It has been a long road. We used to say "At least we have a championship caliber tailgate!" 6-5 seasons. Faxing bowls to let us in the Humanitarian bowl in Boise Idaho on the snow covered Blue turf. Butt whippings in the no name Orlando bowl. West Virginia beat down. Thinking the Scar game was the biggest event of the year even though the teams had a combined .500 record and 12 viewers watching outside the SC state borders. South Florida whipping the Tigers in the Car Care bowl. And my favorite, the annual perennial - if Florida State loses 3 times and we beat everybody else on our schedule, we can still make the ACC Champ game! The best part of all those years was hanging out in Lot 1 with friends and family those 7 sacred Saturdays a year. Approaching 20 years and 150 days hanging out in the same spot with somewhat delusional expectations.
My how times have changed. The pendulum has swung. 2 National Championships in 3 years including a 15-0 team. 4 straight playoff appearances. Empty travel budget. It doesn't seem real after all those years of getting stomped by Wake Forest.
But it is real and I plan to enjoy every minute of it while it lasts. Dabo says the best it still yet to come. What is better than it is now? It will be fun to see.
Eventually the pendulum will swing back. It always does. The fans will not want to go back to Belk bowls. The descent will be as interesting as the build. I hope the pendulum stays stuck and the ride continues. I hope my wallet and vacation day bank hold up until the Best arrives. This is the Glory Years of Clemson Football. What a time to be a Clemson Tiger!
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