As you know there are moments in your life when something extraordinary or devastating happens you can remember where you were at and what you were doing the moment it occurred.

That was the case for me in the early hours of January 10, 2017 in Tampa, Florida when Deshaun Watson threw his two-yard game-winning pass to Hunter Renfrow to beat Alabama, bringing the national championship back to Clemson for the first time in 35 years.

When it happened, I was sitting in the press box next to my friend Phil Sikes, who works in Clemson’s Athletic Communications office. At first we just sat there stunned. For at least five seconds we both kind of stared at the field while Clemson’s players and coaches celebrated.

Finally, I realized what had just happened. So I turned to Phil and said, “Clemson just won the national championship. I think I need to go write that.”

I’ll be honest. Clemson winning the national championship in football will always be the highlight of my career as a sportswriter. In my 20 years in this profession, I have been fortunate to cover some amazing events. I have covered an NFC Championship Game, NFL Playoff Games, two College World Series, four NCAA Tournaments, the ACC Basketball Tournament, 12 bowl games, two College Football Playoffs and two national championship games.

When you had the opportunity to do all of those things, it is easy to take those experiences for granted. For me, I get so caught up in getting my stories done and getting out the information to you, the reader, I forget to take in the moment. I don’t let it soak in.

I did my best not to let that happen this time.

After I finished my initial game story and published it, I went down on the field to experience the celebration. I got down there just when Dabo Swinney was handed the championship trophy. It was quite an experience, one I documented on our Facebook Live account. I saw a lot of the former players I got to know through the years and they were all elated. Some were crying. Some were in shock and some were yelling and screaming.

After that, it was back to work as I had to attend the players’ and coaches’ interviews in the locker room, and then I began to write all the stories. I got back in my zone and I stayed there for the most part until this past Saturday morning. I got so focused on my job and writing so many stories, that I stopped taking in the moment.

As I have documented many times in this column and in my Monday Morning Quarterback, Clemson’s 1981 National Championship season played a big role in why I became a sportswriter in the first place.

Anyone who knows me knows I grew up a Clemson fan. As a kid, my wardrobe consisted of nothing but orange shirts with the occasional black and gold for my Steelers mixed in.

My stepfather, who introduced me to Clemson, was a 1949 Clemson College A&M Graduate. And like any Clemson graduate, he was proud of it. My mother, though a graduate of Furman University, loved Clemson, too. She grew up a Tiger fan and she stayed that way her entire life.

My stepfather passed away in October of 2006, and was laid to rest the day of Gaines Adams’ miracle play in Winston-Salem, N.C., a play that sparked one of the best comebacks in Clemson history. In December of 2011, my mother lost her two-year fight with cancer, exactly a week after the Tigers won their first ACC Championship in 20 years.

My brother, who was with my mom that night, said she was dancing and singing the entire time while holding her All-In Chip Swinney gave her after she sent him a heartfelt message during the 2010 season. “For a moment, he said, “it seemed like Mom was never sick. It was the best night she had in years.”

So as I stood on Frank Howard Field last Saturday morning and looked up and saw the 70,000 fans that were there to see their Tigers and to celebrate a national championship most had been waiting 35 years to see again, I took a moment and soaked it all in.

I thought about my stepfather. I thought about my mom. I thought about myself as a kid and how I always wanted to see it happen again. For a few minutes, I let everything I had been taught as a journalist go and for a little while I became a fan again.

When Tiger Band started up, it all hit me at once. All the emotions rushed through my body and I started to cry. It had happened. Clemson had won a national championship. And though my parents weren’t there to experience it with me, it felt as if they were. I knew they were up in Heaven looking down and I knew they were smiling down at me and their beloved Tigers. It was as if they had their arms around me the whole time.

I held that moment, privately, for as long as I could. Then I went back to work. However, it was a moment that I will never forget.

—Photo Credit: Dawson Powers-USA TODAY Sports

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