Saturday I covered my first game at Clemson, thought I'd give some impressions from the sidelines about the game and my overall experience:
--The Clemson entrance is pretty cool. It's the "most exciting 25 seconds in college football," and I can see why. Funny thing--media is place right alongside the goalposts. The players, for those who have been or see it on TV, run right alongside the goalposts. Now, during the entrance itself, everything was fine...but beforehand, a lot of us were pretty (understandably) nervous about being run over by a lineman...or by Dabo, he's a fired up dude.
--Speaking of Dabo, after the game he greeted every CCU player he saw with, "finish strong." Good message for the team...and a very good message from the coach that just beat your team pretty handily.
--Shooting highlights is incredibly easy at Clemson compared to other college stadiums. Williams-Brice is notoriously difficult, with a lot of alumni down on the sidelines. There were a lot of alums at Clemson Memorial, too, but they stood behind a line a few feet behind where media was. We media types try to stay out of the way of these fans...not standing in front of them. It's nice, however, to not have to squeeze between two pepople to get a shot of a big play.
--Sad we didn't see more of CJ Spiller. I think he's one of the most dynamic players in the country, and I was excited to see him at work. It was basically a bye week for him...could help Clemson long term. CCU also didn't kick to him on kickoffs, which got them booed but ultimately was probably a good idea.
--Death Valley wasn't that loud, BUT I understand why. I'm not holding it against you, Tiger fans. I'm a big fan of the college football experience, stadiums, traditions...I would've liked to have been blown away by the sound, but it was a 1:30pm game against CCU in the rain. I get why it wasn't loud, though. Hopefully I'll be back soon.
--Media overflow parking is about 3/4 of a mile away from and maybe 1500 feet below the stadium. It's far, and down a hill. Fortunately I got a golf cart ride. If I didn't...I may have just turned around and drove back.
Anyway, had a great time...I made unbelievable time getting there, too. I was proud of myself for that. Looking forward to one...or more...games at Williams-Brice later this season!
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