Chilling
Thanks to Calhoun, the unknown gnome for the following
EDIT: For proper attribution, this was written by Tigernet’s FallsChurchTiger®.
This is it
Folks, make no mistake.
This is the Hump game. This is our football version of Gettysburg, Alamein and Guadalcanal.
This is the proverbial Corner.
This is the fulcrum point for the program I think for the next ten years.
The whole country is watching to see if we are for real. We even want to know if we are for real.
If we win big things are happening. If we lose, people will say… “It’s just another Clemson team.”
This is the combination most hyped/ most national stature at stake game we’ve played at home since the FSU “rooskie” game. Most of our players weren’t out of diapers then. It’s been that long.
There will be legions of young men, Friday night football heroes, on the sidelines, in the stands, in their living rooms at home. Watching. Thinking about making a choice. Will they see something special, something they want to be a part of? For years to come? For the rest of their lives?
Will memories be made that inspire kids in high school around the country to want to learn more about just what it is that makes those hills so special? To experience that for themselves?
We know the writers and talking heads around the country will tune in. They can’t miss it – it’s Gameday. Corso will have the head. Herbie will pontificate. Orange painted faces all behind them. Screaming.
The television will show it all for them. The paws on Hwy 93. The Esso. Bowman, Tillman, Fike. The WestZone. The Graveyard.
The Ring of Honor. The Rock. The Hill.
If we win, I have no doubt we will go into Blacksburg and blow them off the map and win the Orange Bowl.
If we lose, we could ride the low into Blacksburg and lose that one and maybe another one.
And be just another Clemson team.
And that, we are not, and will not be.
No, for this is a different Clemson team.
Built not only on talent, but on character.
Players who are just as welcome in your homes on Monday and as comfortable in church on Sunday as they are on the field on Saturday.
Built by coaches, who not only scheme and coach, but who support and who care.
A group of people working together who care about each other, care about Clemson, and not only believe that something special can be done… but will be done.
Saturday, Clemson gets over the Hump. We turn the Corner.
The Blue Ridge yawns it greatness for all to hear, and the Tiger’s Roar echoes across the land.
And we honor the ghosts of the past… Howard, Fuller, Davis, Kinard, Perry, Ford… as the heroes of the present stand on their shoulders and chart a new course… for years to come.
New heroes, a new history. Even better, even brighter, even bolder.
Even bigger.
Let’s go.
Fight Tigers, Fight Damnit, Fight, Fight, Fight!
Let my summarize this using one of the Gospels of Sport, the movie Tin Cup:
This is a “defining moment, and when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment… or the moment defines you.” Hopefully the definition is not “shit”.
Man, that’s a lot of pressure to put on one game. I’m not saying it’s not that big, I just wouldn’t go all hari-kari if the Jackets manage to pull out another one in the Valley.
ElwoodGT, you have no idea how funny that is for our group…Hari-Kari, funny. We’ll be accross from the Esso Club in Clemson, just look for the two (yes two) Beer pong tables. Stop by and have a beer.
Well, I agree with what you’re saying. But ND came into our house with the exact same situation looming, and they took us DOWN, down to China town. Basically, all the meaning and and context doesn’t mean rat poo when the ball comes off the tee. However, I wish you good luck!
And let me add, both SMQ and Wreck Ramblin have linked to this post pointing out that it is a bit over the top.
[...] How stupid does that “Chilling” post look now? At the time it was only over the top. [...]