Thank You, Clemson

Campus News General NC State Administration Tradition14

What was it about NC State’s game with Clemson last week that was so eye-opening to Wolfpackers?

First, Brett Jensen went from being a below-average hack to a superstar in this awesome piece about NC State’s Athletics Administration. (SFN feels like that piece got lost in the shuffle over the weekend so we encourage you to check it out.)

Now, NC State’s Technician is writing about their experience out there in the real world in Death Valley. This fantastic piece titled “Clemson has it right” focuses on the family atmosphere and environment fostered by Clemson’s administration. If only Clemson could have Jim Oblinger and Tom Stafford show them the way to proper risk management!!

You see, at NC State risk management = risk avoidance. It is the ONLY way to insure that the University becomes a commuter school with no Wolfstocks, no lawn parties, no band parties, no post-big-win-celebrations, limited tailgating, no greek system of which to speak, no Hillsborough Street to enjoy and absolutely no social fabric to connect current students or to bridge the current student body to the alums of old. The University has done a fantabulous job of achieving these risk-free goals!! Bravo, Mr. Stafford!!

Tailgating restrictions are a good thing. Rushing the field is deadly. And football games at N.C. State are true family events.

I hear it all the time from this University’s administration and security forces.

And as I found out this weekend at Clemson, those three statements are lies.

I’m sick of being lied to, and I want to know why it’s happening.

Tailgating at Clemson is truly a family event. Memorial Stadium fits 81,000 fans and it appears the vast majority of those fans are tailgating hours before kickoff. There is alcohol, and therefore, there is drunkenness. But more importantly, there are smiles. There are good times and memories. Fans are happy.

No, I’m not going to transfer to Clemson. I don’t like Clemson more than State. In fact, I love my University. I’m just sick of its leaders lying to me while they kill or squash my traditions. Students and alumni, there is only one home game left this season, but we cannot — we absolutely cannot — let these issues die.

You should definitely click here for more background on this and some very relevant discussion.

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Campus News General NC State Administration Tradition

14 Responses to Thank You, Clemson

  1. TNCSU 11/16/2006 at 10:34 AM #

    Clemson and South Carolina have some of the most loyal, die-hard fans out there! We could learn alot from both of those schools. I agree with you guys on this one!

  2. cfpack03 11/16/2006 at 10:57 AM #

    I was in Clemson for the game too, and it clearly is a different atmosphere than ours. We weren’t harrassed at all (and we were not in the WPC section but surrounded by orange, ) and I witnessed nor heard of any harrassment of the visiting fans at all. There were rows left intentionally open in their permit lots for extra tailgating or gaming space. And it seemed fans were just more relaxed and were in attendance to have fun, (instead of craming their preparation into 4 hrs).
    I’d be interested to hear the visiting fan’s opinion of Carter-Finley.

  3. packbackr04 11/16/2006 at 11:11 AM #

    great article in the technician. and all fact. NC state admin can not and will not stop people from getting drunk by limiting tailgaiting time. People who are going to drink a bottle of wild turkey will do it in 10 mins or in 8 hours… it doesnt matter. some people go there to cause problems, and limiting the tailgating time does not deter those people. Men and women in Raleigh Police uniforms deter those people. Take a note Lee, get your hands of the gallon size bottle of jergens hand lotion in your office and make some decisions that will help the university

  4. redfred2 11/16/2006 at 11:55 AM #

    Clemson has been that way forever. It’s the best place to experience the feel of what college football should be, of any school in the ACC. For pure football excitement and build up, along with a great atmosphere all the way around, it’s hard to beat any game in Death Valley.

    I hate to keep harping on it, but the first NC State BBall game of the season was a joke from a fan’s standpoint, and my own personal viewpoint. It pure T STUNK!!! Especially when considering everything that FIRST GAME stood for!!! NC State is a slap it on a plate, get it over and done with, and get them out the door, ROADSIDE DINER. The image projected to the public does not hold a candle in comparison to other universities in the ACC. It’s more like Mars Hill.

    There is just no imagination anywhere to be found in Raleigh anymore.

    If someone from Clemson University took the time, and felt justified, to write about how our coaches are just following the lead of NC State’s mundane leadership, how can anyone argue the fact? This current administration reeks from the top down, and has, for too many years already.

  5. 94wolfpack 11/16/2006 at 12:05 PM #

    “NC state admin can not and will not stop people from getting drunk by limiting tailgaiting time.”

