Clemson players send thank you to fans: "They showed up and showed out"

Death Valley was "live" according to the players.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Oct 04 15:24:01 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Clemson fans who showed up to watch their Tigers defeat Boston College Saturday need to pat themselves on the back, give another fan a hug, and know that they made the difference in the victory.

Late Friday evening, I sat in the motor home lot with a good friend of mine (he’s a former player) and while the kids played we basked in the light of the stadium lights. We discussed the state of the program, the next day’s game, and life in general. One of the topics of discussion? The attendance the next day. Social media was filled with posts of people who wanted to sell their tickets (or give them away), and I had a dozen or so contact me wanting to know if I knew anyone that wanted their tickets.

He posed what we were all thinking – what if only 60,000 or so fans show up for Homecoming? That seemed to be an extremely low number, but who knew? As kickoff approached – thirty minutes or so prior – the stands were not even a fifth full, but that’s often the case for a night game.

By the time the Tigers ran down the hill, however, the stadium was rockin’. I took a couple of videos from my seat in the pressbox and posted them to social media, wanting to give those were not in attendance a chance to see what they were missing.

Head coach Dabo Swinney told the media after the game that the crowd was the difference.

“Unbelievable football game. Amazing crowd,” Swinney said. “I thought our crowd was the difference in the game tonight," Swinney said. "They were absolutely amazing, all to the way to the last play. They affected the game the way a crowd can do. It was awesome to be a part of a night game in the Valley again.”

I asked running back Kobe Pace about the crowd, and he smiled.

“We fed off the crowd,” Pace said. “It was crazy.”

Cornerback Andrew Booth said it was the best environment he's seen in Death Valley, and he thanked the fans for showing up.

"Our fans were live," Booth said. "They were there when we needed them the most. That was the best atmosphere that I've played in, if I can recall right. That was crazy. Our fans were great Saturday and we can't thank them enough for how they showed up and showed out. The adrenaline - you almost don't feel anything out there. They were great."

Defensive end Xavier Thomas said that he was happy to see the fans show up, despite all of the negativity he sees surrounding the 3-2 season.

“Being in Death Valley, especially for a night game, is very special. Those fans coming to support us is unbelievable,” Thomas said. “All the things that are going around and all of the negativity going around with the season not going as well we want it to, them coming and packing the stadium out is just special.

"It's a special place to be and you just cherish those moments.”

Senior safety Nolan Turner said the crowd made it hard on the Boston College offense.

“It was so nice to see the crowd back in Death Valley for a night game. I can't even really remember the last true home night game we had,” Turner said. “It was super special to get the crowd back. They are such a big part of the game. The crowd noise helps on our side of the ball on defense. They really do play such a big factor, and Death Valley gets really loud. It really does. There aren't a lot of places that compare to it. I've been in some loud venues. We went up to Texas A&M that one year and it was pretty loud, pretty similar. Louisville gets loud, even though they don't have that big of a crowd you feel like they are right on top of you. That place gets loud.

"It's special when you get a crowd like that in Death Valley, It makes it hard on the opponent.”