Friday, February 27, 2009

Clemson Baseball and Dabo Swinney: Coach of the People

Last Saturday the temperature pushed 60 degrees, the sun was shining, and Clemson played its second game of the season. A couple of friends and I headed down to Doug Kingsmore Stadium (formerly Beautiful Tiger Field) to watch some baseball and get a little sun.



Admittedly, I don't really like baseball. It's really pretty boring. I do, however, love going to be baseball games. College, minor league, major league, it doesn't matter. Just having a reason to sit outside on a beautiful spring day or summer night and maybe drink a few beers is plenty of reason to justify my attendance, and Saturday was no exception. Clemson was playing UNC Charlotte and had won the season opener the night before. It was actually a pretty exciting game as it remained scoreless until the 6th inning when Clemson scored a run. They eventually scored three more and won 4-0. They ended up sweeping the series as they beat the 49ers again on Sunday. I went to at least five or six baseball games last year, but this was actually the first time I went in the stadium to watch the game. The other games we just stayed out in the parking lot tailgating and listening to the game on the radio. While the game was fun, the tailgating is hard to beat.

While we were there, Dabo Swinney came in around the 8th inning to catch part of the game. He kept a low profile and just stood in the portal behind homeplate watching the game. It was interesting to see so many people come up and chat with him or shake his hand or get his autograph. He took it all in stride and really impressed me with his humility. It was also great to see people so excited about their new coach and how they seemed to feel like he is one of them. Hopefully he'll be able to get things done on the football field next fall. I'm not sure if Tommy Bowden went to many baseball games and shook hands and signed autographs, but for reason I have a feeling that he didn't, at least for the past few years. Below is a picture I snapped.



I don't think I even need to point out how awesome that guy's Scarface jacket is on the left (I am assuming you picked up on my sarcasm here).

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