The Rilvary

Today is the day.

Clemson v. South Carolina.

This is the best part of being a fan. The day of ultimate rilvary. I can not tell you the amount of smacktalk I have read from Facebook and Twitter. All the apparel and decorations that mark an ultimate fan are out. Flags, magnets, stickers, sweat shirts, tshirts, pants, hats, scarves, etc., and I could go on. Today is the day to be in on the look out. If you live in the state of South Carolina or are just passing through, don't be frightened, this is normal.

What about a rivalry brings out the ultimate fandom??
One thing that really pops out is the opportunity to smacktalk/bragging rights. With an in-state rivalry, your best friend, your neighbor, your coworker, you name it, they could be apart of your "enemy" aka your rival. With this proximity of your opponent and like, Clemson v. South Carolina, there is also history there is no way you will not smacktalk. Well we have this...and our running back has done this. From the beginning of time your grandpa's grandpa's whatever has been a fan of this certain team and then your neighbor has been the same for the other so from the beginning of the season you are saying, "Just wait till we play, your team won't know what hit ya." Then you have the bragging rights. Each season that game sets up the bragging rights. I know for a fact that if we win tonight...we will brag we beat the SEC East Champs for the rest of the yr and if USC wins then they will brag that they beat us, the...um...just Clemson haha, but there will be bragging. There is no doubt about that. That is just what the ultimate fan is going to do. Smack talk until they win bragging rights or their team does something stupid to lose the game.

So when I think about ultimate fans, I definitely think about rivalries. They bring out every bit of ultimate fandom that anyone can think of.

Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Rivalry Holiday Ornament

Is there crying in sports?

Is there crying in sports? Are you a real fan if you cry or just a wimp? Is it extreme or extremely lame?

There are always moments in every ultimate fan's life that they just want to cry after watching the team play...I would know after this season with the Tigers. Sometimes a person wants to cry out of excitement, most of the time people cry out of total upset. The question is: Is there crying in sports??

I think after a loss it is perfectly ok to be upset but I don't know if crying is acceptable.
Tony Romo did it?

But I am still not sure if that makes it alright. All the toughest coaches would say, "There is no crying is baseball!"

Every time I see a fan "caught" on television crying in the stands I INSTANTLY think of this movie moment. Tom Hanks screaming that there is no crying in baseball. I would kind of have to agree with him in other sports as well. Unless you have lost a bet, broken a bone/bleeding profusely or your dog died, I do not see a reason for you crying in public about sports. Okay okay, there are the exceptions, such as losing a close Championship game or being the person that caused the last minute lose of an important game. Even at those moments though I would question whether it is worth getting caught on camera like this:

I felt this Clemson fan's pain at this Georgia Tech game but the announcers and just about everyone else watching tv was either embarrassed or totally laughing. I felt it man, but be a man and hold it in until you get away from the cameras.

This man, I will give it to him, he is a Cubs fan...constant heartaches. He also has a good friend there to comfort him. He also is kind of hiding it well. You could almost think he is just wiping the sweat from his brow.

In conclusion, you kind of just have to decide for yourself, sympathy or crybaby? Me, depends on the situation, but I'd have to agree with Tom Hanks for the most part...

SUPERFAN Day 9 - Day 30

 This is my way of being a fan...I have slacked on my blogging, but I definitely haven't slacked on being a fan. 30 days straight...I did it! I dominated, of course I knew I could due to the fact that I have a gazillion Clemson shirts. haha

 Ok, now time to move on...to find some other extreme fans...

(Yes, I know this isn't all of the pictures <<cough>> stupid computer <<cough>>

Day 8

Champs numero 2

This is the first t-shirt I have won in intramural football. It made me really mad because I didn't get the size I wanted because it doesn't exactly fit but it was a great reminder of a team that busted its butt to finish a great season.

I just like this shirt so much, if it just fit it would be worn a whole lot more. I think it is silly that they gave us all shirts that do not fit, prob not their fault, but I wish it fit.

Enough complaints...

Day 7

This is one of my most favorite shirts. This was my one and only mission trip that I went on with FCA. I love it! Went to New Orleans and worked on a woman's house. We basically destructed a house. We tore down so many walls and cleaned out so many rooms. It was crazy how much mold we ran into. We got to read the sweet masks though. This t-shirt is a great reminder of what we got to do for the initiative to clean up New Orleans.

Day 6

This day I wore my first friday shirt a little out of order. Yes it was not friday but it was a white cute comfy t-shirt and I was going for a run so it worked out just right. This shirt was bought during my "shirt for every event" freshmen year. I bought a shirt for everything.

I think I bought every shirt Clemson sold on campus. It probably was a total scam but I love it! It definitely added on to my ability to complete this challenge given to me by the youth group.

Big Thursday has been going on since the rivalry of South Carolina and Clemson began. It is the night we all gather around and bury the chicken. There is a whole ceremony and everything. It is intensely AWESOME! It is always the Thursday before the Saturday of the rivalry game. It is a big chance for everyone all over campus and even some others to get pumped and ready for the game to come!

Day 5

Day five was the one day I was worried about...Sunday, hmm, what can I wear to church?? Well, I got a little creative and a little indie rock (thanks robert). I put on a vest, skirt and this shirt...

This shirt normally would be innapropriate. This was my free shirt from The Tiger Newspaper. It says "We Put Out On Fridays" meaning we put the newspaper out on fridays. Yeah...I didn't choose this shirt or pay for it, it was free! So I covered it up and wore a vest...creative! Then later on I changed it up so I could take off the vest.

