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Clint Sintim will be playing in his 38th and final game as a Cavalier this Saturday. |
Clint Sintim simply doesn’t know what will be running through his head when he runs through the tunnel and on to the field at Scott Stadium for the last time Saturday as the Cavaliers take on Clemson.
“It’s going to be a special day,” Sintim said. “I don’t know how I’ll feel about it. Maybe sad, maybe happy to try something new, I don’t know. We’ll just see. It’ll be an interesting feeling to know I’ll never play another game in that stadium again.”
As many as 24 fourth and fifth year Cavaliers will make their last home appearance Saturday, but not before having the chance to address their fellow teammates at the Omni Hotel on Friday night during team dinner. A team tradition, the speeches are a chance for players to talk about what the team has meant to them, TE John Phillips explained to reporters Tuesday. According to Phillips, the speeches are always emotional for the players.
“It’s really passionate,” Phillips said. “It really takes the heart of the people who are not so much in the spotlight, some of those guys who really might not even have played at all. You know they get up there saying how much the team has meant to them, just being on the field, being on the practice squad – really that’s what a team is, that’s what a family is.”
Phillips and Sintim hardly fall into that out of the spotlight category and as Sintim expressed, their teammates have heard them talk on many occasions before. What does Sintim plan on saying on Friday night?
“In years past, you hear the seniors say their peace the night before the game and you just kind of sit back and think when your time comes, what would you say. Now that it’s my time, I really don’t know what I’d say,” Sintim said. “I think I talk a lot. … We’ll see. It’s all depending upon how I feel. I think they know how I feel about this team.”
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Cedric Peerman hopes to lead the Cavaliers to a win against Clemson Saturday in his final home game. |
Cedric Peerman agreed with Sintim, saying he wasn’t sure he would talk at all.
“Might not say anything. Whatever might be on my heart at that particular time,” Peerman said. “I don’t even know how I’m going to feel.”
While Saturday will no doubt be an emotional day for all the seniors, Peerman expects to have his game face on as the Cavaliers face a must-win situation – right now, they’re still in contention for an ACC title and a bowl berth.
“It’s just something I’ve thought about ever since I got here. Well now that I’m here. It’s surreal. I’m just trying to block everything out and go out and do my business,” Peerman said.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers’ added emotion could help elevate their game early, a key to their success against the Tigers.
Phillips agreed.
“Everything helps,” he said. “Just to bring our team together. Anything that can help tighten up the nuts and bolts of a family and keep the team together which is really what you need.”
A sixth win would also make the Cavaliers bowl eligible and prolong the seniors’ careers at least for a few weeks. Having another chance to go to a bowl game is key for the seniors, especially Phillips. He recalled the end of the 2006 season when the Cavaliers lost 17-10 to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. With adjacent lockers, Philips remembered the feeling of watching Fontel Mines end his career on a loss.
“I can remember the last time we didn’t go to a bowl,” Phillips recalled. “I felt bad just talking with him, one of my good friends, just talking to him and seeing his emotion after the game, knowing it was his last one. We don’t want to feel that way. We don’t want our seniors to feel that way. Finishing it out going to a bowl and hopefully getting a win wherever we go is big.”
From a success rate standpoint, the Cavaliers’ best chance to win is it at Scott Stadium where they are 4-2 this season and 9-3 dating back to the beginning of 2007. This year’s seniors have seen their fair share of important home wins including the 2005 victory over FSU and this year’s OT win over UNC.
What is the most memorable home win of their careers?
Sintim smiled.
“Hopefully the Clemson game coming up,” he said, “We’ve had a number of great games here. … I’d love for Clemson to be the most memorable because it will be my last game.”
And for the departing seniors, why not save the best for last?
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