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The year was 2003

I enjoyed listening to Larry’s podcast with Roy. I listened to it as a took a walk for exercise around my neighborhood only to get caught in torrential downpour at the apex of my walk. Despite having to ring myself out when I got home, their stories of the past, especially the Bowden era, reminded me of all the drama that use to surround the program. I was on Roy’s site back then, and I’d kill to be able to re-read some of the old threads. Just as soon as Tommy would get a little momentum in the program going, he’d stub his toe and take a step back.

Feeling nostalgic after the podcast, I decided to watch an old game: the 2003 Clemson v FSU game. More on that later.

2003 started with a thud. I had been on a detachment to Norway with the Navy in August. I had haul butt home from the det in order to get to Clemson on time for the big opener versus Georgia at Death Valley. The scorching heat of that game was the only thing worth remembering. We got bashed by UGA 30-0.

September and October were lackluster as well. Win one, lose one. We finished October sitting at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC: far below fans expectations. The good news was we’d just beaten UNC in Death Valley and were headed up to Winston Salem to take on a 4-4 Demon Deacon team. It was a much needed win to get bowl eligible before we’d go up against #3 FSU the following week.

The Tigers were scheduled to play a Jim Grobe led Wake on November 1st. Since Winston Salem is a fairly easy drive from Columbia, and the game was a gentlemanly 3:30 kickoff, a small group of friends decided to go. Our IPTAY high roller, Jay, got tickets for us. Our group rallied at my home and I drove everyone up in my SUV. There were five of us.

We arrived at in Winston Salem to find game day traffic isn’t an issue in the area. We parked near the stadium and watched the Tigers get off the bus and enter the stadium. The one thing we all could recall was the lack of energy the team seemed to have. “Oh well,” we agreed, “it’s just Wake.”

We strolled to a sports bar to get some food and watch the Chickens play Ole Miss. Late in the 3rd quarter, Eli Manning had built a 43-14 lead over Lou Holtz’s chickens. Looks like it was going to be a good day when something happened. The chickens, led by Dondrail Pinkins, caught fire. They came back. Only two failed 2 point conversions cost them the game. They lost 43-40. The chicken curse was alive and well.

Now, I have to say, I like watching a game a Wake Forest. There isn’t a bad seat in the stadium. Half the 35,643 that were there that afternoon seemed to be wearing orange. Somehow though, the excellent view of the field was not benefit this Fall. We saw a Clemson team unable to stop Wake Forest. Wake rushed for 321 yards that night. Whitehurst threw an embarrassing 85 yard pick 6 in the second quarter to send Wake up a jaw dropping 21-0. There was another fumble scoop and score. Wake was up 45-0 at the end of the third. Bowden sat Charlie to give Chanci Stuckey some playing time. He led the Tigers to a 45-17 finish.

We were all in shock. The ride home was quiet until someone asked the question, “So who do we get?” We’d all liked the Bowden hire. He brought a new energy to a program that hoped to put the Ford firing finally in the rear view mirror. He also was going to move us from the ground and pound game into the 20th Century passing game. Tommy got us moving in the right direction the first two years, but slowly the wheels started to come off. There were too many head scratching losses. Too often we failed to take the next step forward. Back to back pummelings by Texas Tech and UGA did nothing to quell the rumblings of Bowden detractors. This bad loss to Wake, coupled with next week’s beating we’d take by #3 FSU would surely be the end of the Bowden era.

Yes, in our heart of hearts, we knew Bowden was gone.

FSU had long been the measuring stick for Clemson since they’d entered the league. Each summer, Clemson fans would circle the game. Tigernet will be full of Tiger Fans saying why we’d beat FSU this year: it’s at Death Valley, our defense is great, their QB is unproven. Each year the result would be the same: an FSU victory. I’d looked at the talent Poppa Bowden had amassed at FSU and wonder home come we couldn’t recruit just a couple of players as talented as theirs. FSU had beaten us 11 times in a row coming into Death Valley on November 8th, 2003. There was no reason to think there wouldn’t be a twelfth.

