Jacob, Kayla and I went to our first Clemson football game last night. In case you didn’t hear (in Columbia or Athens), Clemson won. It was a great night. The kids had a blast. Here are five lessons I learned from the evening.

  1. If thousands of people make some noise, it can get pretty loud. Jacob agreed, this is the loudest stadium we’ve ever been in. Don’t know if it’s because of the way the stadium was constructed or just because Clemson fans know how to get loud. When lots of people get focused on one thing, though, they can sure make some noise.
  2. People will do some crazy things to worship something they love. Paint their bodies. Raise their arms in the air. Jump around. Sing songs. Clap. Chant. Even in the craziness of a nationally televised game, though, there are folks that are charged with keeping the “worship” orderly. (It was really funny watching the students charge the field three different times at the end of the game.)
  3. When you really believe in something, you’ll take a stand. Clemson fans
    don’t sit down. I haven’t figured out why they installed seats in the
    stadium. The fans were on their feet for the entire four hours of the
    game.
  4. People will put their money where their heart is. They’ll spend
    $30,000, as an example, just to own a piece of land to tailgate before
    and after the game. They’ll invest millions of dollars into a facility
    to help recruit new athletes. It’s amazing the cash people will lay down for something that they love.
  5. When the cause is big enough, people will give their time. I’m convinced time is the scarcest commodity today. But, yesterday, people started showing up early in the morning to stake their territory. They hung out with friends. They served each other meals. They walked miles to find a parking spaces. They stood in the football stadium for over four hours. They sat in traffic for a couple more hours after the game. It takes a big investment of time to support something that’s bigger than yourself.

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