Clemson fans are provided a special chance to watch their team play at home seven times a year, and they should take full advantage of it.

Imagine this: 

It’s the dog days of summer. Hot days, later sunsets, summer jobs and occasional cookouts with family and friends. It sometimes seems like the summer won’t ever end and college football season is an eternity away. 

However, there are more things to occupy your time in the summer before the college football season gets here such as YouTube replays of the past season’s games, conference media days with coaches and players or social media updates from the team’s Twitter or Instagram accounts. After all of that, fall camp finally arrives in early August.

Players move back to campus to begin meeting with coaches and practicing until mid to late August, when the focus shifts to the first opponent. Students arrive back on campus around that time, excited to get moved back in, get started with classes and get ready for football season.

When the schedule is released, everyone looks forward to the big home games, especially if they’re at night. In 2017, those games for Clemson were against Auburn and Georgia Tech. Coming into the year, most Clemson fans thought the Florida State game would be a night game, but it didn’t turn out that way. However, there are still fans who believe every home game is special – and to Clemson fans, they are.

It can be difficult to get excited at times when a team like Wake Forest rolls into town and it’s a noon game. But you know what? Most Clemson fans do it anyway, regardless of the opponent. 

They get out early when the parking lots open at 6 a.m. to begin tailgating, see the excitement on campus, get into the stadium early, stay late afterwards and to enjoy the fellowship after a great win or a tough loss.

Clemson takes on The Citadel this weekend at 12:20 p.m. in what will be Clemson’s last home game of the 2017 season. 

As always, there will be excitement, but there will also be sadness because the fans know it’s the last one until 2018. However, Tiger fans will always have pictures and memories to look back on when the year is all said and done.

The bottom line is this. There’s only seven opportunities in a year to fill Death Valley. Maximize it and cherish it.