Clemson Football: What it was like to experience Death Valley during a pandemic

What was it like to attend a Clemson football home game during the pandemic?

It wasn’t that long ago that we weren’t entirely sure if we’d see Clemson football play a game this fall, but now we’ve seen the Tigers on the field twice and things seem to be going according to plan so far.

Though Clemson football opened up the 2020 season in front of no fans on the road at Wake Forest, the story was a little different for the Tigers’ first home game. An announced crowd of more than 18,600 fans were in attendance for the matchup between the Tigers and The Citadel Saturday afternoon and they were treated to an explosive first half that saw Clemson come away with a 49-0 victory.

But what about the experience off the field?

Here’s what it was like to be a Clemson football fan attending a home game during the pandemic

I’ll start by saying that both Jeff Benedict and myself were at the game Saturday- though we sat in different sections- and the first major thing that I noticed was when I got out of my car and felt that crisp 69-degree weather. It was a perfect day for football without a cloud in the sky and the traffic coming into Clemson felt like nothing more than a normal Monday.

The arrival time on our ticket was between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.- so we knew we wouldn’t have the opportunity to watch much of warm-ups. That being said, we made our way through downtown Clemson- where it was still busy, but noticeably much less trafficked than what you’d see on a normal game day- and began our trek towards the stadium.

Upon arrival at the stadium, they were social distancing gates by allowing Tiger fans to enter through several different lines. Our mobile tickets were scanned and we entered the stadium.

We got into our seats a few minutes after 3:15 p.m. to take in the rest of warm-ups and witness the pregame festivities. It was a bit surreal to see the Tiger Band on the hill and we noticed that many of the orange chairbacks were still empty- even as game time approached.

The amount of space you get in social-distanced Death Valley can’t be understated. We were well further away than six feet from the nearest Clemson football fan and it was actually kind of nice to be able to spread out and relax. Another thing I noticed fairly quickly was the amount of empty chairbacks in the south upper deck where the Clemson students were sitting. I’m not sure if they simply didn’t sell those tickets or if students didn’t show up, but there was a large volume of empty seats in that area.

Though 18,000 fans are nowhere near what we’re used to in Death Valley, the crowd could still get loud when it wanted to. Though the overall atmosphere seemed casual throughout the afternoon, there were still times where we heard the crowd roar.

While we’re talking about fan noise, I will also go ahead and point out that the piped-in crowd noise coming from the scoreboard was noticeable and I hope it’s something that is worked on as the season progresses.

Another thing I noticed was the relative quietness of Tiger Band. Every band member has a cover on the end of their instrument to help with droplets coming through. That does, however, make the instruments quieter than usual and there likely aren’t quite as many band members this year, either, due to the social distancing they are doing on the hill, along with the cheerleaders, rally cats and Tiger mascots.

What about concession stands and bathrooms? As you’ve probably already seen, there were markers on the ground for where Clemson football fans should stand as they wait to go into the bathroom or get concessions. Those lines were relatively low in our section the couple of times we went and the only concessions available were prepackaged foods, like candy, popcorn, roasted peanuts and the like.

Overall, it was a good day for Clemson football and an excellent trip to Death Valley. There are certainly differences from what we’ve come to know and love in the past, but it was still a blessing and an absolute privilege to be able to be in Clemson Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon and I believe the vast majority of Tiger fans who were there would echo the same sentiments.