CLEMSON — One of my fondest memories as a kid is getting to run out onto the field at Memorial Stadium to find my favorite Clemson player.

For a long time, I thought this was normal in college football. I had no idea that Clemson was one of a handful of schools at the time, and later became the only school across big-time college football, to allow fans on the field.

That tradition, which began at Clemson in 1942, still lives on today. They call it “Meeting at the Paw” these days, which I have never liked. But they had to do it after a couple of incidents in 2002 and 2003 which involved Clemson fans getting too rowdy following victories over South Carolina and Florida State.

It’s amazing, in the 84-year history of Memorial Stadium, there have only been two incidents that gave the University pause on one of its grandest traditions.

And up until 2022, when South Carolina defeated Clemson in Death Valley, the visiting teams that have won at Memorial Stadium have been respectful of Clemson’s tradition. However, like a lot of things in this world, that’s not the case anymore.

As I said, South Carolina’s rowdy fans were really the first to disrespect Clemson’s tradition, and not because they came on the field. No, it’s because of the way they acted on Frank Howard Field following their victories here in 2022 and 2024.

And before you come at me and say, “Well, Clemson just needs to win and that will keep that from happening.”  But you and I both know Clemson is not going to win every game at Death Valley. It is not possible.

How about people, instead, stop wanting a viral video moment on YouTube, X, Instagram and Tik Tok and have some respect for a change.

Since South Carolina fans’ disrespectful moment in 2022, other fanbases have taken advantage of Clemson’s tradition, too. They are not jumping down on the field to see their favorite players the way Clemson fans are.

No, they are getting on the field and acting like middle school children.

They are running up to Clemson players who are talking to their family or taking a photo with a fan and giving them the finger or saying rude stuff as the Tigers make their way towards the locker room, while recording it in hopes a Clemson player will react.

Now, I get there are some idiot fans for Clemson who do the same thing from time-to-time, but most of the Clemson fans are respectful and thankful for Clemson University allowing them to come out onto the field and interact with the student-athletes.

And I want to say, not all South Carolina fans or other fan bases are being disrespectful, but, unfortunately, there are a lot that do and there are plenty of criminating videos out there to prove my point.

Like I said, it really got started when South Carolina ended Clemson’s 40-game home winning streak in 2022. There were several incidents in 2023 when Florida State won its first game at Death Valley since 2013.

Gamecock fans again disrespected the tradition in 2024, while last year, LSU had their own celebration with its fans following their win here. Then there were the Miami fans this past Saturday night.

And it’s not that they are just celebrating with their team. Yes, some fans are just taking pictures and selfies, talking to their players and enjoying the moment like a civilized person is supposed to.

Then there are those who are tearing up the field and taking big chunks of the turf home with them. They are stomping on the paw at midfield, intentionally trying to damage the turf. Others are making rude and crude gestures to Howard’s Rock.

We have even seen opponents’ players and coaches running down the hill and mocking that Clemson tradition.

What can Clemson do about it, besides beat every team that comes into Death Valley?

Well, Clemson fans are not going to like this suggestion, but they need to end the tradition. I know, it sucks. Clemson fans are getting punished because the other teams’ fan bases are bad winners.

However, they need to stop it because, unfortunately, something is going to happen if they do not. In a few occasions, fights nearly broke out while Clemson was trying to do its alma mater.

After the South Carolina loss in 2024, Swinney came out and said he was scared something was going to happen because things were getting out of hand.

Like Clemson’s 40-game home winning streak, all good things must come to an end at some point. I think it is time for Clemson to end its “Meeting at the Paw” tradition.