For the second straight year, Clemson’s football team left campus for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game with an audience.
Several hundred Tiger fans stood on the sidewalk on either side of the entrance to the West End Zone complex, cheering and chanting the cadence count as players and coaches in business suits piled onto buses to head to the airport. On a cold and cloudy afternoon, not even the threat of wintry weather with the ability to impact travel southward for a few days could keep the fans away.
Those that showed up got what they came to see. Several players paused for pictures with fans shouting their names, and some shook hands or gave high-fives to the lines of spectators on the way to the buses. Others sported a look of steely focus as they prepared to embark.
Deshaun Watson left the football complex as a player for what is expected to be the final time, and everyone seemed to know it. A little girl waited for him at the entrance, sporting a sign. Watson gave her a hug and held her hand as he walked down the right side of the sidewalk to his bus.
Dabo Swinney was also in popular demand. His face featured a big smile as he interacted with the crowd. A few minutes after he entered his bus, he reemerged to take a few pictures and sign a few autographs as some of the support staff made sure the travel party was all there.
The mood of the crowd was festive. The confidence mirrored that of the team in the run-up to departure. While that confidence was universal, the viewpoints of travel from those we talked to varied. Some were sending the Tigers off with plans to enjoy the game from home. Others were ready to hit the road soon after the team, either to catch a flight or to drive to Florida. Still others weren’t sure of their plans, with some still monitoring flight availability and ticket prices before making a final call.
The handful of buses pulled away from the parking lot just before 1 p.m. They will no doubt return to cheers, but the tenor of those cheers is still uncertain. One final game on Monday night will ultimately decide the mood when those buses roll back into Clemson next week.