Hello, First Friday!
First Friday! First Friday! First Friday!
Can you tell I’m a little excited about it? You may be wondering “What the heck is first Friday?” First Friday is the first Friday {obviously} of the first home game of football season. Clemson has a first Friday parade and all things football gets kicked off.
This first Friday is special though because ESPN Gameday is in Clemson for the Georgia game. They’ve been setting up on Bowman field the past couple days and it looks like an ESPN studio out there. This weekend hundreds of thousands of people will cram in to this small college town and the atmosphere will be crazy!
This time of year always takes me back to my days as a Clemson cheerleader. There are no words to describe the feeling of being in Death Valley, with 80,000 fans, cheering on the Tigers. Other than marrying Cory and finding Jesus, it has been the greatest experience of my life.
I’ve told people before that although I loved the adrenaline rush of the Tigers running down the hill, the cannons and balloons, running of the flag and screaming fans what I loved most was being in the stadium when it was completely empty. On game days we had to be there hours before the game started and would head to the stadium two hours before kick off. In a stadium the size of Death Valley, you feel so small when you are standing on the field and the seats are bare. It really allowed me to put things in perspective and was always a few moments of peace before the craziness started.
I will always treasure my time as a Clemson cheerleader. It made for one heck of a busy senior year but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Needless to say, I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be a great day of tailgating, family & friends and FOOTBALL!
Enjoy your weekend and Go Tigers!