Last week was the first home football game. It was at 3 in the afternoon, and still scorching HOT and humid!!! We have tickets to each of the home games, but I don't think I will be going to all of them until October, because that is when it starts to cool down here, unless it's a night game. Let's just say they refer to the stadium and this area as, "Death Valley". It may not be for how hot it is here, but I think that could work too. It was a lot of fun to see everyone decked out in their Clemson gear. I think the coolest part of the game is the beginning when the football team pulls up in two huge buses, jumps out and gathers at the top of the stadium where they prepare to run down the hill onto the field. On their way down, they all touch "Howard's Rock". This is a rock that was given to Frank Howard, the coach in the early 1960's, by a friend and Clemson graduate. The rock came from "Death Valley" California to "Death Valley" South Carolina. After keeping it in his office for a while he tried to get rid of it, but it was placed on a pedestal at the top of the east end zone where the team ran by it before every game. That first game, they ran by the rock, Clemson beat their rival Virginia by 5 points, and the coach took it as a sign and it has now become a tradition. From now on, the team runs by and touches the rock for good luck before running down there hill into the stadium. This is considered the most exciting 25 seconds in all of college football.
Steve touching Howard's Rock
The football players at the top of the hill ready to run down after touching the rock for good luck.
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