Tiger Talk Responses

Q: I am a 1988 graduate currently living in Northern Virginia. I truly appreciate all the wonderful aspects of football games and especially Homecoming. I do have one question, and I realize you might not have any control over this wiht broadcast rights – but is there any way to have the game played at 2 or even later? When the game is at noon it is so hard to see all the people you want to see beforehand, and people like me who come to this very game (in our case, one game a year) we really do want to see as many people as we can while tailgating. It’s important to us to meet up with those we haven’t seen in ages, and when there is a noon game time is really tight. –Jill in Richmond, VAA: I sympathize with your desires to spend time with old classmates before games, and I truly believe that is an integral part of the gameday experience. Traditionally, Clemson Football would prefer to kickoff at 1:00. This time allows for the enhanced tailgaiting and reunion activities that you have mentioned, while also providing an opportunity to travel home at a decent hour for those folks travelling from 3 to 5 hours after the ball game. Unfortunately, television companies tend to have the final say in terms of kickoff times. As of today, the kickoff time for the 2005 homecoming game has not been determined. Nevertheless, when given options for kickoff times we generally try to balance the pregame festivities and postgame travel issues when making our decision.Q: If you are Solid Orange and the football team comes out in purple jerseys, does that not go against Solid Orange? –Bob in Newberry, SCA: The players like the configuration of orange pants and purple jersey with orange helmet. For whatever reason, they feel good about playing in that color scheme. If they feel good in that color scheme, then I’m for it. That does not run counter to our Solid Orange efforts whatsoever. As most probably know, Clemson’s colors are burnt orange and northwestern purple. Up until the 1959 Sugar Bowl game, Clemson had always primarily worn orange. In order to provide a sharper contrast for the nationwide television Broadcast for the Sugar Bowl, Clemson wore navy blue jerseys. As it turns out, Clemson had an excellent chance to win that game. A costly mistake with the snap on a punt led to LSU’s only touchdown. And with the 7-0 victory over Clemson, LSU went on to win the National Championship that year. That was the beginning of the evolution to the purple jerseys we have today. The purple jersey is part of our history. When our players put the purple on, it is part of our tradition and legacy. Wearing purple as part of our uniform scheme is not going against Solid Orange.