So, I ventured over to Tnet to see if they were concious or had all hyperventilated into Dabo-aide induced comas and came to find the following.

There is a campaign trying to get Death Valley to go silent until the Tigers are at the top of the hill.

Supposedly this was attempted once before against Notre Dame as one elder recalls:

…Clemson’s fans had discovered the power of noise as a defensive weapon and had been using it with unabashed gusto.

Dan Devine, the Notre Dame head coach, penned an ill-advised letter warning Clemson fans that they’d better be more respectful of his team and their tradition when they came to town.

So…we were quiet. word spread around campus that week that we would give the BB Heads the silent treatment. It was reinforced Thursday night before the game when President RC Edwards addressed the students and said he didn’t want any unwelcomed noise until the kickoff.

And that’s how it was. Student volunteers spread the word (remember, no Internet or texting at the time) around the stadium the morning of the game. It was eerie quiet as the teams took their warmups. The only noise came from a small, but vocal, Notre Dame bunch.

When it was time for the pre-game the band came out and began marching. No Orange Bowl March, no Tiger Rag. I remember the guysin the press box opening the windows on a chilly afternoon because it was so quiet.

Then the buses appeared at the top of the Hill. The band lined up to form the tunnel. All was so dang quiet…

…then the cannon sounded.

And a wave of sound, a roaring that had never been heard before in the Valley poured from the stands. It was as if a generation of frustration, of being demeaned as “little ol’ Clemson” had found a focus in the disdain on Notre Dame’s head coach. It was unholy noise, screaming and shouting, like you might expect in Pickett’s Charge as it reached Cemetery Ridge.

That team would have walked through fire. Those fans would have gargled with ground glass, if it would have helped.

Alas, we were also facing a quarterback named Joe Montana that afternoon…

But it was the beginning of what truly made Death Valley a destroyer of dreams for opponents. The recognition that our fans can affect a game as much as any player.

And I pray we see the ereturn of that realization Saturday night.

So, umm, yeah….I don’t think this is possible. That is, of course, unless Dabo himself issues a decree to the student body and Orange and White faithful as well as dispense some media hounds through the tailgating like wildfire.

Not sure what I think about this….Death Valley should be loud from square one, but this could be interesting to actually “witness”, especially with the given environment and Death Valley’s propensity (SAT word!) to be a deafening hole of intimidation.

Posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm by Clem

Filed under Clemson.

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