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Replies: 3
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CU Guru [1919]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Joined: 7/8/99
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Why USC is my favorite rival...
Jul 17, 2005, 12:24 AM
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This is probably going to seem like a strange post, even for downtime, but I've really come to realize how much I appreciate having USC as our rival.
There's a lot of reasons and we really are lucky to have them. Think about it.
1. After visiting Maryland, I appreciate that, no matter how annoying their fans can be, they are still southerners. (ie - having Maryland fans throw things at us vs. tailgating with USC friends).
2. Due to constantly winning against them, Clemson fans are blessed with a larger amount of self esteem throughout their lives.
3. Unlike some schools like Duke, where consistantly losing causes fans to lose interest and the subject to get changed to basketball, USC fans are blessed at birth with the ability to avoid believing what their eyes show them (which explains many USC couples). This ability allows them to consistently believe that they will be good, laughing in the face of reality, and making any logical thinking Clemson fan complete irritated by their fan's own stupidity. This allows for the rivalry to never get old, despite the domination.
4. Because of #3, USC is hated rather than pitied when matched up against superior opponents. The natural inclination is to cheer for the underdog, but not so with USC. Otherwise impartial fans will always cheer against USC, and this annomally allows Clemson fans to make friends with fans of nearly any other school.
5. Even in the face of one of the best hires in USC history in Steve Spurrier, the world manages to fall apart around him through arrests, dismissals, awful recruiting publicity, complete lack of depth thanks to Holtz and NCAA probation forcing even the most optomistic and otherwise unrealistic USC fans to take every joke thrown their way and otherwise ensure that history continues on its present course.
6. Sometimes even schools who are annual contenders like FSU, have to deal with a run of dominance from their rival which embarrasses them nationally. Clemson fans never have to worry about that.
7. If we weren't so dominant, USC would recruit much better in the state. This would cause more balance between the schools and the rivalry, however, it would prevent either program from becoming loaded enough to compete nationally. Because USC continues to find new ways to be bad and we continue to dominate, we are finally getting nearly all of the top talent that would look into this state and because of that, we'll be able to compete on a national state. States that produce more D1 athletes, like Florida, Texas, and California would not have this problem.
8. Despicable characters like Trooper Del and practices like FGF's notorious blacklisting allow us to tag them with decided associations with cowardice and evil, making us the good guys from any angle.
9. Their mascot is a chicken. It doesn't get any easier than that with rivalries anywhere.
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All-TigerNet [11099]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Joined: 11/30/98
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Thumbs up.***
Jul 17, 2005, 1:18 AM
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null [24]
TigerPulse: null%
Posts: 19
Joined: 8/21/04
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Two thumbs up... nm***
Jul 17, 2005, 1:38 AM
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Team Captain [470]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 241
Joined: 8/3/01
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Beautiful prose! ***
Jul 17, 2005, 8:10 AM
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__kai__
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