Clemson Football: Wake Forest wasn’t wise to turn down Tigers’ offer
Wake Forest turned down an offer that would’ve been profitable for both Clemson football and the Demon Deacons
The 2020 Clemson football season will open up Saturday evening in Winston-Salem against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Though there will be millions of College Football fans tuning in to watch the match-up, there won’t be one single fan in the stands. Wake Forest announced just a couple of weeks ago that it wouldn’t allow fans in the stands for the home-opener against Clemson football.
That environment will certainly be different than anything we’ve seen before, but it didn’t have to be that way.
Tiger Illustrated’s Larry Williams reported that Clemson had proposed to Wake Forest that the game be moved to Death Valley– where fans would be allowed- and that they would split the gate with the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest said no.
Last month, Clemson proposed to Wake Forest that this week's opener be moved to Death Valley and offered to split the gate. Wake said no-thanks and it seems to be the smart move given ESPN GameDay's decision to originate from Wake. More here: https://t.co/BCbrwjvjMR
— Larry Williams (@LarryWilliamsTI) September 9, 2020
What could’ve been another chance for Clemson football fans was unwisely stomped out
One can always understand that Wake Forest wants to play its own home game. You don’t want to have to travel more than you have to and it’s always preferable to play the game in your home stadium.
That being said, this isn’t a normal year.
In a season where there’s money to be lost all around, Wake Forest could’ve split the gate with Clemson and come away with a decent-sized paycheck as a result.
Typically, one would say that it wouldn’t be fair to players to move the game. But it’s not as if they were going to get any type of a home field advantage or special atmosphere for their players anyway.
At the very least, Wake Forest would’ve gotten a payday out of it and a chance to play in at least some kind of fan-filled atmosphere- even with a social-distanced Death Valley in place.
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Yes, Wake Forest will host ESPN College GameDay and that’s a big deal since the program has never hosted the popular television show before but it’s going to be just that: A television show with no chance for its fans to interact whatsoever. Cash, on the other hand, speaks for itself.