Clemson Football: Tiger Nation, you are being trolled

Clemson Football has a lot of great traditions, official or unofficial. One of them has been the Gathering at the Paw.

The Gathering was formalized as “official” in 2003, but it has “unofficially” existed for decades. Coach Frank Howard encouraged Clemson’s students & fans to enter the field at Memorial Stadium soon after it opened in 1942. He believed it was a great way for people to interact with the players. While many conferences & universities frown upon such things in this era, Clemson has always embraced it.

That doesn’t mean other schools don’t have students on the field after games, but in many places, it only happens when students rush the field after huge home victories. Tennessee, for example, justifiably rushed the field at Neyland Stadium after their first win against Alabama in fifteen years.

Sometimes those situations can be quite chaotic. It can mean potential damage to the venue (goalposts in the river) or physical altercations with players (see this example here). Those are not bad reasons to discourage rushing the field except in the most extreme circumstances.

The Gathering at the Paw isn’t the same as rushing the field. It isn’t chaotic, frenzied, or out of control. Most Saturdays it is quite laid back, especially for noon kickoffs. This past Saturday was understandably a bit more energetic, as Clemson needed a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Syracuse and keep their winning streaks intact.

I would argue that the tradition of Gathering at the Paw has probably conditioned Clemson fans to act with more composure when the inevitable thriller games happen at Death Valley. A lot of those people have been on the field before and know what to expect with opposing coaches and players exiting to the locker rooms.

One thing that has become as regular as Clemson gathering on the field after home games are the inevitable social media posts about Clemson fans ‘rushing the field’ after a win.

https://twitter.com/Pickswise/status/1583907587107397632?s=20&t=Y-_J8zB7R39QNF647bfxsA

Those posts are always – and I stress always – followed by Clemson fans being defensive.

Heck, even we did it.

Sometimes, instead of having someone tell you what you want to hear, you need someone to tell you what you need to hear: Yes, some people probably are ignorant of Clemson traditions. Before social media, I think a lot of college football fans had no idea about the Gathering at the Paw. Now it’s 2023, and most aren’t ignorant anymore. Especially most of the people making those tweets.

By responding to tweets, Clemson football fans are letting the internet win

Clemson fans, you’re being trolled. They know it irritates you, they know you can’t look the other way, and they are enjoying every second of you seething over it.

There, I said it. Clemson Nation, you are getting owned and you deserve it. You are the ones letting them own you. I don’t know how many times I have seen Clemson fans troll other fanbases like South Carolina and Ohio State claiming Clemson lives rent-free inside their heads.

Clemson fans: the people posting about Clemson rushing the field are living rent-free inside your heads.

I’m telling you what you need to hear: grow a backbone and quit being marks.