Wednesday June 03, 2009

Agony and Ecstasy

Agony and Ecstasy
Clemson football has provided us memories that will last a lifetime. The 1977 South Carolina game was one of those games where you remember where you were when Jerry Butler caught Steve Fuller’s pass. Has there ever been a finer line between agony and ecstacy?

The same can be said for David Treadwell’s kicks against Georgia in 1986 and ’87 or Mark Buchholtz’s boot in 2007.

We are a football school and those memories last forever. However, other sports at Clemson also provide some of those electric moments. In soccer we have the national title games and the Elite Eight win on the night Trevor Adair was dealing with father’s death.

Basketball gave us moments like Greg Buckner’s dunk against North Carolina in the ACC tournament and Sherrod Ford’s walk-off dunk against Virginia Tech.

And Tiger baseball fans remember Jeff Morris’ blast in the ACC tournament, Tyler Colvin’s super regional grand slam and several walk offs against the FSUs, South Carolinas and Georgia Techs of the world.

Monday night Kyle Parker gave us another epic moment. The two-sport athlete was not in the line-up Sunday or Monday but pinch hit earlier then provided the biggest hit of the season with his two-run game-winner.

The win Monday night was exactly what this program needed. Had Clemson lost the game, agony awaited. The doubters would have had a full magazine loaded for ammunition. They would have pointed out how the program had continued to slip and in some ways they would have been correct. But winning cures all things and a two-run hit quieted the small lynch mob for the moment.

Clemson baseball is not as powerful as it once was but this also a young team who took a big step in rebuilding the powerhouse this season. Winning enough games down the stretch gave the Tigers a home regional. This was a positive step.

The Tigers now have a chance to really advance the cause and accelerate the rebuilding by upsetting the number-two team in America. Clemson will have to travel across the country to do it and will have to beat a team twice on their home field that has lost only two home games all season. A super regional win and a College World Series appearance would probably put the process a year ahead of schedule.

All of these things are still possibilities because of the fantastic come from behind win Monday. Had the Tigers not put up three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth against Oklahoma State. If not for the comeback, we would have been talking today about the collapse. We would have focusing on the three errors in one inning. We would have been talking about losing twice to a team that went 9-16 in their conference. Agony was in the neighborhood.

This was a baseball team that has been inconsistent all season but came up with the right win at the right time. This is a team that did what we have been wanting out of some other Tiger teams recently. How many times did Tommy Bowden’s teams miss out on that kind of opportunity? We have even seen basketball raise the program to the level where expectations have led to some disappointment in the post-season. Heck, even the powerful Clemson golf team suffered recent setbacks at key times.

Clemson fans needed that Monday night. Tiger fans needed to hug and high five. It has been too long since we had a chance to truly rejoice like this in a post-season contest. Despair had become par for the course.

In football we have torn down goalposts and I have actually witnessed a Clemson basketball team cutting down the nets but the Tiger baseball tradition of players jumping onto the fence to celebrate with the fans in the Cheap Seats is special and unique.

There were other memorable scenes from Monday. I thought it was a classy move when Jack Leggett acknowledged Bill Wilhelm after the game. Dabo congratulating Jack in his post-game press conference was another classy move. But I have to admit the Cheap Seats Leap is my favorite and was a sight for sore eyes. Ecstasy found us waiting on it.

Monday was one of the first special moments in what could potentially be a long line of big days for Kyle Parker. He had a very good freshman season in baseball and was named All-ACC with his memorable night in Raleigh being the one marquee of that season. This year he had balanced spring football and baseball including the spring game Saturday and his home run against Miami. Maybe Parker will have huge events on the football field in the near future but Monday was signature moment to this point in his career.

Monday night also reminded us of something we lose sight of at times. Winning is important. There is no substitute for winning. When you win you don’t have to break out the conference argument or tell anyone how tough your schedule has become. You don’t have to complain about lack of support or facilities. You don’t have to get last year’s copy of U.S. News and World Report. None of those things mattered Monday. Winning mattered and being on the good side of that fine line felt so good.

One last memory from Monday night I will take with me. After celebrating in the stadium and after all of the hugs and high fives, I was making my way back to my car when I heard a bunch of car horns blasting back in Jervey Meadows. Without knowing the situation I asked a man who was coming from the area about the commotion. “South Carolina just lost in extra innings,” the stranger explained. Hundreds of Clemson fans celebrating in ecstasy due to the agony of the arch-rivals.

Geoff Hart of WYFF-TV in Greenville wrapped it up best during his sports cast Monday when he said at 9:15 Monday South Carolina had a 6-0 lead over East Carolina and Clemson had just made three errors in one inning and trailed 5-1 in the seventh. About an hour later, it was Clemson that was advancing and the Gamecocks season was over.

It is a fine line that separates agony and ecstasy but thank goodness the Tigers were on the right side of that memorable night Monday.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
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Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry, Delores Weaver.