You see that huge dip in my traffic? That day is September 2nd, also known as opening day.
Apparently when my friends and I travel to be sans internet for a day to watch college football my web empire goes straight down the crapper.
Back to my day job…
Holy cow! What a weekend!
In accordance with prophesy, I spent the majority of my Saturday parked in my living room in front of two TVs (Friday night I gave serious consideration to buying a third.)
Starting with the most important game of the day, Clemson upset #9 ranked FSU. This was a game that the pundits had circled months ago. It was dramatic and it has far reaching impacts in the quest for ACC and national championships.
The quote from one of the announcers really sums up the first half for Clemson. “Well it’s a strange way to get to 14.”
Clemson scored a touchdown only to have the extra point blocked and returned for a 2 point safety. Clemson 6, FSU 2.
Clemson drove again, settling for a field goal attempt. It was blocked and returned for 6, + the PAT. Clemson 6, FSU 9.
Apparently the Clemson placekicking and FSU offense were somewhere else during the first half.
Clemson drove for another touchdown, this time opting to go for the 2 point conversion. Clemson 14, FSU 9.
More after the half:
During last week’s Clemson-BC telecast, the announcers mentioned several times the “new tradition” Boston College had implemented. Someone decided that they needed to be like other schools. So they obtained a big eagle for their players to rub before the game a la Howard’s Rock.
Wowed by the awesome display of traveling well, BC figured it better attempt to copy another Clemson tradition.
This unplanned tradition began when Clemson fans wanted to make a point about their economic impact to folks in Atlanta and around Georgia Tech. So when they traveled to games they started using $2 bills. It was a good idea that worked. It lives on to this day.
And now even the people of Boston have learned the lesson.
Moscaritolo [head of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau] estimates Clemson fans pumped more than $1.5 million into Boston’s economy.
“Oh my God, they were all over the city,” Moscaritolo said. “Clemson pretty clearly demonstrates their reputation. They are a team that travels well.”
Now BC officials and fans are mulling their own gimmick to demonstrate the economic power of Eagles supporters when the team hits the road in the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference.
BC’s [senior media relations officer] Oslin suggested one-upping rival Clemson.
“Let’s put it on a $20 bill if people want to do that,” he said.
Well I hope Boston College can use all those twenties to buy a clue. Their plan is doomed to fail for a number of reasons.
Reason number 1: Boston College doesn’t travel that well. Does anybody believe that BC fans dropped 1.5 million into the Clemson economy last year?
Reason number 2: In fact they don’t even stand out in their own home city. If they pull something off, they’ll be demonstrating their own lack of economic power.
Reason number 3: $20 bills don’t stand out. People notice a $2. They really notice when they have a lot of orange ink on them. A $20 with a maroon eagle probably won’t raise eyebrows.
And will someone explain to these twits that traditions don’t start just because some executive says they should?
But in all fairness, they did beat Clemson. Again. Damnit.
Fortunately I am not moving. Nor is this blog. Nope the other one has and it has been a pain. in. my. butt.
Our Clemson sports blog, The Sporting Gnomes now resides on its own server at sportinggnomes.com. It would have been moved to thesportinggnomes.com, but a day after I looked to see if it was available, someone registered it. Those dirty rats! And unlike Jeremy, we weren’t propositioned by AOL to blog for them.
For the time being, it is still published through blogger (which still causes me great pain) even though we’ll be transitioning to Wordpress soon enough. Basically I just need the time to properly set up a good theme. (And yes I know it looks like crap in Internet Explorer. Blame Canada, and then blame Microsoft.)
Two drunken rants ago, I complained about the sports media being whores. Prostitutes. Hookers. Those willing to sell themselves. (Of course I put the sports media on the same page as all media — they have the same goals if different source material).
I was particularly enraged by the pre-game hype surrounding the South Carolina/Georgia game. Historically this has been a close game. However, the Gamecocks barely squeaked by a particularly lame Mississippi State team in week 1. Had most pundits predicted a close game with a Georgia victory, it wouldn’t have been so surprising. But most predicted a UGA loss. Most egregious of all were the writers and editors at southernpigskin. All 4 picked USCe. They obviously are making picks not based on the school or the team. They are picking based on the coach’s name. You’d have thought they would have learned from Lou Holtz.
Experts indeed.
South Carolina never had a chance and the 18-0 score makes the point. The media will gladly create a conflict where there isn’t one for the sake of selling a game.
In other games:
Clemson shot itself in the foot at Boston College. The Tigers allowed about 200 kickoff return yards. Yeah, that will fuck up your gameplan. On the upside, Clemson plays a Florida State team that nearly got knocked off by Troy in Tallahassee.
Ohio State knocked off Texas. Yup, replacing an all-world quarterback with a freshman is a recipe for not being able to knock off a #1 team.
Notre Dame crushed Penn State. I hate Notre Dame. I like Penn State. PSU is replacing a valuable quarterback. I still don’t believe Notre Dame is that good (I’ll take Michigan next week). PSU has returned to the form they enjoyed a few years ago. In short, Penn State just isn’t that good.
UVA barely skirted by Wyoming in overtime, 13-12. In week 1 the Hoos got pummeled by Pittsburgh. I expect that Western Michigan is going to give them problems next week.
Duke, who got shut out by D-IAA Richmond last week, went to Wake Forest and gave the Deacs everything they could handle. If not for last-second heroics/luck, the Blue Devils would have notched a decent road win.
And in other signs that football is dead in the Research Triangle, NC State ended up on the wrong end of the stick against Akron. Last week the Puppies were mightily challenged by Appalachian State.
The ACC is looking extremely weak this year.
UPDATE: Marcus at the Atlantic Coast Chronicles makes the ACC case better than I was able (yes, yes, I still find pictures to be better than words).
The weekend went just about as well I could have hoped.
I escaped Charlottesville Friday before the power went out due to Ernesto. It just goes to show that Monty Python’s “run away” strategy is often valid.
I made it to Charlotte in one piece, stopping at Casa de Wha. We firmed up the weekend strategy & plans and finished all the preparations for Saturday’s tailgate.
And all those plans went accordingly on Saturday. Except that we forgot to plan to bring proper grilling utensils. I, as grillmaster, had to make due with plastic forks (about 6 to 8, they can only be used for so long before they deform). And you know what? I did pretty damn good — I didn’t even singe very much arm hair. The game went well with a 54-6 final score. A few more drinks were enjoyed afterward before we packed everything up and got the fuck out of town… running away again. Or a strategic retreat, perhaps?
The trip from Charlotte to Charlottesville on Sunday was good except for a few notable drivers who all seemed to be from New Jersey. Even Sunday night was fun.
What a weekend!
