Patrick D. Wright / Clemson University
On a weekend that seemed etched in the tapestry of my youth, my brother and I were crammed into our family’s car, hurtling southward along I-95 from Charleston. Our destination: Jacksonville, Florida, where we were to join my grandparents for the 1995 Gator Bowl, where Clemson would face off against Syracuse. The specifics of the game are hazy, save for one vivid recollection: my grandfather and I, engrossed before kickoff, pressing orange Tiger paw prints onto crisp $2 bills. The novelty of the currency was thrilling, and I cherished the handful he gave me. Yet, he explained that our real objective was to distribute them—a way to let everyone know the Tigers were in town.
Three decades have passed, and despite the advent of cashless transactions like Apple Pay and Venmo, my family, along with countless other Clemson supporters, still carry rolls of these paw-printed $2 bills to away games.
This tradition is steeped in a rich rivalry. It began in 1898, when Clemson faced Georgia Tech on Thanksgiving Day in Atlanta. For much of the century, these two teams met almost annually, but it was always in Atlanta. “Back then, a trip to Atlanta was akin to a bowl game for Clemson fans,” reveals Timothy Bourret, the university’s ex-Sports Information Director, affectionately known as “Clemson Google” among his peers. With upwards of ten thousand fans making the annual trek, the announcement by Georgia Tech in the late 1970s to end the series was a shock. However, George Bennett, an executive director at IPTAY (Clemson’s booster club), had a plan. He encouraged fans to pay with Tiger paw-stamped $2 bills in 1977 to showcase the economic impact of Clemson fans on Atlanta. Even in the cash-dominant 70s, the sight of the unique bills drew attention.
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin
As it happened, the Yellow Jackets joined the ACC the next year, restoring the home-and-home series. Yet, the $2 bill tradition, which Bennett had envisioned as a one-time spectacle, blossomed into a cherished Clemson ritual, right up there with Howard’s Rock and The Hill. While some South Carolina banks stock the bills during football season, most fans place special orders through their local branches.
Two weeks prior to Clemson securing their first national title since 1981, with a game-winning touchdown pass to Alabama, my grandfather passed away. Although he was absent from the confetti-filled celebration inside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, I’m certain those $2 bills, which he had taught us to treasure, were nestled in our wallets, as a testament to his legacy.