Still the Tiger faithful filled Death Valley. After all, it was still a game we had circled. There was also the feeling that should the Tigers fail this night, it wouldn’t be because the fans let them down. We’d give Tommy every home advantage we could muster and let the chips fall where they may.

There was electricity in the air at the real life Radio rubbed the Rock and was walked down the Hill. The game started and Clemson, to their credit, was there to play. The defense stood tall early. The offense moved the ball well but, settled for field goals. This was ominous cloud and all Clemson Nation knew it. FSU had an explosive offense. Two nice drives that settled for field goals wasn’t going to win the game for us. A moral victory wasn’t going to cut it tonight. We had to win. We scored before halftime to go up 17-0 and like that, we all started to believe. Can this be the night? Can we do what none of us who witness the ineptness a week ago thought we could do?

When Charlie’s pass connected to D Ham for a 58 yard TD in the third, we all knew the game was over. FSU had mustered nothing against the Tiger D all night. Rix was pulled by the elder Bowden in favor of Fabian Walker. At some point during this, Ann Bowden, had to start crying internally. I was among the Tiger faithful who rushed the field that night. Bill Curry, who chastised Tiger fans for doing so (“Act like you’ve been there before.”) can kiss my ass. He has no idea how big a win that was for the program.

We all know the run we went on from there. For any sins Tommy had at Clemson, he can always be forgiven for giving us 63-17 as part of our historical lexicon. Beating FSU was a huge monkey to get off our back. FSU was what Bama is today. It’d be another half decade before we’d part ways with Tommy. But we all knew this program could compete with the FSU’s of the world. Since that faithful night, we are 13-5 versus FSU and have won seven, should be eight, in a row. If in 2000 I’d told our fans that we’d dominate FSU from 2003 on, I’d been called crazy.

So why did I write this rambling post? Well a few reasons.
  • I am nostalgic for the old times. No, I don’t want to go back to losing but I did enjoy the more competitive regular season back then. The CFP era seems like an “all or nothing” era. If you don’t go undefeated, the season isn’t fun. College football shouldn’t be that way. 8-4 and a Bowl win can be fun, the games you played in were entertaining. It’s said that we’re at the point we think 10-3 is a failure of a season.
  • I think we all can’t wait for August to get here and real football news to start. Dabo and Riley have been VERY quiet since January. I have no doubt this is on purpose. I don’t think any of us will know what sort of team we have until we play FSU this year. Hopefully, this little bit of football talk, helps you get one day closer to August.
  • Finally, when pundits say FSU will be ranked ahead of Clemson this year, I laugh. Clemson is still in a different stratosphere than FSU as a program and a team. September 23, 2023 will prove that yet again. It took us 11 years to climb the FSU mountain. For the challenges Clemson had in the 90’s, we never have been as low as FSU has been the last decade. FSU has a long road to walk before they can compete with the Clemson’s of the world. Jacksonville State wasn’t that long ago Nole fans. If you want to beat Clemson, you need to use the portal: time portal that is. And go back to sometime before 2003 and find the team to beat us. FFSU.
Enjoy your day and Go Tigers

Paws

Best places to live in the upstate?

Well both kids will be at Clemson in the fall and thinking about moving to the upstate (Preferably Lake Front) soon to take advantage of in state tuition next year. Any insight good or bad on any of the lakes in the upstate? Obviously Keowee is the best but not sure that is in our budget with 2 kids in college but love to hear the good and bad about any of the others. Thanks

  • Poll
Sexiest Sports reporter

Sexiest sports reporter

  • Erin Andrews

    Votes: 146 20.9%
  • Samantha Ponder

    Votes: 330 47.2%
  • Maria Taylor

    Votes: 28 4.0%
  • Cari Champion

    Votes: 14 2.0%
  • Heidi Whatney

    Votes: 14 2.0%
  • Melanie Collins

    Votes: 17 2.4%
  • Sara Carbonero

    Votes: 10 1.4%
  • Leann Tweeden

    Votes: 35 5.0%
  • Michelle Beadle

    Votes: 8 1.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 97 13.9%

As we know women aren’t good for anything In sports except for standing on the sideline and looking sexy. So who is the hottest sports reporter of all time. Feel free to add pics and comment below. This thread is for your viewing pleasure as we start summer camp.

