Tiffany Grady-Hudgins|Daily Times Former Clemson basketball standout and Washington Wizards center Trevor Booker with mother, Tracey and father, Gerald.

slideshow

The Tiger with a mini-fan.

slideshow

Clemson fans enjoying a meal provided by Parklane Seafood.

slideshow

Guest speaker was Bennie Cunningham, a renowned Tiger tight-end from 1973-1975.

slideshow

South Carolina sports fans love this part of football season — the lead up to the Clemson/Carolina game.

Clemson fans gathered Monday night at the Union Christian Day School for the Union County Clemson Club’s eighth annual Chicken Roast.

The purpose of the Chicken Roast is to give Clemson Club members, fans and friends the opportunity to come together in support of Clemson University and to enjoy the excitement that stems from the approaching game that features South Carolina college football’s longest standing rivalry .

With bragging rights on the line, both Clemson and Carolina fans talk about the game year round. So assembling a gym full of Clemson fans less than a week away from the big game gives them the chance to hash it over. From predictions and opinions to statistics and numbers, the topic at most every table was this Saturday’s game.

There were scheduled appearances by Clemson’s mascot The Tiger and former Clemson Hall of Famer and Pittsburg Steeler Bennie Cunningham who was the guest speaker.

Cunningham lead the the team in receiving his first season at Clemson, was a two-time consensus All-American, and first round draft choice (28th, chosen by Pittsburg). Cunningham was a member of the 1978 and 1979 Super Bowl championship teams.

Also in attendance was former Clemson basketball standout Trevor Booker who was drafted by the Washington Wizards.

Fans had the opportunity to meet and have their pictures made with Booker throughout the evening.

The Union County Clemson Club awarded scholarships to two Union County athletes entering Clemson University in the fall of 2011. The recipients were Nicholas Coffer and Dalton Knight.

The Super Tiger Award was given to Mickey and Carol Creech and the J. “Net” Berry Award was given to John and Chera Stapleton.

After the award presentations Cunningham took the stage to inspire the crowd with tales of his endeavors including a story about sustaining an injury and being replaced by a younger player who had never played, yet came in and won the game.

“No one is irreplaceable,” said Cunningham.

At the end of the night, the Clemson faithful left Union Christian Day School motivated and even more eager to cheer their team on to a win in Saturday’s big game.