Lights go down, fours go up.

A stadium of 80,000 people raise their hands and hold up four fingers in unison at the first notes of a ticking timer and the exclamation, “Death Valley, it’s the fourth quarter, get those fours up!”

From The Hill to the lively lower deck to the breathtaking upper deck, fans everywhere in Death Valley have their eyes glued to the screen while the fourth-quarter video plays, sending the Tigers into each home game’s final quarter in true Clemson fashion.

“The video showcases the life lessons that Clemson football instills,” Rally Cat Courtney Poole, a junior sports communication major, said in an interview with The Tiger. “It is a testament that success takes collaboration, investment, and, of course, hard work. I love how it gives a glimpse of what the team does behind the scenes and their transformation into gameday.”

The Tiger interviewed the man behind the video, coach Joey Batson, Clemson football’s director of strength and conditioning.

“When it generally started, the (Creative Media staff and recruiting) came down to the weight room,” Batson said in the interview with The Tiger. “They said, ‘Hey, would you mind coming up to the studio and just saying a few words to maybe pump up the crowd, so to speak.’”

Batson had walked into a studio full of people, noting that it was “kind of intimidating.” He stepped up to a microphone, and the staff said, “Okay, go ahead,” staring at him.

“‘Wait a minute. So let’s do this. You guys get behind me, and I’m going to envision that I’m speaking to the team,’” Batson said.

Everyone in the room gathered behind him. He closed his eyes, and the phrase came to him:

“They don’t put championship rings on smooth hands.”

Batson noted that he “went off on a rant,” opened his eyes when he finished, looked around, realized there was nobody in front of him, then turned around and saw everyone “in shock.”

“They’re looking at me, and I said, ‘Well, is it that bad?’ And they go, ‘Nah, that’s pretty good.’”

“This phrase holds so much meaning,” Poole told The Tiger. “It describes the importance of hard work as an athlete and encapsulates what it takes to be the best. Listening to 80,000 people recite these iconic words during the fourth-quarter video makes me so proud to be a Tiger!”

From there, the one-shot, “off the cuff” and “from the heart” video took off.

“In all honesty, when it was done originally, it was just a God thing,” Batson said. “I think it’s just kind of what makes it really unique, that it wasn’t something we practiced over and over.”

According to Batson, the end of the video closes with recent clips of games the team has won during the season, adding an element of newness. He also noted that the video has resonated with fans more and more throughout recent years, to the point of people coming up to him in public and asking if he’s the fourth-quarter coach.

“I’m so blessed,” Batson said.

The video depicts the training, camaraderie, toughness and grit of the players and brings out the energy in fans and players, sometimes even “unfortunately” getting the other team excited, Batson noted.

“I think what’s unique from a fan perspective is they take shots of them (the players) training in the winter and summer,” Batson said. “Now, these are not staged. I mean, this is just actual footage of those guys being indoors, outside, running or in the weight room lifting. They’ve gathered all these moments throughout the year, and they bring all that together.”

“(Fans) get to see the heart of Clemson football, and what it takes, when they say, ‘This is why we work … we work to win,’” Batson noted, commending the “bunch of great men” on the football team and the “phenomenal staff of people that work with them really closely.”

With a team of around 130 players, Batson works as hard as possible to build relationships and be the voice of the staff when head coach Dabo Swinney is not around.

“It’s big boy football,” Batson said, “and, you know, you got to take the good with the bad. You’ve got to be able to put things behind you and move forward.”

Clemson football players experience the longest training cycle of the year during the football season, which stretches out over 20 to 23 weeks each fall. This in-season block includes a training camp, potential kickoff game (i.e., Clemson vs. UGA on Aug. 31), normal season beginning in September and ending in November, possible ACC Championship, bowl game and further postseason play, according to Training and Conditioning.

During this season, players spend countless hours in the weight room for strength sessions, at the indoor and outdoor football facilities practicing plays, recovering at Clemson’s Athlete Recovery Center and more, all while balancing school and other commitments.

Batson reflected on the video’s impact on the team, whether the Tigers are winning or losing, to continue working to win and finish the game in the fourth quarter.

“Getting that fan base behind you can give you another 10% boost in energy and enthusiasm and passion,” he said.

This tradition means a lot to Batson, especially playing a role that is such a large part of this Clemson tradition.

“Lord, honey, you are trying to make a grown man cry,” Batson said. “It’s just special, that’s all I can say. It’s … just kind of an almost spiritual experience. It is just surreal in the way that people respond to it. Just to know, a five minute clip that was unrehearsed, that you did, that has just had an impact these last several years has come to become such a kind of an icon.”

Batson recalled his parents bringing him to Clemson football games as a child, noting that he never thought he would have such a large part in it.

“It was just always so much bigger than life,” he said.

Batson earned an undergraduate degree in physical education from Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina, and then went on to attend Clemson for his master’s degree in education. He worked with coach Danny Ford (1978-1989) at Clemson for a bit, dabbled at several other schools as a head strength coach and then eventually came back home to Clemson.

This is Batson’s 28th season as the director of strength and conditioning for the Clemson football program. He noted that being at Clemson for such a long time, reflecting on his mark on many athletes’ journeys is special.

During his time as director, Batson was a major contributor in sending the Tigers to two national championships, six college football playoff appearances, eight ACC Championships, 25 bowl games and more, according to Clemson Tigers. He has also coached 12 Super Bowl champions, 23 NFL first-round draft picks, 237 All-ACC selections and many other acclaimed players.

“It’s all about the day to day, what the fans see … the actual living is done in the journey,” Batson said. “As coach Swinney says, it’s kind of like a God wink … what we’ve done these past 28 seasons has been truly remarkable, and my career has been phenomenal, just so blessed.”