11 Hours to Gameday and 24 hours to kickoff... After watching last night's exercise in futility, I have lost a little bit of my excitement for the upcoming ACC season (not football but ACC OOC games in general). A lot of my Clemson friends know two teams on their schedule that they're not worried about anymore. A lot of my NC State grad buddies did not come to work today. Not because of embarrassment but because they washed away their sadness last night.
Concerning tomorrow's game, I have 24 rules for anyone within a stone's throw of my seat:
1. You must know "Up with the White and Gold" and "Ramblin' Wreck". Period.
2. You must at least know our starting B-Back (Jon Dwyer), quarterback (Josh Nesbitt), and two defensive players along with their positions. Learn a new offensive player and defensive player every game for the rest of the season. Homework doesn't end in college.
3. You must know the names of Georgia Tech's four National Title winning coaches - Heisman ('17), Alexander ('28), Dodd ('52), Ross ('90).
4. You must bob with the Budweiser Song and shout at the top of your lungs during said song no matter the score.
5. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must cheer when ACC teams are beating out of conference BCS teams.
6. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must laugh when SEC teams are losing out of conference games.
7. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must cheer when Georgia is losing or has lost.
8. Either sing the National Anthem/alma mater or be quiet.
9. Always cheer the Ramblin' 'Reck and the players as they exit the tunnel, no matter the half or score.
10. Silence is golden on offense.
11. Yelling is necessary on defense. Chants of "Yellow...Jackets" are preferred as 50,000 people chanting the same thing is louder than 50,000 people yelling something in discord.
12. Take pictures with Buzz before noon. Avoid Buzz after noon...you'll smell why.
13. I don't wanna hear any pagers, cell phones, or beepers going off during the game. I want to be immersed in the gameday atmosphere. Turn 'em off unless you're a doctor/drug dealer and someone may suffer with your communication device disabled.
14. Wear gold to all games (special note: see rule #15).
15. Wear white to the whiteout versus Clemson.
16. Navy sweatshirts may be acceptable in the Winter but gold sweatshirts are preferable. Gray sweatshirts are for non-gamedays so leave them at home or at the tailgate.
17. Never leave early. I wanted to leave at Clemson in 2004 but Charlie Whitehurst made me forever regret doubting the power of the Ball to Calvin Johnson fade away.
18. Never boo the home team.
19. Booing is acceptable for poor calls by referees, terrible ACC commercials about sportsmanship, and the opposing team entering the field. Fan-thrown projectiles like liquor bottles, coke bottles, nerf footballs, chair backs, etc. are not acceptable.
20. Don't pick fights with Tech fans. Engage in hearty debate with opposing fans.
20a. Don't get so drunk before the game that you want to fight, puke, or shout obscenities at everything that moves. I'm looking the DB that kept shouting, "YOU'RE A CHEATER JJ REDICK! YOU'RE A F****in' CHEATER!!!"
21. Know who the last three guys to wear #21 were: Johnathan "Freddie" Smith, Calvin Johnson, and Jon Dwyer.
22. Know who we are playing on Saturday/Thursday. Learn something about the team we're playing this week (e.g. Ryan Perrilloux played for LSU but got kicked off for drugs).
23. Don't sell your tickets to opposing fans especially THWMFGP fans.
24. Respect Paul Johnson and the option.
25. Show up to the game before kickoff with a positive attitude. Leave the game with the same attitude after the clock hits 0:00. Be happy you just experienced college football at the greatest stadium in the United States.
Concerning tomorrow's game, I have 24 rules for anyone within a stone's throw of my seat:
1. You must know "Up with the White and Gold" and "Ramblin' Wreck". Period.
2. You must at least know our starting B-Back (Jon Dwyer), quarterback (Josh Nesbitt), and two defensive players along with their positions. Learn a new offensive player and defensive player every game for the rest of the season. Homework doesn't end in college.
3. You must know the names of Georgia Tech's four National Title winning coaches - Heisman ('17), Alexander ('28), Dodd ('52), Ross ('90).
4. You must bob with the Budweiser Song and shout at the top of your lungs during said song no matter the score.
5. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must cheer when ACC teams are beating out of conference BCS teams.
6. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must laugh when SEC teams are losing out of conference games.
7. When scores are announced on the loud speaker, you must cheer when Georgia is losing or has lost.
8. Either sing the National Anthem/alma mater or be quiet.
9. Always cheer the Ramblin' 'Reck and the players as they exit the tunnel, no matter the half or score.
10. Silence is golden on offense.
11. Yelling is necessary on defense. Chants of "Yellow...Jackets" are preferred as 50,000 people chanting the same thing is louder than 50,000 people yelling something in discord.
12. Take pictures with Buzz before noon. Avoid Buzz after noon...you'll smell why.
13. I don't wanna hear any pagers, cell phones, or beepers going off during the game. I want to be immersed in the gameday atmosphere. Turn 'em off unless you're a doctor/drug dealer and someone may suffer with your communication device disabled.
14. Wear gold to all games (special note: see rule #15).
15. Wear white to the whiteout versus Clemson.
16. Navy sweatshirts may be acceptable in the Winter but gold sweatshirts are preferable. Gray sweatshirts are for non-gamedays so leave them at home or at the tailgate.
17. Never leave early. I wanted to leave at Clemson in 2004 but Charlie Whitehurst made me forever regret doubting the power of the Ball to Calvin Johnson fade away.
18. Never boo the home team.
19. Booing is acceptable for poor calls by referees, terrible ACC commercials about sportsmanship, and the opposing team entering the field. Fan-thrown projectiles like liquor bottles, coke bottles, nerf footballs, chair backs, etc. are not acceptable.
20. Don't pick fights with Tech fans. Engage in hearty debate with opposing fans.
20a. Don't get so drunk before the game that you want to fight, puke, or shout obscenities at everything that moves. I'm looking the DB that kept shouting, "YOU'RE A CHEATER JJ REDICK! YOU'RE A F****in' CHEATER!!!"
21. Know who the last three guys to wear #21 were: Johnathan "Freddie" Smith, Calvin Johnson, and Jon Dwyer.
22. Know who we are playing on Saturday/Thursday. Learn something about the team we're playing this week (e.g. Ryan Perrilloux played for LSU but got kicked off for drugs).
23. Don't sell your tickets to opposing fans especially THWMFGP fans.
24. Respect Paul Johnson and the option.
25. Show up to the game before kickoff with a positive attitude. Leave the game with the same attitude after the clock hits 0:00. Be happy you just experienced college football at the greatest stadium in the United States.