Southern Cal, Clemson, and the Old Stone Church Cemetery

Sept 26th 2008 - Written by: John Webb

Our Tigers have a tradition of rubbing the rock on Saturday afternoons. Early one recent Saturday before a game, we rubbed headstones in the Old Stone Church Cemetery on Cherry Road. I know that we weren’t the first to celebrate our ritual that day, because the landscape was dotted with orange and white balloons, tiger rags, and pom-poms that marked Clemson matriarchs and patriarchs who are no longer with us. That Saturday was the first time that my soon-to-officially-be-adopted 3 year old sons shared in this family tradition with their two brothers. We sat down and I told stories about a quiet, frugal woman and a gentle, serious, formal man who attended over 50 years of Clemson games wearing an orange blazer and tie – our family matriarch and patriarch who bear remembering.

I just barely made it back in town for the game. I spent the previous week in beautiful, sunny, glamorous Southern California…on business. Fortunately I was there the week leading up to the The Real USC/The Ohio State game. Remember? It was hyped on ESPN 24 hours/day for the past 4 or 5 months? Is it not ringing a bell? Let me set the stage.

My head was filled with endless facts and figures about this game. I could have been granted a medical degree based on my knowledge of Beanie Wells’ toe. The talking heads had assured me that the second coming of Christ will take a back seat to this game. (Would you expect less from a sport which, in its professional manifestation, has dedicated itself to being the new primary identity of Sunday?) My work day complete, I drove up the 5 from San Diego (you know that Los Angeles is self-important if people feel the need to precede road numbers with the definite article). I got off the interstate close to the Southern Cal campus, that Mecca of all things football.

I saw several guys wearing red, but I quickly got the impression that they were not Trojan fans. Being careful not to flash any signs, wear the wrong colors, or brag about how we roll on the east coast, I proceeded two blocks to USC’s main campus. Things are a little different in Los Angeles. I really wanted to talk to some hard core football fans who had matched my anticipation for the game. No such luck. No car flags. No USC t-shirts. No atmosphere. Actually, there was one girl out jogging with a USC shirt on. I wanted to talk to her about the game, but I’m a little out of shape, and I didn’t know how bystanders would feel about me chasing a 20 year old coed down the street. So…mainly there was just traffic. I went over to the Coliseum – finding fans there would be a sure bet. The roadies building the ESPN Gameday set were nice guys, but the only students around were guys playing soccer. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure that they were students, and I’m not sure that they all spoke English, but at least they were not packing heat like the first upstanding citizens I met a couple of blocks over. I am really not sure why a kid would be dying to come here to play football.

Then I watched the game on Saturday. USC 35 Ohio State 3. Okay, I get it. Or, I thought I did. USC 21 Oregon State 27.

Prediction: there will be zero stories in the media about how Southern Cal is choking away another season under Pete Carroll after losing to completely overmatched Oregon State (twice), UCLA, and Stanford teams.

Prediction: there will be 2432 stories in the media about how Clemson is choking away another season under Tommy Bowden if we lose to a ranked Wake Forest Team.

It just so happened that I was in the car in Los Angeles in the hours before the USC/Oregon State game, so I got to listen to a lot of the USC pre-game radio show (people would have to tailgate for them to call it the tailgate show.) My, oh my, are they high on their Trojans. And having a rowdy atmosphere at a pep rally at a bar where some celebrities show up (along with that dandy horse, Traveler!) means you are a rabid fan base. Admittedly, I did enjoy the mockery of UCLA. Apparently UCLA has bought advertising in the hometown papers of their opponents, because they can’t come close to selling out the Rose Bowl on their own. That’s pretty pathetic.

So, USC beat Ohio State but lost to Oregon State. What does it mean? It means that life stinks for everybody sometimes, and it has stunk to the high heavens for Clemson for 17 years in a row. I have a habit now of not listening to our press conferences, even after we win. I just can’t do it anymore. The difference between Clemson and Southern Cal is that Southern Cal can shrug off a loss to Oregon State because of conference championships and national championships, but a Clemson loss to Alabama makes you want to stick your head in the oven because you have nothing left to hang your hat on.

You know, disasters happen. (Consider clothing in the 1970’s?) Let’s call it a confluence of unlikely events. I could make an argument for Clemson losing every single game left on the schedule. It would involve: 1) injuries 2) poor chemistry 3) stronger than expected opponents 4) poor coaching 5) weather 6) and other various factors. Remarkably, many in the fan base see this as a possibility, based on the message boards.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s a little curious how things turn out. I once said goodbye to one of my kids in the emergency room when he coded. I thought he was done; he’ll be at the next game with me. I have absolutely no confidence that we will beat Maryland, but I would welcome a pleasant surprise.

Occasionally teams need time to find their way. One time someone asked Daniel Boone if he had ever been lost. He replied, “No, but I was once bewildered for about 3 days.” I don’t care if Tommy Bowden owns up to being bewildered for a little while, just so long as our team finds itself one of these Saturdays.

Everything else notwithstanding, there is one touch point Clemson boasts that Southern Cal does not. I rubbed it when I rubbed headstones in the Old Stone Church Cemetery on Cherry Road. Clemson football allowed me to grow closer with a quiet, frugal woman and a gentle, serious, formal man who attended over 50 years of Clemson games wearing an orange blazer and tie – my matriarch and patriarch who were remarkable people, but hard to know without a little help from days spent together at Clemson games.

If you would like to comment on this column then you can email John Webb at sectionHrowJ@gmail.com.