***The following is a text message sent to our Clemson Family the morning of the 2019 season opener. Clemson was the reigning National Champion after going 15-0 in 2018 and capping the season with an evisceration of Alabama***
~Chapter 4416:
I’ve always wanted to walk into a job interview and the first question they ask is: “Have you ever just sat and stared at a map?” That’d be the job for me.
Anyway, I figure today’s the perfect day to stop and remind yourself of everything you have. For me, I wanted a pure bred yellow lab. I wanted a Chevy. I wanted a house. I wanted an amazing, stunningly beautiful wife. I wanted a son named Rivers. I wanted to be a forever sports fan of the University I graduated from. I wanted to help people. I wanted lifelong friends, best friends.
I got all of it and more than any man can ask for. It’s all for nothing without my wife. She’s the whole thing that makes it go, makes me go. Soak it up. Embrace it. Love it. Live it. I try to remind myself of that every day as I’m hungry looking for more, as you should be. Chase whatever you want, but don’t ever lose sight of what you have.
We’re re watching the natty and there’s 12:49 to go in the 2nd quarter, as Llyn is getting out of the inflatable hot tub and says: “they don’t score again.” Oh the gloriousness of that statement. The greatest team ever. Paul Finebaum’s wet dream that turned into a magical love child of a team. The GOAT team. That’s all I heard all season long. Even more of a GOAT team than Georgia is in the preseason every year. The flying Hawaii. Saban. The Crimson uniforms and white pants. All that money. All that power. All that conference support. All that tradition……Ass whipped from the onset in every fashion.
And it’s too much for them to even acknowledge we were the better team 9 months later?
“It was the grind of the SEC schedule.” -They won by 30 ppg and the Citadel gave them a better game than LSU did at night, in Baton Rouge. This isn’t the SEC Network, we don’t ignore facts here. Not to mention, we have our own network now.
“They were mentally fatigued.” -What the hell does that even mean? They thought too much? I guess that would explain that fake FG when we were in base defense.
“They were the better team.” -Ok Jake Bentley, good talk.
“Clemson was more rested because they had an easier path.” -So which one is it: The SEC grind is why SEC teams win in the postseason, or the schedule is too tough? Because I’ve heard these bull shit SEC excuses for 10+ years now and sounds to me like a giant load of Wisconsin fertilizer.
Felt like sending a text message to kickoff the season again, so I did. As I wrote this, and as I send it, I realized the game day texts were as much for me as they were for you. You all probably knew that, but sometimes it’s hard to see the forest through the trees. Thanks for reading all those, I needed it.
I had planned on sending this via US Mail to everyone written via type writer. No pictures, just good old fashioned US Mail, there could of been some logistical issues on getting them there in a timely manner but I trust the good people of America would get it done. There was nothing wrong with the newspaper, or the mail. I think we need to get back to some of the things we took for granted along the way. Being employed, having a child and a wife in school has its time constraints though. Plus I don’t have a typewriter so text message it is. It hasn’t happened yet by the way, walking into an interview and them asking if I’ve stared at a map that is, but it will. They’ll also recognize opening day of College Football as a holiday. I’ll find that job one day.
The world needs positivity more than ever right now so it can’t hurt to send one more of these.
“The answer to it all is love your neighbor,” just as our fearless leader Dabo has told us. Kindness. Courteous. Laughter. Compassion for others. Those things are all free and everyone has the ability to utilize them on a daily basis. Remember, if you pause, breathe, and live without technology for a minute; life comes down to 3 rudimentary things: Water, Food, and Love. Just ask my son, he’ll tell you, Water is Life. Think about how much of your life’s happiness revolves around those things? Why not annex the rest of the other bull shit in your life? Despite popular opinion, you possess the power every day to wake and do whatever the fuck you want. Do something positive every day with that power. Look someone in the eye. Shake someone’s hand and mean it. Listen. Be a friend. Be a great spouse. Be a father. Share your recipes. Laugh. Smile. Hold the door for everyone. Treat everyone with importance. Spare judgement. Pet a dog. Usher a Cat outside where they belong. Check your ego. Serve others……Selfishness only leads to loneliness.
Life moves faster than you think too. The best rendition I’ve heard of Black was not at a concert, wasn’t one of the 1000 times I’ve listened to the 15 different versions of the song, regardless of the surroundings. It was at Johnny O’Hagens (you remember that place Maz, that’s where the Zillich’s and Mazowieski’s took our first Mallort shot), before our first PJ concert. The perfect vibe, warm with the band feel, talking, thinking, loving, while sitting outside, and the entire bar inside goes full throat and breaks out in full chorus. Chills came over, I looked at Llyn and she got it. It was one of the many versions of perfection I’ve experienced in life. That’s the thing about life, if you don’t really live it, you miss it. Blink and you miss the moment, a moment you’ll never forget and can’t get back. So let’s not miss any moments this football season. Looking forward to many more of those moments next weekend with all of you.
It wasn’t long ago we all just wanted to beat Georgia Tech, let alone winning the Natty. We sit today as 36 point favorites and the toast of College Football, so whatever happens tonight, just enjoy it with your family and friends, but I gotta say, one gander at our depth chart and you gotta think we’re about to win by 50.
I’ll close the same way I did with Towe’s best man speech, “I’ve done a lot of things in this life, and I’ve only come up with two certainties: I love my wife, and your friends become your family.” That still rings true today, except you can add a third, we’re all National Champions for the 2nd Time in our lifetime while hungry and looking more. That’s pretty damn cool. Love it. Live it. Soak it up. Happy opening day, Clemson Family. Eric Church will always be the Titts. Go Tigers.~
***Post game look back:
I watched this game in my back yard with my family. What a glorious opening night experience of College Football. Those Clemson business suits shined on the new ACC Network as we rolled. It was clear early we had another fantastic football team and we were gonna be tough out in 2019. ETN looked like a blur and Isaiah Simmons showed just how special he was going to be in 2019. Clemson rolled as Tech was in the first game of a rebuild of the post Paul Johnson era. Tech had a couple of quick dudes at QB though, so it was nice to see the defense shut them down given that we had so many new faces on the Clemson D.
What I remember most: the weather was perfect that evening and the time outside watching the game with my wife in the shed was wonderful. We always wish we could be at the games in person, but manage to make the most of watching the games. Even when we can’t make it, we embrace the tradition that Clemson Football is an all day EXPERIENCE, that runs through your veins. This game was no different, but I remember this particular trouncing of Tech felt like a victory lap, celebrating the fact that we were now the premier program in the sport. The ACC Network, Death Valley shining at night, Kirk Herbstreit sitting on a Gameday set, turning around on camera in pregame to watch his boys warm up for the first time dawning the Paw. Special stuff. This was yet another great college football experience for me. Great wife, great food, and a great football team, as the game itself was never in doubt.
Living the Dream 