Regarding Clemson University

It has been nearly 10 years since I have visited a new college stadium outside of the many that I worked for while traveling for Sportvision. Well thanks to my cousin Marc's recent relocation to Greenville, SC I was finally able to add another major college stadium off my bucket list. That just happened to be the defending 2018 football champion Clemson Tigers. It was an incredible experience to witness southern football at it's finest and thanks to various surprises from Marc. It will go down as one of the most memorable sports experiences of all time for me.


My Visit to Greenville

The past five years now I have made 4 trips to visit my cousin Marc and his family, usually around the end of October. The first visit was in Kansas City in 2014, then Bowling Green, KY in 2016 and 2018, and now just recently to South Carolina. I enjoy these visits because it gives me a chance to visit with family yet also I enjoy seeing the countryside during the fall time. The drive to Greenville was an 8 hour journey thru the Appalachian Mountains, that seemed to fly by for me. I had a car rental, some mixed CDs, and was quite awe-inspired by the mighty Smokey Mountains.

I arrived to Greenville Friday evening and caught Logan's baseball game. We then had a nice pasta dinner, watched some Star Wars, and went to bed early. The next morning Marc and I ran a 10k in downtown Greenville, which was a nice town. We relaxed that afternoon then set off for Clemson University for the big night time football game against Boston College which was an incredible experience. It was about an hour drive from Greenville.

On Sunday we took it easy around the house all day, worked on a puzzle and watched The Empire Strikes Back. Around lunch time Brett, Logan, Marc, and myself went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Lions defeat the Giants. That evening we played some tennis and had a nice turkey dinner that Laura made. I left early Monday morning for what was yet again another perfect visit with my cousin. They always do such a great job hosting.


Clemson Football

Now the chance to catch a Clemson football game was no doubt the top highlight for me. The college has always been a formidable southern school (winning their first championship in 1981), yet under head coach Dabo Swinney the program has experienced a major resurgence in the past 10 years. Dabo has taken the school to 3 national titles, winning 2 in 2016
and 2018. Although they are not in the much superior SEC conference they have dominated their ACC conference the past few years and have beaten the behemoth Alabama several times now in the championship game. The team is led by their superstar sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is the epitome of a California surfer dude. It will be interesting to see how longer he lasts playing college and when he will enter the NFL draft.

So my experience at Memorial Stadium with Marc went above and beyond expectations. We got there around 3ish and planned to scalp some parking tickets. We were able to find a good deal near the stadium however had a hard time finding exactly where the lot was located. After a little bit of asking around we finally found it and were situated in our spot by around 4pm. We had a cooler of beer and played various drinking games as well as tossed the football around. We both were pretty sloshed up by around 6pm. Marc insisted that we arrive early to the game in order to catch the band marching in.

We walked around the stadium which was an awesome environment of drunken orange Clemson students, alumni, and fans galore. We eventually got to the back of the stadium and stood along a hill to watch the band come marching into the stadium. This was very cool to see. We then got into the stadium and Marc devised a plan to sneak in some Bud Lights thru the fence which we did. He then surprised me with VIP suite seats, which included an all you can eat buffet. We caught the team run down the hill, as is their tradition, and caught the game in great seats. Clemson got off to a great start and by the end of the 1st quarter it seemed pretty clear that Boston College was no match for them.

However Marc was not satisfied with our VIP seats and took the surprise to another level. As I was pouring our Bud lights in plastic cups he managed to sneak us into the President's VIP club. This had a buffet, an incredible view, yet even better was an all paid for bar. Marc had pulled the ultimate con trick and spent the night hobnobbing with wealthy folk. It was a hilarious scene like something from the movie Wedding Crashers. I had several Stella Artois, some hot dogs, desserts, and enjoyed the game thru indoor seats thru a glass window. This was already on par with my VIP experience at Old Trafford. However Marc took it even a step further after this.

Both of us were quite drunk by the end of the game and Marc was suddenly on a mission to get us on the field. As the fans poured out of the stadium, we went further into it, down the levels, down the stairs, and somehow Marc was able to convince the security guards to allow us on the field. At this point it had started to downpour and Marc and I played catch on the field which was amazing. After sometime the fans had to leave the field. Marc and I had some trouble finding our car but were eventually able to get there and get home. It was a once in a lifetime experience in which Clemson football will always hold a place in my heart now, much thanks to cousin Marc. 

Detroit vs Everybody

After yet another controversial loss for my Detroit Lions in last night's Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers, I feel it is time to vent some major frustration. As a lifelong Lions fan, I have seen many of these close games go against us by a few terrible officiating calls. Of course there is always the argument that we should play better than the refs, but in today's NFL it seems every game is decided by just a few crucial plays in the fourth quarter. And what really burns me more than anything is when the referees steal the outcome with a terrible controversial call.

In this post I want to touch upon the many instances in recent franchise history where the referees have literally stolen a victory from the Detroit Lions. Sure this will come off as petty sore-loser complaining, but every Lions fan can attest to the unfair biased decisions we have received.

It has given birth to the moniker, Detroit Vs Everybody, which emphasizes the disrespect the Lions have always received from the media, the league, and especially the game officials. As far as I can remember the Lions have rarely received the benefit of the doubt. I won't get into any conspiracy or corruption theories however do believe that the city of Detroit simply has a negative connotation associated to it and thus because of that, tight decisions always seem to go unfavorable for our team.

I'm only going to highlight instances from the past 10 years, in which I have become a much more dedicated fan in my post-college/working class years. (I have been a fan of the Detroit Lions since 1996, when I was 12). I have not missed a Detroit Lions game for several years now which has not always been easy living in Indianapolis where the games are never on local broadcast. Over the past 10 years I've seen some good times, a lot of mediocrity, some bad times, and just far too many heartbreaking losses at the hands of poor officiating.


