I'm Goin Home! Who's Comin With Me?

Ask me where I'm from and I'll tell you New York. However ask me where I grew up and that answer is Greenville, SC. Greenville is the 3rd largest city in the Palmetto State behind the capital Columbia, and a city that was vital to our nation's founding, Charleston. About 45 minutes from Greenville is a small town called Clemson which is home to a not so small Clemson University. Clemson is a university rich in tradition that has gained national notoriety for many of its science and engineering programs amongst other academic achievements.

Athletically Clemson has been successful in many sports, turning out a plethora of pro athletes from Khalil Green (MLB) to Dale Davis (NBA) to US National Soccer Team member Oguchi Onyewu (who plays club fútbol for AC Milan). However our version of football, is without a doubt the sport by which Tiger fans live and die. MTSU will get to see this first hand this weekend as the Blue Raiders travel to Death Valley to take on the Orange and White, and as I travel home to watch the game I'm inviting you to come with me; here are 5 reasons why:

1) You should support your Blue Raiders!

First and foremost you should support your school. Not from home, but from the stands. I understand you can't go to every road game but this one is a) not absurdly far away and b) is on a long weekend. This is the perfect chance for you to be on the sidelines and show your Blue Raider pride at an away game. So no excuses! Be Loud! Be Proud! Be Blue!

2) Its not often you see passion like this.

As I said, Clemson fans live and die with their football team. Even if we filled our stadium with die hard Blue Raider fans, we

still wouldn't be close to what the experience is at Death Valley simply because Clemson's home turf has 80,000 seats while ours has less than half of that. For a true sports fan there's nothing like watching a game in that kind of atmosphere, seeing so many people come together for one cause. Hopefully on September 5th, that will be a losing cause but that's neither here nor there.

3) "The Most Exciting 25 Seconds in College Football"

Whether the above statement is true or not is clearly up for debate, however there is no arguing watching Clemson's pre-game tradition is a truly unique experience, one that must be seen in person to fully understand. Three buses full of players pull up to the stadium at which point the players pile off the bus, through the gate and to the top of "the hill." There they wait, giddy with anticipation, for their turn to touch Howard's rock and run full boar down the hill. It's a tradition that's over a half century old and you can see it simply if you make the trip.

4) "At Running Back...#28...C.J. Spiller"

You may have seen guys who are fast. But unless you've been to an Olympic track meet, you've never seen someone this fast. C.J. Spiller is a potential Heisman Candidate (if Clemson is a factor at all in the ACC) and is considered one of the top 5 and maybe even 3 running backs in the country. In his spare time he also runs track to the tune of a 10.22 100m time. Simply put he's blazing fast, but unlike someone like Trindon Holliday of LSU, Spiller can also run people over as opposed to running around them. He will almost certainly be a first round pick in next April's NFL Draft and probably could have been this year if he hadn't chosen to come back for his senior season. It's also worth noting that as absurdly fast as Spiller is, he's not even the fastest player on Clemson's roster. That honor belongs to starting receiver Jacoby Ford (#6) who was the only person who beat Spiller in the 100 meters at their NCAA Regional Meet. However, Ford's personal best of 10.01 in the 100m is his second most impressive time. Coming out of High School he was clocked at 4.126 in the 40 yard dash meaning he could seriously challenge Chris Johnson's record time at the NFL Combine in the spring should Ford choose to go pro in football and be invited to workout. Simply put, if you like to see guys who run fast, you need to be at this game!

5) Upstate South Carolina is Gorgeous!!!

You've got the whole weekend so you might as well use it. Upstate South Carolina has about everything you could ask for in a weekend getaway. Clemson is on Lake Hartwell which sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can go hiking, rent a boat, go fishing, or simply stay on Clemson's campus which has plenty of nice green space to sit by itself. If you're more of a city person than the extra 45 minute drive to my hometown will definitely be worth your while. Greenville is a big city compared to Murfreesboro but tiny compared to somewhere like Atlanta, meaning its big enough to have all the different shops, restaurants, and boutiques of a big city, yet small enough so that you don't feel like you don't have space to breathe, nevertheless move on the sidewalks. Greenville also has Falls Park, which features a gorgeous suspension bridge overlooking Reedy River Falls (pictured) as well as plenty of grassy areas to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

There you have it, the top 5 reasons to travel with your Blue Raiders this weekend to Clemson. Consider this your official invitation to my home, the Palmetto State. See ya there!

I Hate You

Its no secret what drives sports.  It's the fans.  It's my teams better than yours and you're gonna like it.  This is taken to the extreme in rivalries.  This is the case for two reasons.  One, rivalries are often geographic and thus the fans know each other and the smack talk is real.  And, two, the players often don't like each other and this elevates the rivalry to a whole new level.  Two rivalries in sports often seem to transcend all others and I have a rooting interest in both: Yankees/Red Sox and Duke/UNC.  And since the Tarheels and my beloved Blue Devils are squaring off this weekend I figured I'd explore these rivalries and some other ones that make sports great.

