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Clemson is unique in the fact that it's the only place in college football where you come out of the dressing room...
instead of going immediately to the field,
you go the opposite direction, get on a bus,
drive around the stadium with a police escort and run down the hill.
And as you stand at the top of the hill,
your team is behind you and you got 83 to 85 thousand people there in the stands,
the thing that goes through the mind of the head coach is: "I better win this game".
Football is a collision sport, it's a contact sport, it's a very emotional sport.
It's played with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of effort.
And a lot of times, the teams are so equal as far as talent,
it's the team that plays with the most emotion that wins.
You better be able to say something that motivates your players.
And they better reach game time on Saturday highly motivated and more motivated than the other team.
I've got 85, more or less, teenage sons.
Over the course of 24 hours, you know something is probably going to happen between one of your 85 sons.
We're in an environment, where standards are high.
There are outside pressures to be successful,
and there is also self-imposed pressure that you bring on yourself.
And you better have a lot of wisdom on how you deal with this
because the mental frame of the players is so important.
Every morning I would go in, I was an early riser, I'd go in about 5:45 or 6:00,
I would spend time in reading God's word,
in meditating, listening for an answer,
and praying to God about wisdom that I would need for that day.
Say: "God, something's going to happen. Give me wisdom as it occurs."
Unfortunate, I think you might be presented more problems,
especially if you're vocal about your faith,
because not only do you live in a secular world where Christianity is frowned a lot,
but satan becomes more active and throws more roadblocks in your path the closer you get to God.
They talk a lot about Christianity being meek,
and a lot of people misunderstand it with weakness.
I saw a definition of meekness one time being a controlled power.
That's more or less what you need as a coach.
You got to be strong, and you got to be controlled.
One thing about Christ, Christ was bold.
I mean, you're talking about a strong guy, He was strong.
And the more you associate yourself and understand the lifestyle of Christ,
all the things that made Him successful.
And in athletics, in athletics you find commitment, accountability, discipline, sacrifice and responsibility.
And Christianity teaches that, you learn that from the Bible, you learn it from the lifestyle of Christ.
Why not marry the two?
In football, you got wins, and then you got losses.
It's a series of peaks and valleys. You'll win, win, win and then you'll lose.
Coach of the year three times, and all of a sudden idiot of the year, real quick.
You need something concrete, you need something stable.
I always felt like that came from that daily communication with God,
with Him giving me wisdom on how to make decisions,
how to deal with administration, how to deal with the media,
your hands are in so many different fires and so many different pockets,
there are so many different players with personalities, with buttons to push.
You need a solid, concrete foundation that doesn't deviate.
That's where I think my faith has helped me the most.
My name is Tommy Bowden and I am Second.