News and Notes
No, folks, this gnome isn’t dead. Between doing what we gnomes do best, traveling. I’ve also been brushing up on my meteorology skills and changing jobs, though you probably don’t care so much about that. What everyone does care about though is….FOOTBALL! With that in mind, here are a few tidbits and some thoughts going forward.
- Season ticket sales reached a record of 57,991 (can 9 more people not suck it up?) this year. This is the highest total of the Bowden era by nearly 500 and highest since the 57,625 total reached in 1988. The IPTAY Annual Fund surpassed $15M for the first time, with contributions from over 16,000 donors, also a record.
- ACC media poll placed us in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic with a slight edge over Wake. FSU and BC are clearly ahead of us with MD and State behind. Another poll I saw on a local sports news segment last night had us just above NCSU in the divisional cellar with the top two being the same followed by MD and Wake. Consensus conference champ is VT as expected.
-According to an ESPN.com article, Bowden is back on the hot seat (no surprise). The interesting part of the title (this is pay site I don’t fork out cash to read for no good reason) mentions the 16 yrs since a conference title and that the critics are rights…it’s Bowden’s fault.
-Several other articles have indicated what was previously mentioned about our QB situation and the offense outside of the running back tandem being a mystery. Personally, I’ll take that against FSU. No need in giving their D coordinator game tape to look at if you don’t have to. I do know that Harper has a better arm and expectations (and pressure) are low because of his lack of snaps. I’ll put money on the table now that he has a better overall season than Proctor though the yardage stats and completion percentage will not be as gaudy early on. Expect to see at least a couple long plays on the books that don’t involve Spiller breaking ankles on a swing pass.
-The super extended kickoff forecast is as follows: It will be hot, damn hot. And humid too. Cause you know kids, it’s not the heat but the humidity that will get ya. Look for a high that Sunday as most people come in around 88 with Monday pushing 92. And those of you coming in early, prepare to hang out in a bar and not on the golf course because you will get an afternoon shower to wash out that round on Walker. Be prepared with SPF 30, and a ball cap. Don’t even plan on driving back to anywhere further than 30 miles away as you will be exhausted by the end of the game, half hung over (three beers and not nearly enough water will do this, I promise), and with a minimum of 2 hours of traffic getting to Easley and Anderson.
I have to wonder about the “record” ticket sales in respect to the new IPTAY rules on seating. I know that a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon to get their IPTAY memberships started with high donations knowing that the generation seating is coming to an end. I think when the new rules come in that a respective drop will also be seen. But that is just my “fuzzy math”.
I’m still trying to figure out what all that hype was about regarding IPTAY receiving blank checks in the mail earlier in the year, huh. I’m trying to figure out how they are digging up all these donations in light of the fact the last two years were fantasticly disappointing. With this logic in place, if we were the USC of the last 15 years, there is a good chance Clemson would be the wealthiest football program in all of the NCAA.
If you mena USuCk then you would be right. if we were Southern Cal (whom I refer to as the real USC) then the players would be soaking in hot tubs made of platiunum after the games, so much money would be rolling in.