Note: The following appears in the Virginia Tech football digital gameday guide, available HERE.
When I came to Clemson in 1978, it did not take me long to understand that Homecoming at Clemson was a big deal.
I had come to Clemson from Notre Dame, a school with great traditions, but having a Homecoming extravaganza was not one of them.
Notre Dame had designated Homecoming weekend in the 1970s, but there was not much to it other than a performance by a big-time entertainer or band. When I was in school, Bob Hope and The Beach Boys were among the featured attractions. But those concerts and a few banners on the front of dorms were about it.
I was blown away at my first Clemson Homecoming by the floats on Bowman Field and how much the clever students put into the designs. I had only seen something like that in movies that were made in the 1940s.
Then, the Friday night before the game was Tigerama. My first year, 35,000 people showed up for Tigerama at Death Valley. The event featured fraternity and sorority skits, the Homecoming court and a fireworks display.
In recent years with the endorsement of Head Coach Dabo Swinney, the football team was among the list of organizations performing a skit. I remember his first year there was a skit entitled “Spiller” that was a takeoff on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Spiller could return kickoffs with much more flare than his imitation of Michael Jackson.
Dating to that first year, I have always believed Homecoming weekend was one of the most tangible examples of Clemson spirit.
One of my favorite stories about a Clemson Homecoming took place in 1976, 50 years ago yesterday as a matter of fact. The Tigers were in the middle of a difficult season with a 1-3-1 record and were playing Duke, who was 3-2.
It was a close game throughout and the outcome came down to the last play, a 57-yard field-goal attempt by Duke’s Vince Fusco. With the Tigers leading 18-15, Fusco made that kick from 57 yards, still the second longest in history against Clemson and still the longest by an opponent in Memorial Stadium. Only the famous 60-yard field goal by Kevin Butler at Georgia in 1984 is longer.
It was the ultimate heartbreaker because the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over, ending the game in a tie. It was the sixth field goal of the game for Fusco, still the most for a Tiger opponent.
Jane Robelot was a high school student attending her first game at Clemson. She had grown up a South Carolina fan with her close friend and my wife, Kaye Davis, and they planned to go to South Carolina. They used to take the bus to Columbia from Greenville to Gamecock basketball games when they were in high school.
That was the plan until Jane came to that Clemson vs. Duke Homecoming game with her brother in 1976.
“During that game, I saw the spirit of Clemson at its best,” recalled Robelot, who has gone on to a celebrated Hall of Fame career in television broadcasting, a career that continues today as a news anchor at WYFF in Greenville.
“Clemson was not having a good season, but the stadium was packed and the Clemson fans were into the game until the end, even when that field goal bounced over the crossbar.
“My brother took me by the floats on Bowman Field before the game and I had never seen anything like it. I remember being impressed with a float done by a group of engineering students. I loved the introduction of the Homecoming queen at halftime when they drove the court into the stadium in convertibles.
“I changed my mind that day. I was going to school at Clemson.”
I remember Robelot telling me that story when she worked for me and Bob Bradley in the sports information office, and it made me think of the impact Clemson football can have on important life decisions, and thus an impact on Clemson. She has gone on to be one of the most renowned and respected representatives of Clemson University.
A Homecoming game 50 years ago today had a lot to do with it.