September 12th, 2010: Season Opener against the Chicago Bears

I remember this one quite well as I watched it with some college friends at Audrey's house. I was excited for my new life living in Indianapolis and was fully on-board to follow my Detroit Lions that year. However their season opener was robbed by one of the most controversial calls in NFL history, the infamous "no-catch". With the game on the line, 24 seconds in the 4th quarter, Shaun Hill threw a 25 yard pass to Calvin Johnson who made an incredible catch and the touchdown was signaled. However upon further review the refs came to the decision that Megatron did not complete the catch process. While he had clear control of the ball, the refs felt that he did not survive the ground as he intentionally dropped it to celebrate the game winning touchdown. This was one of those splitting hair decisions that could have gone either way, and is just one of many instances where the Lions got the unfavorable vote.


January 4th, 2015: NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys

I remember watching this game at my place with my fellow Lions fan and neighbor Josh. We were quite excited with the early start the Lions got off to taking a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter. However the game got much more choppy later on, and the Cowboys began to gain momentum. In the fourth quarter with 8:20 to go, Stafford threw a pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew which was called a pass interference and would have given the Lions the first down in good field possession to score more points. However the refs for some odd reason decided to reverse this decision against the Lions, which forced them to punt and the Cowboys were able to respond with a game winning drive.


October 5th, 2015: Monday Night Football against the Seahawks

I remember this season we had a good team however a tough early schedule and were win-less after 3 weeks. However the Monday Night Football game in week 4 against the Seahawks was a very tight game and could have provided the Lions with a much needed victory. With a minute to go in the 4th quarter the Lions were driving for the go-ahead touch down. Stafford threw a pass to Calvin Johnson who nearly reached into the endzone, however the ball was punched loose by Kam Chancellor. The officials ruled this as a fumble and gave possession to the Seattle Seahawks at the 20 yard line where they were able to close out the game. However according to rules, the Lions should have been allowed to retain possession after this play in which they could have at least tied it with a field goal. Once again a major incorrect mistake by the referees that was unfavorable for the Lions. 


December 3rd, 2015: Thursday Night Football against the Packers (Motown Miracle)

I remember at this point in the season we were 4-7 and although it was going to be a long shot to make the playoffs we had some major momentum going on a 3 game winning streak. And once again as the Lions often do, we got off to a great start in the 1st quarter then began to let the game slip from us. And as Aaron Rodgers often does he began to heat up in the 4th quarter. However the game should have been over before Rodgers got his infamous chance to win it with the "motown miracle" hail mary pass. With 6 seconds to go the Packers began a last ditch effort of tosses that eventually ended up back to Rodgers who was tackled with no time left. However the refs as per usual made a terrible call in awarding Rodgers a face-mask and thus one more play. Upon replay Rodgers face-mask was never touched, he only twisted his head in a way to make it look as such. This was an unfair incorrect call that allowed Rodgers to break everyone's heart at Ford Field on the following play. This was perhaps the hardest loss for me to swallow as a Lions fan.


September 24th, 2017: Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons

I remember watching this one a couple years ago with some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings. Our team was off to a good start that season, undefeated at 2-0 and it seemed we were about to be 3-0 facing the Atlanta Falcons. With 10 seconds to go in the 4th quarter, Stafford threw a go-ahead touchdown to Golden Tate which should have sealed the deal. However yet again the refs decided to play spoiler to the poor Lions fans, by not only reversing the touchdown indicating that Tate was short of the goal-line, but also applying a 10-second run-off on the clock, which ended the game. Thus the refs made two controversial decisions in this one that stole the victory from the Detroit Lions.


October 14th, 2019: Monday Night Football against the Packers

This was the final straw for me as I saw this as an important game for us to take the lead in the division. The Packers are no doubt a good team this year, especially at their home field in Lambeau, and with one of the all time greats Aaron Rodgers leading them. But if you watched that game last night, you felt the Lions were the better team and deserved the win. Sure they settled for far too many field goals instead of touchdowns, but it shouldn't matter if victory was in their hands. It was stolen from them yet again by the referees on these 3 poor decisions (there were several other poor calls against the Lions that I will not mention)

• 4th quarter (10:16) 3rd and 10; Aaron Rodgers is sacked which would force the Packers to punt, however DE Trey Flowers is flagged for illegal use of hands to the face. Upon watching the replay it is clear this was not the case and it was a completely incorrect call. Nonetheless the Packers get the first down from the bad call, and were then able to score a touchdown on the same drive.
• 4th quarter (7:08) 2nd and 6; Matthew Stafford throws a deep pass to Marvin Jones, in which he is clearly interfered with. However no call from the refs. To be fair Matt Patricia could have and should have challenged this but he did not. Nonetheless the poor no-call caused the Lions to punt it away
• 4th quarter (1:45) 3rd and 4: Aaron Rodgers throws an incomplete pass which will cause them to attempt the field goal and give the Lions one last chance at an offensive drive. However the referees yet again decide to screw us by making another incorrect call on Trey Flowers for hands to the face. This unfair call right here was the final dagger that stole the game from the Lions and handed the Packers a major divisional win.    

Detroit vs Everybody

I realize that bad calls tend to go both ways and we have certainly had our share of favorable close calls. But I cannot think of an instance where the game was rewarded to us from a bad unfair call from the officials. I cannot think of a victory that left a sour taste in my mouth the way Aaron Rodgers felt last night (or these other winning teams in the games I mentioned above). There's no question the Lions have been a bad team for many years now, but they have also been a very unlucky team! In order for our franchise to ever stand a chance we need fair officiating at every game. This is the greatest league in the world, with the greatest athletes, and thus it should have the greatest officiating structure in place.