Thursday, September 15, 2016

Go, Tech!

HERE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE memories of going to games as a spectator. My friend Todd and I went to a Clemson-Virginia Tech football game in the early to mid-1980s.

I don't know what year, but Bruce Smith, the future inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was playing for the Hokies, and William "Refrigerator" Perry was a Tiger that day.

We were sitting a couple of rows behind the Clemson band, and I wore my University of South Carolina cap. That probably didn't go over well at Death Valley, since Clemson and SC are mortal enemies. Unfortunately, it was the only cap I had at the time.

Every time Cyrus Lawrence would run for a first down for Tech, we'd jump up and cheer. Which wasn't that often, but we probably cheered several times.

Clemson won, and we were about to leave. The guy at the end of the row in front of us stopped and offered his hand. "That's the most I've ever enjoyed a game," he said, smiling at me.

No one else said anything else to me. Of course, I was probably the second-largest person in the stadium, behind Fridge Perry, although I can't say I was particularly intimidating.

If you're wondering, we had a great time.

P.S.: By the way, I didn't go to college at Tech. I graduated from Radford College (now University), also in Montgomery County, Va.
 

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK





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