It’s a good time to be a Clemson fan. Of course anyone who follows college athletics knows about the football team’s success, but now the men’s basketball team is experiencing a renaissance of its own. The team is ranked as the eleventh best collegiate team in the country, is second in ACC standings and seems like a lock to make the NCAA tournament this March. These successes are great not only for the athletes and the reputations of the athletic programs, but for students and fans of the school as well. Because, at the end of the day, why are we fans in the first place? For one reason: bragging rights.
When asked what he thinks about the success of the basketball and football teams, Graham Bissell, a junior turfgrass major, said, “I love it because I’ll always be able to say that I was here during all of this. Also, it means that I can make fun of my friends at other schools and they can’t say a thing about it.” Considering the accomplishments of Clemson’s teams, there are few schools that Graham would have trouble making fun of.
Looking first at the football team, only Alabama could contest Clemson’s recent superiority. In the last three years, the Tigers have made the College Football Playoffs each year, been ranked as the number one team at season’s end twice, reached consecutive College Football Championships, finished a regular season undefeated and claimed the 2016 National Championship. Alabama can claim the edge considering their victory over the Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs in the most recent post-season, but the rest of the country goes to sleep dreaming about what it’s like to be a Clemson Tiger.
What has separated Clemson’s overall athletic clout this year, though, has been the success of the men’s basketball team. The Tiger’s basketball team has wins over perineal powerhouses Louisville, Ohio State, North Carolina [and Duke]. At number eleven, the team is currently ranked ahead of college basketball’s royalty such as North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky,and Kansas. Playing in the most competitive conference in the country, Clemson is second only to Virginia, who also happens to be the top-ranked team in the country. With the tournament quickly approaching and the Tigers gaining steam with every game, Clemson is building a resumé as one of the best football schools in the country and as a better basketball school than “real basketball schools.”
