I’m glad none of them had a high powered rifle. I’ve never seen a fan base go from happy to homicidal as quickly as the Tigers. They were all over the coach, players, and refs for any little miscue.

This is our biggest rivalry, with the unique fact that we can play twice yearly (2009) unlike our rivalry with VT, where the focus is on getting past each other to play Clemson or FSU.

Clemson and georgie had a big rivalry going in the early ’80’s. All those great kickers on both sides of the ball, Gardocki, Butler, et al. I pulled for the Tigers, of course.

and follow their Tigers on the road. At the 2009 ACCCG they were all over the place in Tampa dressed in their trademark orange garb. While they were very confident going into that Championship Game, I have never seen a faster evacuation of fans from the stands immediately after Derrick Morgan made that sack on Kyle Parker on 4th down.

I was expecting some obnoxious fan encounters on my walk back to the hotel, however, I was actually surprised when a large group of Tiger fans said to me that Josh Nesbitt is one heck of a player and is something else when he runs the football. They also said good luck in the Orange Bowl which I thought was very classy after another very close loss the Tech that season.

John Heisman, ladies and gentlemen. Clemson fans will remind you that Tech bought a football program by luring John Heisman away from the Clemson U squad that crushed GT in new and disturbing ways. This is the an we have to thank for 1916’s record games (Cumberland anyone? 222-0) and a national championship.

Personally, though, I’ve hated Clemson ever since I first heard that spelling cheer in our stadium. I hate spelling cheers, I hate orange, I hate purple, I hate any team with a common mascot like a tiger, I hate agricultural schools, and I hate teams who get more hype than Tech while often losing to Tech and just winning less than Tech in general (All Time: Tech is .597 +4 MNC’s; Clemson is .591 +1 MNC). Therefore, Clemson is a team I LOVE to hate. Best rivalry we have, in my book.

I could go on and on. Orange overalls. Crying tantrum fans. The 400 pound Clemson fan who told me to shut up after the 2009 White Out win because “…it’s only cause yall couldn’t get into Georgia.” (Eruption of laughter surrounded him and not in the good way.) Ages of hearing “Spiller up the middle.”

I look forward to consistent ownage of the Clemson Tigers.