Football Scoop Insider on Director of Football Operations (DFO's)

Pretty interesting read on how some schools think through various logistical tasks, from airport rides to loading planes to hotel situations to NIL to everything else

I read FootballScoop daily and I think the writing is pretty poor, but the inside information they provide is pretty damn good at times. Found this really interesting so thought I'd share

All that said, would love to read how Clemson thinks through logistics:
- When does the equipment truck get loaded and leave for away games?
- How do load the plane?
- Who gets to travel on the team plane? (why?)
- How are room assignments divvied up for players? Coaches? Trainers? Support Staff?
- Do we always use Young buses? Is this a lifetime contract?
- I know for home games, we utilize local PD and state troopers. Curious how it works for away games?
- Any other inside info would be greatly appreciated

  • Poll
Poll: Who would you trade Dabo for (inspired by nmerritt11’s post point #5 in thread 'Friends are the standard’ from 12:08 PM.)

Who would you trade Dabo for?

  • Kirby Smart

    Votes: 28 6.8%
  • Nick Saban

    Votes: 37 8.9%
  • Nobody

    Votes: 349 84.3%

Had some trouble creating a direct link to nmerritt11’s original post on the phone but provided thread title and time in subject line. Before anyone asks, I did not include Shane Beamer because that would be absolutely absurd and ridiculous.

Pretend to the End

Alright!! Someone telling the truth!! Good read!!

https://kunstler.com/cluster****-nation/pretend-to-the-end/

Cluster**** Nation Blog

James Howard Kuntzler

Who would have thought in 2020 when they were voting for Joe, that they were voting for the most hardcore accelerationist collapsitarian candidate in history.” — Deep South SR on Twitter

Cluster**** Nation
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The creatures of the underworld running our country must think the public is awfully stupid. You are expected to take at face value the claim that “Joe Biden” is actually up for re-election. Could it be more obvious that he’s pretending? (Just as he’s been pretending to serve as CEO of our government.) Meanwhile, we are not supposed to notice that the entities behind him are scrambling to dismantle, demolish, and asset-strip what remains of the USA in body and spirit. But enough of us are noticing to make it a problem for them.

First, who are these entities? They are exactly who you think they are. What you see around you is not just a complex system (Western Civ) unwinding and breaking apart — though that is part of the story. It is also the appearance of a controlled demolition by desperate, frightened, and crazy people who want to be the ones left standing when the demolition is complete. The catch is, they are pretending, too. They are control-freaks who cannot keep things under control.

This power underworld is a coalition of large public and private organizations, here and out there in the world, and the folks in charge of them, and they are all out of control, too, pretending that their operations are coherent and efficacious. For instance, the vast consortium of intelligence agencies in our country, the CIA, DIA, ad nauseam, their multitudinous spin-offs, and their international partners (e.g., MI6, Mossad, the World Health Organization). If you want to see how they actually work, watch the Coen Brothers’ movie Burn After Reading. You will see a bustle of perfectly hapless, frantic, and insanely self-destructive activity performed by clueless clowns in nice business suits.

There is also the matrix of banking, including the international regulatory agencies such as the IMF, the World Bank, the Fed, the European Central Bank, and the banks themselves. And the bankers — Powell, LeGarde, Dimon, et. al — and the money managers, Fink, Soros, and their nefarious activities. They are all pretending to be in charge of a money system so burdened with fakery and legerdemain that it’s in the process of flying up the cosmic wazoo and vanishing, leaving Western Civ, functionally, broke.

My guess is that the nominal leader of this underworld in the USA — more like a master-of-ceremonies than an actual director — is Barack Obama. He has been running “Joe Biden” since the 2020 coup against Mr. Trump. The Clintons wanted to be in the mix somewhere, but it appears they’ve lost the fight for dominance — what with Bill in a perpetual doghouse and Hillary wearing that “loser” sign plastered on her back. For now, “Joe B” is a place-holder for the Party of Chaos. Who else have they got? Gavin Newsom? I’m sure. Hair and teeth only get you so far. Just wait until they roll the footage of San Francisco. Kamala Harris? Discussion unnecessary. Elizabeth Warren? (Grandma Oatmeal, we call her.) A bunch of governors no one has ever heard of? For now, they’ll just try ignoring RFK, Jr., since he wants to turn the Democratic Party upside-down and inside-out while rinsing it with Drano.

