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.
My Visit to Greenville
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 2016and 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.
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.
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