Dear Reader:

It’s hard to believe that the day has finally arrived that Clemson fans, players, families, and coaches have dreamed about for a long time…decades in fact. I have enjoyed reading all the newspaper articles and watching the sports on television and regardless of the outcome…I am going to miss all the anticipatory excitement leading up to this day.

It is kind of like Christmas…when we look back on our childhood memories…what we remember more than the actual day was all the fun getting there. Would we get that special toy, gift or not? Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn’t but we never lost the ability to get excited about the next Christmas.

When I reflect over this special, special season of Clemson football…I realize that I would have enjoyed the experience more if I could have gotten rid of the notion (sooner) that I was somehow personally responsible for the outcome of any and all games by my actions. (or lack of…)

We think we are “civilized” adults until the games of chance appear and then we go back to cave man superstitions and rituals. For me…it is running back and forth from the computer to the game (if I am at home)….I find that I just can’t sit through a Clemson game….I am on the prowl like some big game cat.

I turn down the volume sometimes so I can’t hear either the wild cheering or loud sighs from the crowd when the team is striving to get an important third down, or field goal, or touchdown. I, also, find myself peeking through my fingers to see if they made it through the gridiron.

When things get really “hairy” I retreat to my deck and just plain start praying….my prayers start out with an apology for bothering God about a little football game but if God could just help us out one more time…I would be eternally thankful.

And the thing is….I can handle  loss so it is not me, myself that gets the rest of me stirred up but like mothers from  ages past…I know how happy it will make Walsh and Tommy and mothers love seeing their children (even adult children) happy.

And quite honestly, this year, I have wanted the wins so badly for our scrappy, adorable coach by the name of Dabo. He is such a wonderful mentor and role model for the team and so deserving.

After taking down all the Christmas decorations this year…I decided for a national college football title year…a special Clemson designated area was quite justified….I have newspaper clippings, Sports Illustrated magazines, photos, Tiger rags, purple scarf, one of Honey’s clay SC trees with purple and orange, and my annual Christmas ornament…a Clemson tiger who I put on the tip-top branch of the Christmas tree… right under Ruthie the Angel this year….striving for the highest!

I do have certain paraphernalia that I keep close during the games…a red sponge clown nose ball to squeeze when I get nervous….and somehow, in this demented brain of mine, I feel like I must prowl, squeeze, and wear one of several different orange shirts or socks or somehow I will have let the team down….I blew it for them.

I have heard stories of fans (even players) not washing a t-shirt through the whole season (Whew!) or carrying a lucky token in their pocket, putting their cap on backwards at a certain angle…and I get the feeling that lots of other people feel responsible, too, for the outcome by their own personal actions. This is a tough cross to bear and certainly takes the enjoyment out of a game.

So I have thrown caution to the wind….I am wearing some new orange attire to watch the game at Sam and Donna Clark’s house this evening, and simply by talking about the game in this pre- game blog post …I have broken my tradition of not mentioning the game in the blog until the day after the game.

I just want to simply enjoy every minute of this amazing season and final game….hey, the way I look at it…Alabama has already lost one game this season….if for any reason we don’t win, we’re just tied as national champions….and that will be my story about it to re-tell in years to come.

Dabo actually helped me out with all this self-imposed martyrdom when he was asked if Alabama being able to meet twice more than his team was a handicap for Clemson ( they couldn’t leave earlier because of the school schedule) and Dabo laughed and said,  (paraphrase)”Not at all…whether we win or lose will certainly not be determined by our inability to have two more meetings before the game….if we lose it will be because the other team played better than we did on a given night.”

So until tomorrow….if there are any other “semi-demented” folks like myself who put the whole weight of the outcome of a game on their shoulders by performing or not performing strange rituals ….let me set you free right now! By simply watching and pulling for the team, shouting and cheering them on, and yes,  praying… we have all done our respective part in the game of chance. We have been “ALL IN.” The team has to do the rest… GO TIGERS!!!!!

“Today is my favorite day”   Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too!)

• Nancy O’Dell, anchor woman on Entertainment Tonight, and a Clemson graduate…was true to her word….she wore an orange gown on the red carpet at the Golden Globes Awards last night for Clemson….go Nancy!

P.S. I did send Rudolph a message….just to be on the safe side! (He gets paid over-time after Christmas)….but well worth it!

Even though the idea of “bringing home the national title” gives  us Clemson fans  goose bumps….bringing little Caleb home to visit his Grandmother “B” (Brookie) for the first time is a trophy far above a national title for anything,  especially for one Ya I know.