when there's something in the air....

there's something in the air tonight.
something that feels a little different than last year.
an electricity of sorts.
it feels a whole lot like hope.
with a side of anticipation.
a little bit of anxiety.
and a splash of excitement.
colored a beautiful shade of orange.

but there is one thing i will never understand.
and that is the people who adamantly pull against your team.
whether you are playing their team of choice.

sure, i get the whole rivalry thing.
but most of it feels a whole lot like hate.
pure, unashamed hatred.

and it breaks my heart.
because we are suppose to spur one another along towards love.

throw in a little college football.
and all that goes out the window.
friends will rip you to shreds for pulling for a team they despise.
all for the sake of rivalry.
that's when college football isn't fun anymore.

but here is what i do know.
clemson is a whole lot more than a football program.

clemson is tradition.
steeped in history, the hallowed grounds shape men and women every day into better versions of themselves.
for the classrooms provide more than just an education.
they are the very places that one discovers who they really are.

those men and women.
both the ones that went before me.
and the ones that have come after me.
we are tethered together by an invisible bond.
a bond that unites and secures and holds us together.
each one of us have been touched by something sacred.
something that we can neither define nor explain.
but it is something that grabs hold.
and grows stronger and stronger with each passing year.


as they say.
haters are gonna hate.

i suppose that is true.
but i choose to spur you along in love.
because you are so much more than your college football allegiance.
you are more than the color you wear to show your support.
you are much more than the flags you fly from your porches.  or your car.
and you are definitely more than the score of the game.

there is something in the air tonight.
can you feel it?
enjoy it.
savor it.
moments like these don't come along every day.

but keep this in mind.
despite the score of the game tonight, when we proclaim Jesus as King--
we are all champions.
tonight and every night.

as for me, i am hoping for a win for the tigers.
but my life will not be over if they don't win.

because i will always stand taller.
feel better.
and say with a high pride to all within earshot.
i went to clemson.

so let's spur each other along.
not only tonight.
but tomorrow.
and the next day.
and the day after that.

imagine what would happen.

we all win.