I get it. At every other university, if fans rush the field at the end of the game it means that they didn’t expect to win. Even if you win the game in overtime, or in the last few seconds on a Hail Mary, or by scoring a touchdown after 8 laterals, it’s still considered embarrassing to storm the field if your team wasn’t a big underdog.

For the casual fans who don’t know about Clemson’s post-game traditions, I understand why you’d think it looks bad when you see the pictures of us all on the field after beating some mediocre-at-best opponents. We get painted in a way that makes the common fan think we’re embarrassingly storming the field sometimes, but we do it every single game no matter how much we win or lose by. To the beat writers and fans from rival schools who have seen us on the field after times like when we lost 51-14 against FSU in 2013, yet still go out of their way to post click-bait articles and/or pictures of us on the field after times like when we beat a 1-3 Boston College team 34-7: move out of your parents’ basements you beady-eyed nerds, you’re some of the biggest idiots out there.

There’s a reason that we’re continually voted a top game day experience, even for opposing fans. Clemson fans use the opportunity to show support for our players and coaches by singing the alma mater with them at the 50, but opposing fans are welcome to join the experience by coming on the field after the game, even if it’s to celebrate beating us. You can even exit the stadium by walking up the iconic hill with us (just keep your filthy hands off the rock unless you gave 110% on the field).

Everyone you talk to has a different story about the origin. You can Google the origins of the tradition, but you won’t find anything more than articles that say “it’s been around since at least *insert date or big game.*” The point is that it’s been around so long that every Clemson fan I’ve met just knows that it’s been happening for as long as they can remember. I think any traditions that last that long are pretty fucking cool to be a part of. That’s the type of thing that attracts us 5 star recruits without funneling money from Adidas through our coaches to them. If you can’t understand the value that adds to a player’s or fan of either team’s game day experience, and our students’ overall college experience, then you need to lay off the Haterade. We’ll meet you at the paw “30 seconds” (immediately) after every goddamn home game, whether we win by a billion or get upset.