Wake Forest was blown out by Clemson, but still celebrated a nationally televised win
No. 1 Clemson playing at Wake Forest Saturday was no secret.
Except it kind of felt that way around Winston-Salem.
Under North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s pandemic orders, Wake Forest couldn’t have fans at this home game. People respected that. Almost too respectful, I’d say.
Two hours before kickoff — when tailgating should have been humming — you couldn’t discern from the surrounding neighborhood that anything was happening at Truist Field.
Barricades surrounded at all the stadium entrances, but they didn’t look necessary. Streets were empty and there was little activity at nearby restaurants. There were no cars covered with orange tiger paws, waiting to honk and wave when Clemson’s buses arrived.
That belies the fact that this was a historic day. ESPN’s College Gameday was in Winston-Salem for the first time. The game was televised nationally in prime time on ABC. This was significant, even if Wake Forest didn’t make it competitive, losing 37-13.
And yet, this game was hidden in plain sight. I asked a parking-lot attendant if he anticipated any gate-crashers. He chuckled, saying all of 10 cars had passed through his checkpoint since he showed up.
Little victories
Wake Forest’s athletic department did everything it could to create some atmosphere. The band and the cheerleaders — socially-distanced — performed on a knoll behind one end zone. Crowd noise was pre-recorded, but it sounded authentic as far as volume and timing.
When the Demon Deacons scored, which didn’t happen until the second half, there were the usual celebratory fireworks launched from the stands.
We’re all adjusting. This was the first game I’d covered in six months; since the NBA shut down March 11 and I was in Miami for Hornets-Heat. Wake Forest required a health screening, a temperature check and reporters to wear masks in the press box. Seemed like fair asks to finally take a step back to normal.
Same for the players and coaches. Deacons coach Dave Clawson said last week that COVID-19 precautions — some quarantining and contact tracing — frequently disrupted practice plans. He was so concerned there would even be a season that he delayed live tackling until the last three weeks of camp.
Kickoff was more like a finish line.
“When that ball got kicked off, that was our first victory,” Clawson said of just having a season. “What we’ve done the last 2 1/2 months — the sacrifices our players and staff and everybody has made — the second that thing got kicked off, that was a win.”
Place for parents
The state pandemic regulations did allow for 50 parents of players to attend the game. It likely won’t be before October at the earliest that some percentage of fans can be admitted to games.
These college programs need the revenue, but they also just need the connection to their supporters. For decades, boosters have built fall weekends around the ritual of returning to campus for a game and fellowship.
I wondered if the players felt a void. Several Wake players said certainly it was odd to look up during warm-ups and see no people, but they added they’re used to tuning out everything outside the field once a game starts.
“This is COVID year — a lot of uncertainties,” quarterback Sam Hartman said. “One thing is the same: We’ve gotta make plays.”
The Deacons didn’t make nearly enough of those. Yet their coach was right:
Reaching kickoff was a victory in “COVID year.”