Because of our awesome win on Saturday I put on my cutest Tiger football t-shirt! WAY appropriate. Yay!

Day 4

CHAMPS!!

This shirt defined my athletic career after high school. I just loved intramural sports. This was our most recent win. We won the all girls 5v5 basketball championship. It was the "last" win.

Gettin' Painted Up

Football season has started. Just imagine, you get there 3 hours early and set up your tailgate. Mmm, does it smell good all ready, hotdogs, hamburgers, bbq...yum and so much more. TV's are blaring, conversations are constant, "who is going to start", "yeah I heard that", and things of the sort. Families, friends and classmates just enjoying a great saturday.

After stuffing your face for a few hours and check all the scores you roll into the game. You go to the gate, you get your ticket torn and you head to your seat (which you have sat in for years) and you look to your right toward the student section and you see this...

"What the heck?" To many this is a true Clemson fan. There are students who have spent hours (or days) to paint themselves up for every game. Rain or shine, hot or cold, regardless of what is going on...this is them on game day. You may even be this person and ode to you, this is skill and dedication.

I use to think this was crazy and I felt bad for the person who was next to them and got paint all over the side of his/her arm. Once I became a Clemson student though I wished I had that dedication. I wished I was that cool.

This is one of the messy ways to be an ultimate fan. This is stepping out of the box, especially this guy, he didn't just paint up orange or purple he has style, he tiger striped it up. I am not going to lie, I really want a pair of those sunglasses (hint hint).

So you want to be an ultimate fan, buy a gallon of (orange) paint and I will see you on TV tomorrow!

Day 3

Day 3: Solid Orange Friday


Game day is one day away. For years, especially for the last four years for me, the tradition for all Clemson students, alumni, faculty, and fans alike are suppose to wear SOLID ORANGE. This is a part of being an ultimate fan! regardless of who we play or how we did the week before we put on the solid orange to get ready, to get pumped and start game day now.

Today's shirt was my first First Friday t-shirt as a freshman at Clemson! I remember every moment of it! What a game we had against Florida Atlantic University. I am pretty sure I cried that day (just a little) because I was FINALLY a Clemson student. Do you remember that? The first realization you were actually there? I was finally a true tiger!

Four years seems like forever. It only feels that way until you graduate. You walk across the stage and you look back and think "Four years did not last long enough". I miss it a lot and tomorrows game is going to be weird, I am missing my first home game in four years because I do not have a ticket (or atleast one I could afford). It is ok though, because a new part of my life is starting. Do worry, I will be at many other home games this year and many years to come, it is just going to be a little different.

Day 2

Day 2: Rally In The Valley

Welcome tod day 2 of the 30 days of Clemson shirts! lol Of course it isn't much of a challenge yet, actually I don't think it will be at all except for maybe making sure I don't wear the same on twice! haha Which would be easy to do.

This shirt is from Clemson FCA Rally in the Valley from 2008. Oh the memories I have from each Rally In The Valley. If you are involved in a FCA at a high school or youth group you should definitely bring your kids to this.

There are always really amazing speakers and it is a great time for groups from all over the state to get together and worship!

What kind of experiences do you  have t-shirts from that everytime you put on that shirt you just...smile?

Heart of an Athlete, Excellence: The Heart and Soul in Sports, FCA Digital Locker Room Resources (DVD & CD-Rom) (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), The Heart of a Coach: Daily Devotions for Leading by Example

30 Days of Clemson Shirts, Day 1

Today, was the day. I started the youth groups' challenge of 30 straight days of different Clemson shirts.

The Rules Are:

1. Must wear a Clemson shirt. (duh)
2. It must be a different shirt everyday, no exceptions

Day 1:

 I actually chose this shirt by accident. This was my very first shirt as a Clemson student. I just love this shirt. It has more memories than any other shirt that I own. I still do not know how it has lasted as long as it has, but that's what makes it so great. I think t-shirts have to be the biggest sellers to the ultimate fans. Every fan has a t-shirt. Sure, the ultimate fan splurges on the foam finger, the crazy mascot hat or some plaid team colored pants but the ultimate fan has THE t-shirt. You buy one for every special game, for each themed moment and for every event/organization. The is one for everything and I am sure I have got them (most of them free of course lol) but I sure have a ton of them!

Today was a good day to wear it too, I had an interview with Clemson's Youth Learning Institute in Pickens today. Prayers. I think I rocked it, now its up to them...

How to be an ultimate fan!

Is there really an exact way to be an ultimate fan? I don't think so, but I wanted to give some of the tips I have received over the years and some of the ways I have shown I have been a fan as a Clemson Tiger! Go Tigers!

College football season is just days away and I constantly have flashbacks to the book we read in my senior seminar class last semester called "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" by Warren St (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania). John. It was seriously one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It is a serious examination of "obsessed" fandom or even just an ultimate fan. When I read that book, I thought instantly of people I knew lol. Some of them are not as extreme but I know they go to extreme lengths to see our Tigers play. A definite must read!

Anyways, to start my fandom craziness, I am proving my fan craziness but wearing a months worth of Clemson related t-shirts for the month of September. 30 days of Clemson! (a challenge made by the HHBC youth). Each day I am going to post a pic of me and my shirt of the day!

So, get excited, here comes college football and all the fanatics that come with it!