Who will they slot in when “Joe B” gets the hook? Michelle Obama, of course. Seems ridiculous, I know. (Actually, it’s completely ridiculous.) But our country has become so marinated in recycled products, celebrities, and narratives that Mr. Barack Obama (and cohorts) might just be bold enough to try it. Michelle is just another product at this point, like a can of Bud Lite, or a Hostess Ho-Ho, and that’s how they will try to sell her. The public’s collective mind has been successfully disordered to the degree that unreality no longer registers. If they pull this off, it will be Mr. Obama’s fourth term — and the coup-de-grace for the nation.

I don’t think the public will stand for it, but the condition of our country is so grave now that the actual contest underway is not between political personalities but between economic collapse and civil war. In the latter race there will be a winner and a runner up, and it looks like the economic collapse is already well advanced. Inflation is crushing the middle-class and business activity of every kind — except maybe drug trafficking — is falling into a coma.

Meanwhile, the escapades of the “Joe Biden” crime family inch towards critical mass. It’s another sign of the public’s disordered collective mind that so much evidence of grotesque criminality could already stand revealed before them without anyone in authority (hint: the heads of the DOJ and FBI) feeling the pressure of public opinion to act. Merrick Garland and Christopher Wray have foolishly made themselves accessories in all that crime by working to cover it up. Everyone knows it and that is arguably the most demoralizing of all the manifold failures ongoing. Real justice is AWOL.

You’re aware, no doubt, of the situation on the Mexican border. Just days from now many tens of thousands of people from foreign lands waiting there will be ushered illegally across the Rio Grande by agents of the US State Department working with a whole bunch of NGOs and the United Nations to enable that rush to the entrance. The inflow will continue indefinitely. The operation has got the blessing of the “Joe Biden” regime, and everybody knows that, too. My guess is that’s what will set off a new civil war: when citizens of the border states eventually take up arms against this invasion, and our government tries to stop them from defending their own country.


This blog is sponsored this week by Vaulted, an online mobile web app for investing in allocated and deliverable physical gold. To learn more visit:Kunstler.com/vaulted

Prayer request for Clemson student (updated Monday 5PM)

Thanks to everyone who is praying for Claire! We met with the surgeon today and scheduled surgery for next week. They will remove her thyroid and any affected lymph nodes nearby. One night hospital stay and then she is off and running. We were referred to Dr. Lokey by another surgeon client and he was great. In most cases he said this is a very routine procedure and the main life change will be a necessity to take a thyroid pill daily. There is a slight chance the follow-up pathology could be abnormal which would require additional treatment - we will find out a couple weeks after surgery. She has a good attitude and is very healthy otherwise. I really appreciate the Tiger Illustrated Brotherhood and Sisterhood! Thank you!


(original post below)
I would appreciate prayers for my daughter who just finished her freshman year. She was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and tomorrow we meet with the surgeon to see what the treatment plan will be. I have avoided trying to be an internet doctor but the little I have read shows it as generally very treatable. However, it is still cancer and she is still my baby girl!

We have had a hard couple of years recently; I believe God does all things for a reason and I am optimistic this can somehow be the start of better times as counterintuitive as it may seem. I held off posting last week as I did not want to pile on with Doodog's situation. My heart breaks for them.

Potential basketball starting 5?

For basketball guys who are we thinking.

I think PJ Chase Clark and Girard are obvious starters.

The 5th one I think will come down to certain matchups. Vs teams with a bigger 4 like Duke I think Ian or RJ would start.

But with a lot of teams playing smaller now Wiggins assuming he can continue to develop really interests me.

In a lineup of chase girard clark Wiggins and PJ offensively we would be extremely difficult to guard. Everybody on the floor could shoot the basketball at a high clip and it would REALLY space the floor. Than on the defensive end of the floor sans Girard that is an extremely long lineup that I think would more than hold its own on the boards.
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