Team Captain [470]
TigerPulse: 98%
Posts: 244
Joined: 7/8/04
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The Team, The Season (long)
Sep 13, 2005, 10:50 AM
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I don’t post much – haven’t really in a long while – but I read posts more than often than I should. For the past few months I have tenaciously kept up with what my fellow members of the Clemson family have to say here. I lived the desperate minutes that turned into hours waiting for pseudo-celebrity Geno’s mom (she got her fifteen minutes of fame and then some that day). I endured the hysteria that overcame the board when Davis went AWOL (now I realize there was indeed reason for desperation – this kid is the real deal). I have been both energized and outraged at things I have read in this board – posted by lurkers, posers, and fans alike. Over the past few years, I have come here looking for highlights after the big wins and solace after the big losses. Of late, I have been inspired and entertained by the videos from Shoeless. I have enjoyed keeping up with the progression of the WEZ as told by ClemsonJoe’s pics. Although I have not shared my views with y’all, I have been here.
I have also been here before we square off with a historical, mythical, paper giant. I remember arriving a Sunday morning in the Netherlands to find out that, as I was flying over the Atlantic, Clemson had defeated FSU. Whoever has flown from Atlanta to Europe on Delta will tell you that in their little progress map of the trip, for some reason, Clemson is one of the cities that appears labeled. That night, I thought it was a sign. I never imagined it could happen. The team proved me wrong.
I remember getting back two days prior to the 63-17 and being happy to be back home and immensely proud to be a Tiger. I remember reading how high-ranked UT was going to make sure they showed the world how mad they were to only get a Peach Bowl bid. I was there at the dome, part of a record-setting crowd, to see a Clemson that showed the world we could win the big game. I was proud to wear the right color orange that night. I was honored to see first hand how one of the “mightiest” of the SEC handily succumbed to a “middle of the pack” team of a “basketball” conference.
Last year, among the sea of mediocrity and close wins and losses, I saw a different team show up in the Orange Bowl and show all that a football game is 60 minutes long (or more) for a reason. Winning in OT against Wake was bittersweet. Against Miami, it was orgasmic.
The bottom line, and the reason for my rare post, is mostly to share how I have seen us do our best under the worst of conditions and predictions. When everybody counts us out, the team makes sure to come through. In the past we’ve rallied from behind with bombs, trickery, and unbelievable feats. This year, we have the clarity and patience we have lacked for many many years. We have a plan and the weapons to execute. The comebacks have been surgically methodical.
In our recent past, to our detriment or favor, we have played up to the level of our opponent, be it Miami or Duke. With what I have seen so far, we play, not to the level of our foe, but to the level necessary to execute our plan. The plan is a 60 minute schema that has yielded two close victories that many thought we wouldn’t have this year. Franchione and Friedgen are still scratching their heads wondering how we beat them.
With Miami queued up, BC lurking behind, and a host of ACC opponents that will challenge us every week, I say bring them on. This team has shown the patience and resolve it takes to win. I think people are starting to take notice. Ten to twenty years ago, when Clemson lined up, opponents worried. It’s been a long road from that to being scheduled for Homecoming at Georgia Tech (the worst of insults as far as I am concerned). It’ll take a long road to get back to the national prominence of years past, a prominence now enjoyed by FSU, Miami, and others. I believe we’re heading the right direction – whether we win Saturday or not. But we CAN win on Saturday. This team CAN beat anyone in the ACC right now. Whether we do or don’t remains to be seen.
GO TIGERS!
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