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!