The Clemson Tradition That Holds True!
For any of the college football fanatics out there, you must not be shy to superstition and tradition. Football fans at the University of Colorado chase a real life buffalo around the field during home games and the fans for Arkansas wear plastic pig heads to show their Razorback support. However, at Clemson, there is one tradition that takes time and effort to prove their dedication.
Clemson’s Two Dollar Bill Tradition At every big away game, Clemson Tiger fans and alumni will trade in their $20.00 bills for $2.00 bills and stamp them with the Clemson Tiger’s paw print to show that they’re in town. When Clemson played West Virginia in the Orange Bowl – down in Miami, FL – over 10,000 Tiger fans headed down to the Sunshine state with their $2.00 bills, all to let the people of Florida know that they were in town – even though they weren’t playing Florida.
Anyways, this tradition may seem a little outlandish – I mean, why make sure to spend those $2.00 bills when maybe one percent of the actual population will see them, as a whole – but according to the senior director of Clemson’s alumni relations, Wil Brasington, “It’s a Clemson calling card, The idea is, we’re bringing an economic boost to any community the Clemson Tiger’s are playing in.”
SO WHY THE 2 DOLLAR BILLS? Still don’t get it? Well it began in 1977 when Georgia Tech wanted to remove Clemson from their schedule so, what did the booster club do? They stamped those $2.00 bills and spent them in Atlanta in an attempt to prove that playing Clemson will increase their opponent’s economy. While defacing money is illegal, no charges have been brought up against any of the participants and the bank that sits on Tiger Avenue even provides the Tiger fans with a stamp and ink – how convenient! So, if you’re looking into going to school in Clemson, why not be a Tiger fan and why not participate in the 2 dollar bill tradition that in some way makes you a part of the community.