Thanks from an Aggie

Sep 6, 2005, 2:11 PM

First, let me thank Dave E., Buddy (a/ka/ the Pit Master), Milton, Tommy, Sheila (thanks for swapping tickets and allowing me to sit with you while you patiently explained all of the traditions during the game) and many others whose names I can’t remember, as well as all of the folks at the surrounding tailgates located in the Heisman lot. Y’all were most hospitable to all of the Ags, like me, who enjoyed the food, drink and camaraderie well into the wee hours of Sunday morning. (Note to Buddy: I wore my Clemson hat home with pride and I hope you weren’t ostracized by your neighbors when you returned home in that Aggie hat.)

I’ve been a bit of a Clemson fan since the early 80’s, when Danny Ford had those great teams, including the ’81 national championship team. Because of the publicity from those teams, I learned that Clemson was a land grant college with a great military tradition, similar to A&M. That was enough for me to root for Clemson whenever I saw one of their games on television.

After visiting with your fans last year in College Station and experiencing the game day festivities last Saturday, I can safely say that I’m now a life-long Clemson fan. The two universities and their fans are similar in so many ways and it will be fun to pull for you guys during this and future seasons.

Now let me share my thoughts about the weekend.

Since I didn’t want to show up at Dave’s tailgate empty-handed and mooch food and beverages all day long, I brought along an ice chest full of beer, as well as hamburger patties and “fixin’s”. The ice chest was one of those “wheeled” varieties and I thought I could simply pile all of the other stuff on top and tow it from Lot 13, which appeared to be the closest public parking to the Heisman lot. As I exited Lot 13, an SUV stopped and asked if I need a ride, which I quickly accepted. And, man, was I glad I did, since the Heisman lot was a strong hike, all uphill, from Lot 13. Turns out, the two guys and the lady who gave me the lift were athletic department employees. Wish I could remember their names so I could thank them personally.

The tailgating experience was unbelievable and difficult to describe to my fellow Ags who weren’t able to make the trip. We can certainly improve our game day experience by more effective tailgating. Hopefully, in the future we can emulate Clemson in this regard.

We heard the Clemson ladies were beautiful. We heard correctly. I was stunned, not only by the beauty of the ladies, but also by the numbers. Since it was Military Apreciation Day last Saturday, let me put it in military vernacular – when I walked around the campus during the early afternoon, I found it to be a “target rich environment”. Also, many of the ladies dress up for the tailgate parties and the games. That seems to be a carryover of “Old South” traditions and I like it. Clemson’s reputation in this regard is well founded.

Sheila said we needed to leave the tailgate area about 45 minutes before kickoff to watch the cheerleaders and band march down to the stadium. Once the band passed and the crowd fell in behind, it reminded me of a sea of orange lava flowing downhill, eventually filling the stadium. Very impressive.

I’ve seen the Clemson team enter the stadium a few times on television and, let me tell you, television doesn’t do it justice. It was as exciting as advertised. Before the game, many Ags didn’t understand how touching a rock and running down a hill could be so exciting. But, it was. Maybe everyone needs to see it in person before they can fully appreciate the effect.

As for Death Valley, I thought it was incredible. After the game, I heard a few Ags say they didn’t think DV is as loud as Kyle Field. I was sitting in the first row near the opposite goal line on the opposite side of the field from the seats in which most Ags were sitting. I don’t know if the sound level was different at my location versus where most Ags were sitting. But, I thought the stadium was very loud. As loud or louder than Kyle Field? I don’t honestly know. Our biases tend to make us believe our children are smarter and better looking than everyone else’s. Likewise, our biases tend to make us think our stadium is louder than others. Maybe Kyle Field is louder when we’re doing one of our yells, but I thought the general noise level of the two stadiums is very similar. Perhaps one or the other is 10% louder, but how could anyone truly know? Perhaps we could prove it by scientifically measuring the sound levels, but then we’d get into arguments about the location of the sound sensors and the timing of the measurements. So, who cares? DV is very impressive in my opinion.

The Military Appreciation Day festivities were wonderful. It was very gracious of Clemson to include the A&M folks in this. Like you, we’re very proud of the men and women who have served or are currently serving this great country. I’ve been to many campuses where the faculty and fans spurn the military. In fact, I’ve seen our band and our corps members ridiculed by fans from opposing teams. A favorite ploy of such fans is to give the Nazi “Sieg Heil” salute as our band or corps passes. I’m usually able to ignore insults during a football weekend, but such behavior infuriates me and I often get “involved”, shall we say, when I see this happen. Needless to say, this kind of behavior wouldn’t be tolerated at Clemson, since you have such respect for the men and women who serve. Good for y’all.

Finally, the Clemson campus is very attractive. Having grown up in Ft. Worth and living in the “flatlands” most of my life, I really enjoyed walking around the campus and seeing how beautiful it was, nestled among the hills and trees. As many of you who traveled to College Station last year know, you can see Kyle Field from ten or fifteen miles away when you’re driving into College Station. I was amazed how Death Valley, which does indeed sit in a valley, kind of sneaks up on you. Even though we could see a corner of the upper deck from the Heisman lot, you don’t get an appreciation for the size of the stadium until you walk down the hill and are finally able to see the whole thing.

I hope we’ll be able to get Clemson on a home and home schedule again in the future. Many Ags, including me, have made our wishes known to Bill Byrne, our athletic director. Unfortunately, the schedule is made so far in advance that it may be a decade before we play each other again. But, maybe we’ll find ourselves in a BCS bowl game before then. Let’s hope so.

Good luck to y’all the rest of this season and thanks again for a wonderful weekend.

Regards,
Ray Kane

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Thanks from an Aggie

glad you enjoyed it

I'll root for the Aggies too***

Great Post. Thanks for coming***

I hope to have Aggies on our schedule more, too******

Glad you had a good time

Re: Thanks from an Aggie

A&M= second favorite team.***

Re: Thanks from an Aggie

You can bet I'll pull for yall over Texas anyday

Speaking of, I saw a whole family of longhorns

I think its sad we play a team with the nicest fans one week

Since moving to Texas last year, I sort of adopted

Thank you for the wonderful compliments

Gig Em***

Well, HOWDY! And thanks for coming. You guys showed up

thank u. come again***

Clemson and Texas A&M----2 class schools. Hope y'all

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