From The Press Box: Play-By-Play Voice Reflects on The Rivalry

With the annual Clemson-South Carolina game coming on Saturday, Patch spoke with Clemson play-by-play announcer Pete Yanity about his memories of the rivalry.

Q: When did you start calling Clemson football games? Describe what it was like getting confirmation that you'd be the new voice of the Tigers.

A: "My first game was four games into the 2003 season following the sudden death of longtime play-by-play man Jim Phillips, a Clemson legend.  Needless to say, it was not how I’d hoped or planned to elevate to such a position but I’ve tried to do my very best since taking the job and it’s something I really love."

Q:Tell us how you came into this area, and how you were introduced to the rivalry.

A: "I grew up in Ridgefield, Conn., which is about an hour north of New York City.  I went to college at Ohio University and got my first job at the CBS affiliate in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market. The first Clemson/Carolina game I covered was in 1987, the first true night game in the series, and it was freezing. After Clemson drove 93 yards for a touchdown on its first possession, the Gamecocks scored 20 unanswered points.  I remember SC fans chanting the first name of Clemson QB Rodney Williams with a sarcastic tone."

Q: In your experience in the sports journalism business, how does this rivalry stack up with others? What is unique about it?

A: "If you count my very first work in the business back in high school, it’s coming up on 32 years. I got my first fulltime job a couple of months after I graduated from college in 1985 as the weekend sports anchor at the aforementioned TV station."

"I got my first job as a weeknight sports anchor six months later at an NBC affiliate in West Virginia. I returned to the Florence station as the weeknight anchor in March of ’87.  I think the rivalry is unique because of the relatively small size of our state combined with the depth of family ties to each school. In many instances you have families with one member who went to USC and another who went to Clemson."

"In various work places you pretty much have a 50/50 mix of fans so that keeps things lively. The game is something folks talk about year round and one side is always anxious to get revenge the following year."
 
Q: What are your personal top five memories of this series, as a play-by-play voice or just as a sports journalist?
 
A: "The brawl in 2004 for the simple fact that it was such a surreal scene and for a moment it looked like the players fighting on the field would work their way close enough to the hill at Death Valley that the fans there might spill into the melee."
 
"The 2003 game in which Clemson won 63-17 (the first rivalry game that I did play-by-play for on the network), not just because of what happened on the field, but the side emotion in that Clemson coach Tommy Bowden was fighting to keep his job and likely confirmed he would save it that night."
 
"2007, Mark Buchholz hits the game winning field goal as time expires.  What a way for a rivalry game to end."
 
"1994, the start of the second half when USC’s Brandon Bennett tosses a lateral across the field to Stacy Robinson who returned it deep into Clemson territory and set up a touchdown that keyed a USC win. The entire stadium was taken by surprise."
 
"1989, Clemson won 45-0 in a game that was over before it began. My memory of that night was the constant pounding USC quarterback Dickie Demasi continually took from Clemson’s defensive front and linebackers to the extent I actually felt sorry for him."