Clemson football: Game week is finally here!

The first game week of 2020 has finally arrived for Clemson football.

The Clemson football offseason always drags by, but 2020 was a special type of offseason and one that we all hope to never have to experience ever again.

For months, we had no idea whether we would get here. Outside forces tried their best to take college football away from the athletes, coaches, and fans. Forces such as school presidents, chancellors, politicians, and actual college football reporters tried their best to take away something that means a lot to a lot of people.

Game week is a special time where we finalize the who, what, and where we are watching the game.

This season those three questions have different answers than in previous years. Who we are watching the game with, what we are eating and drinking, and where we are watching the game take on different meanings for tens of thousands of Clemson football fans who will not be attending games this season.

Hopefully, all of you will be able to gather with a few friends and extended family members wherever you may be.

Game week provides a sense of normalcy for Clemson football players and fans alike.

The players finally get to settle into a routine that is needed in order to establish normalcy that they have not had in 2020. From having their spring practices cut short, being sent home for months without knowing when they could come back, to finding contentment in a bubble where they are secluded from what they know as normal – game week will give them a sense of normalcy.

Game weeks have a different feel to them.

Anticipation is a drug that we all crave and it makes time do weird things. Waiting for kickoff can make the workday pass quickly while it makes Saturday afternoon drag on like it was March and April 2020 – you know the two months that seemed to have 6,480 days in them.

Anticipation gives us the jitters like those that you experience on a first date with a person you have wanted to go out with for months. As we get older, that euphoric feeling is harder to find but we are able to experience that ever 12 to 15 times a year with Clemson football.

The excitement provided by college football cannot be found anywhere else and there is nothing like a Clemson football game week. Thankfully our first one is finally here.