I don't know if I have ever told y'all about this game week tradition before, but it's time to get it out of the way.
Since 1995, I have eaten chicken with every meal during game week while partaking in no other meat during the entire week. Tried it in 1995, we won. Missed a day in 1996 and we lost so I diligently stuck with it for the next few years.
In 2001 I decided I was just being superstitious...and we lost. So from there I diligently retook the mantle again for another 4 year win streak.
Sometime after the 2005 season, Steve Spurrier found out about this magical game week ritual and the impact it was having on the series. In what some would call a genius defensive tactic, he lobbied the NCAA to extend to a 12 game season. Sure, numerous reasons were given for the expansion from 11 to 12 games but it was all a sham designed to push our game against the Chickens to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This, he knew, would force me to have awkward conversations with my family about why I didn't want to eat the turkey.
Sadly...I ate the turkey and we lost in tragic fashion in 2006.
Despite the challenge of Thanksgiving week, I was diligent for the next 2 years.
Then in 2009 a 15th ranked Clemson team was all set to take on unranked South Carolina. I thought, they couldn't possibly need me to get through this game. I was wrong. I ate the turkey and somehow gave CJ Spiller the flu. He still returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but nothing else went right.
I was frustrated. This has to just be my imagination. It can't really be me swinging the result of these games. Why was I chosen to miss the turkey at Thanksgiving week to propel my Tigers to victory? Why was I chosen for this burden?
No, I decided. This isn't a real thing. And for the next 4 years I refused to skip the turkey leading to the infamous streak.
Like Jonah dragged back by the whale, I finally relented and have been diligent in my game week chicken ever since. I stumbled in 2022. I wasn't thinking and accidentally ate a sausage ball. I'd become complacent. Too comfortable after 7 in a row.
No more. Steve Spurrier's conspiracy to expand the season will not defeat the game week chicken diet. For my Tigers, I will bear this burden.
Go Tigers! Beat the Chickens!
Since 1995, I have eaten chicken with every meal during game week while partaking in no other meat during the entire week. Tried it in 1995, we won. Missed a day in 1996 and we lost so I diligently stuck with it for the next few years.
In 2001 I decided I was just being superstitious...and we lost. So from there I diligently retook the mantle again for another 4 year win streak.
Sometime after the 2005 season, Steve Spurrier found out about this magical game week ritual and the impact it was having on the series. In what some would call a genius defensive tactic, he lobbied the NCAA to extend to a 12 game season. Sure, numerous reasons were given for the expansion from 11 to 12 games but it was all a sham designed to push our game against the Chickens to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This, he knew, would force me to have awkward conversations with my family about why I didn't want to eat the turkey.
Sadly...I ate the turkey and we lost in tragic fashion in 2006.
Despite the challenge of Thanksgiving week, I was diligent for the next 2 years.
Then in 2009 a 15th ranked Clemson team was all set to take on unranked South Carolina. I thought, they couldn't possibly need me to get through this game. I was wrong. I ate the turkey and somehow gave CJ Spiller the flu. He still returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but nothing else went right.
I was frustrated. This has to just be my imagination. It can't really be me swinging the result of these games. Why was I chosen to miss the turkey at Thanksgiving week to propel my Tigers to victory? Why was I chosen for this burden?
No, I decided. This isn't a real thing. And for the next 4 years I refused to skip the turkey leading to the infamous streak.
Like Jonah dragged back by the whale, I finally relented and have been diligent in my game week chicken ever since. I stumbled in 2022. I wasn't thinking and accidentally ate a sausage ball. I'd become complacent. Too comfortable after 7 in a row.
No more. Steve Spurrier's conspiracy to expand the season will not defeat the game week chicken diet. For my Tigers, I will bear this burden.
Go Tigers! Beat the Chickens!
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