Memorial Stadium, Clemson
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Memorial Stadium, in Clemson, South Carolina, USA, popularly known as "Death Valley" is home to the Clemson University Tigers NCAA Division I-A football team. Capacity is officially just over 81,000, though the record attendance was set in 1999 at 86,026. The stadium is one of the ten largest on-campus stadiums in the United States and is the second largest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Built in the 1940s, the stadium has been expanded throughout the years, and an expansion of the west side of the stadium began in 2004.
Among the most interesting features of the stadium are the grassy hill on the east side of the stadium, a popular sitting area for Clemson students. At the top of the hill lies "Howard's Rock", which is an imported rock from Death Valley, California that was presented to legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard in 1967. The Tigers' traditional team entrance involves each player rubbing the rock for magical powers and then running down the hill, a procession that has been termed "the most exciting 25 seconds in college football."
The term "Death Valley" comes from the fact that the field is physically situated in a valley. Two additional facts add to the mystique. First, the university cemetery sits on a hill that once overlooked the field before the upper decks were constructed. The other reference comes from the late Lonnie McMillian, the former Presbyterian College football coach. He used to take his teams to play at Clemson, and they rarely scored, never mind gained a victory. Once he told the writers he was going to play Clemson up at Death Valley because his teams always got killed. It stuck somewhat, but when Frank Howard start calling it that in the fifties, the term really caught on.
Many people think the name is derived from the fact that there rests a cemetery outside the fence on the press box site of the stadium. But, although it would make sense, the name was first coined by Lonnie McMillian.
Before the Tigers played in Memorial Stadium, games were originally played on Bowman Field and later moved to Riggs Field, now home to Clemson's soccer teams.
Memorial Stadium was also the original home field for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL. When the Panthers played their inaugural season in 1995, their permanent stadium in Charlotte was still under construction; the team played its entire home schedule in Clemson. The arrangement ended with the opening of Ericsson Stadium, now Bank of America Stadium, at the start of the 1996 season.
The noise level that is reached in Death Valley is part of the stadium's appeal. In Clemson's 2005 game against the Miami Hurricanes, the crowd noise reached 126 decibels. [link] Commentators commented that they could barely hear themselves speak, and even said they felt the stadium "move."
Many players have commented on how loud Death Valley can become. Chris Rix, former Florida State quarterback, who has played in some of the loudest stadiums in the south, commented that Death Valley was the loudest stadium, or even place, in which he had ever been.
Howard's Rock
In either 1964 or 1965, a Clemson student (class of 1919) named S.C. Jones, went to California and stopped in Death Valley, CA, and found a white flint rock which he brought back with him. The rock was presented to Coach Frank Howard as "being from Death Valley, CA, to Death Valley South Carolina." In September of 1966 it was placed on a pedestal at the top of the hill, a gameday in which the Tigers managed to come back from an 18-point lead with 17 minutes remaining and win by five points against Virginia.[link]
Contrary to what is mentioned in the previous section about Howard's Rock, the team does not rub it for "Magical powers". A player is allowed to rub "the Rock" if they are going to give 110%. Coach Howard was quoted as saying "if you are going to give a hundred and ten percent you can rub my rock...if you are not going to give a hundred and ten percent keep your filthy hands off my rock". Many times announcers who either don't know the true story behind "the Rock" or don't feel like explaining it on television will over simplify it by making the "magical powers" reference or some variation thereof.
\"Running Down the Hill\"
"When you get to the bottom, its like you're in a hole and all around you are nothing but Clemson fans. It's like the crowd is one big voice. You feel like little kings," said Tiger tailback Rodney Blunt.
David Treadwell, a 1987 All-American placekicker for Clemson said, "Clemson's record at home is not a coincidence. Running down the hill is a part of that record. You get so inspired, and so much of college football is about emotion. You get out of that bus and you hear the roar of the crowd and it gives you chills up and down your spine.
"Running down the hill is still talked about everywhere I go," said Jerry Butler, an All-American on the 1978 team who went on to a lengthy pro career with the Buffalo Bills. "Players who played against Clemson when I was in college always remember us rubbing that rock and thinking we would gain some type of spirit coming down that hill. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable for a Clemson player and it was quite a shock for the opponent."
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