1) Yankees/Red Sox

I'm not going to rank the rivalries because I haven't been able to experience all of them but if I was this one would no doubt be number 1 for one simple reason, it's a national rivalry.  No matter where you go there are always Yankees fans and there are always Red Sox fans.  It's "the nation" vs "the evil empire".  It's hard for people in the south to understand the depth of this rivalry because its a pro sports rivalry but up north, where this rivalry is centered, fans have the passion for pro sports that fans down south have for collegiate teams.  That being said all rivalries are made by the moments and no rivalry has the moments that Yankees/Red Sox has.  From Bucky "Bleepin" Dent to fights to Aaron "Bleepin" Boone to more fights this rivalry has enough moments to make the ESPN montage people giddy.  The next element of a rivalry is history.  This rivalry involves two of the most storied franchises in baseball history.  The Yankees: 26-time world champions and many of the greatest names ever to play the game.  And the Red Sox: 4-time world champions, also many great players, and one of the most storied title droughts in sports history. 

That's where this rivalry gets fun (and for me as a Yankees fan starts to suck): in 2004 the Yankees and Red Sox were playing in the ALCS and the Yankees had a 3-0 lead in the series and a lead in the 9th inning of what should have been the decisive game 4.  Instead the Red Sox had a 9th inning comeback and the first 3-0 series comeback in MLB history with the aid of a bloody sock and a few idiots and more history in this rivalry was made.  It's this combination of monumental moments mixed with monumental history that elevates this rivalry above all others.

2) Duke/UNC

This weekend the #1 and #3 teams in the country are meeting in Pittsburgh yet you've heard nothing about it.  Instead you've only heard what's going to happen in Chapel Hill where Duke and UNC will square off yet again.  These teams always meet twice a year and often a third time in the finals of the ACC tournament and every time is an event.  This rivalry has every aspect of the Yankees/Red Sox matchup except the national fan bases.  It has the names: Jordan, Carter, Stackhouse, Wallace, and Felton for UNC and Hill, Lattener, Redick, Williams, and Battier for Duke that are permanently printed in college basketball history (not to mention that Hansbrough fellow who will pass Redick as the ACC's all-time leading scorer by the end of the year).  It also has the moments: Jason Capel's half-court shot in '94, Chris Duhon's reverse lay-up ten years later, Gerald Henderson breaking Psycho-T's nose, and of course Speedo Guy.  Finally it has the history:  the teams have met 124 straight times when at least one of the two teams were ranked, including 65 when both have been.  Also as a fun fact, the first ever "air-ball" chant occurred in this rivalry per the Cameron Crazies.

3) Intrastate Hate

In some states there are a multitude of teams that all can't stand each other.  Florida has Miami, Florida, and Miami in a triangle of football powerhouses.  California has USC, UCLA, and Cal all in the LA area.  Texas has Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M.  These states don't seem to have the hatred that states like South Carolina, Alabama, Oregon, and Arizona which all have 2 premier athletic schools both of which are state schools.  Clemson and South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama, Oregon and Oregon State, and Arizona and Arizona State all divide their respective states in two.  Even if you are a fan of another team you like one more than the other.  You have no choice.  Now add in the various fights (see Clemson/USC in 2004 with Dr. Lou in the middle), daily trash talk, and recruiting battles and you've got what makes sports great on a day to day basis.

4) Ohio State/Michigan

In terms of passion college football probably takes the cake nationwide and Ohio State/Michigan is historically the cream of the crop when it comes to college football rivalries.  Heisman winners such as George, Howard, Woodson, and Archie Griffin (the only two-time winner) have laced it up in The Big House and The Horseshoe for THE Ohio State and the Maize and Blue.  This rivalry however hit its peak in an era known as the ten-year war from 1969-1978 when Bo Schembechler was walking the sides for Michigan and Woody Hayes for Ohio State.  Schembechler was an assistant under Hayes and an Ohio State grad who invented what it meant to be a Michigan man.  Over the ten year period Michigan went 5-4-1 giving the student a slight edge over the teacher.  Since the ten year war the rivalry has continued to be one of the greatest in sports giving us moments like Desmond Howard striking the Heisman and Charles Woodson paying homage to him years later.  Also in 2006 it gave us a thrilling #1 vs #2 match up on the last Saturday before Thanksgiving for a spot in the national title game.

5) Other Honorable Mentions

There are many other great rivalries in sports and there are many top 5, top ten, and top (insert number of rivalries you want to rank here) lists out there and here are a few that always make those lists:

• Cubs vs Cardinals-Two franchises with great history and a great rivalry because of their division battles and close proximity.
• Pittsburgh vs West Virginia-called "The Backyard Brawl", these two rivals play every year in football at the end of the season and in recent years Pittsburgh has ruined high hopes for West Virginia including a shot at the national title game in 2007.
• Celtics vs Lakers-This rivalry is finally back after a 20 year hiatus by the Celtics from basketball's elite.  It all started in the 60's and hit its height in the 80's with the epic battles between Magic and Bird and is now fresh again with Kobe and crew versus the Big 3.

These are just some of the rivalries that make sports great.  There are many more from the pros all the way down to rec leagues across the country.  All of these rivalries have their unique aspects yet all have the same ingredients that make them great.  So as you sit down to watch Duke and UNC hopefully battle twice in a week remember you're watching part of history.  So pick a side and root hard.  And if you pick the lighter shade of blue, I won't like you.  Nothing personal though.