    I agree with you … ~90%. Think of it this way; Its like putting a lock on your door. Who are you keeping out? You are keeping people out who have no intention of breaking into your home. Much like me … I have no intention of getting drunk at a football game however if I tailgate for 6 hrs instead of 4hrs the chances of my casual drinking catching up with me are greater the longer amount of time i am drinking. While I doubt the “casual drinkers” are the ones the admin is trying to control I do think that it is nieve to believe that drinking for longer periods of time will not have ANY effect on those that are drinking. (This is probably why there are last calls at 2:00am)

    Whats the solution? I don’t know. I do know that the FG lots needed to be cleaned up. The “fans” who were abusive to visiting fans was embarrasing to me.

    All that to say … I don’t like the 4 hr rule either but the arguments that limiting tailgating time have no effect on people getting drunk is nieve IMHO. If you want to argue against it for different reasons well then you’d probably have my support.

  6. packbackr04 11/16/2006 at 12:40 PM #

    94 wolf^ I do think that it is nieve to believe that drinking for longer periods of time will not have ANY effect on those that are drinking.

    i completely agree with you on that. but as you pointed the casual drinkers are not the one that the admin is trying to control. This is a 2 yr delayed knee jerk reaction to the shooting a few years ago. And it is pathetic on Fowlers part to think this will solve any problems. As always, the actions of a few have caused problems and dilemnas for the many.

    My final thought on this is, if we are trying to build a football culture and a tradition for wolfpack football fans then why limit tailgating. do you think Georgia limits tailgating? OSU? Auburn? FLorida? these great football schools are all built around tradition, and part of that tradition is tailgating. why take that away when you are trying to build a tradition. to me this is just another example of how disconnected lee fowler is with reality.

  7. legacyman 11/16/2006 at 12:40 PM #

    If Klempson had an unsupervised renegade parking lot then probably they have had some incidents similar to if not as bad as us. Didn’t the University take over the responsiblity for the parking there after the incident?

    Allowing any drunken clown to enter that parking lot was an invitation to disaster. Allow only those with game tickets and use police to enforce it. Sadly we have to do these things now with a rampant disregard for others being throughout our society.

  8. redfred2 11/16/2006 at 1:45 PM #

    If you’ve ever gone to a game in death valley, it’s not just a football game, it’s an event, and it’s treated that way. People show respect and act differently as a whole.

    I don’t know how to create that in Raleigh, but it’s a great model to go by.

  9. BladenWolf 11/16/2006 at 2:52 PM #

    ^redfred2
    Agreed. I’ve been going to ballgames at Carter Finley for a long time now and although our facilities have made great strides and the improvements are staggering, our fan base and how we conduct ourselves as a whole, is going down the tubes. Hey… back in the day, I was an inebriated student at a few games myself, but I never pissed in the stands and cursed at children wearing the other teams colors…that’s the kind of shit that EZU fans do.. not us. But go to a night game these days and you might not know the difference bewteen Finley and Ficklen.
    We need a paradigm shift if we are going to have an atmosphere like some of the other great stadiums. It’s more than shiny new facilties… it’s collective respectful behavior. And like they say… Respect is earned and not given.

  10. class of 74 11/16/2006 at 3:22 PM #

    I don’t agree with our admin but with today’s litigious society is there any wonder why, after a couple of incidents like we had, they would go over board? I’ll bet if any of the ACC school had a shooting in their lot they would probably overreact too. Again, I do not like it but I can see why.

  11. StateFans 11/16/2006 at 6:03 PM #

    ^ The shooting was not in the University’s lot, was it?

    It was in the State Fair Grounds lot.

    I don’t feel real unsafe inside C-F’s WPC lots.

  12. class of 74 11/16/2006 at 6:29 PM #

    I don’t feel unsafe there either unless a John Edwards type is looking for a honeypot and an excuse to go to trial then I’m nervous.

  13. highstick 11/16/2006 at 11:01 PM #

    Heck guys, I’m still longing for the good old days when we used to take our coolers into Carter-Finley! I guess those days are gone????

    I remember when they said you couldn’t take your fried chicken in, but the beer in the cooler was ok. I guess we had a little more self control then.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » Tailgating Talk: Another Hour - 05/10/2007

    […] Later in the year, this (really good) entry discussed the topic framed against a very approprite backdrop of – how do so many other institutions master this difficult subject of social interaction! Now, NC State’s Technician is writing about their experience out there in the real world in Death Valley. This fantastic piece titled “Clemson has it right” focuses on the family atmosphere and environment fostered by Clemson’s administration. If only Clemson could have Jim Oblinger and Tom Stafford show them the way to proper risk management!! You see, at NC State risk management = risk avoidance. It is the ONLY way to insure that the University becomes a commuter school with no Wolfstocks, no lawn parties, no band parties, no post-big-win-celebrations, limited tailgating, no greek system of which to speak, no Hillsborough Street to enjoy and absolutely no social fabric to connect current students or to bridge the current student body to the alums of old. The University has done a fantabulous job of achieving these risk-free goals!! Bravo, Mr. Stafford!! […]

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