Though you could make the argument it isn’t the case this year, the annual contest between Florida State and Clemson is traditionally the biggest game in the ACC. The two teams have combined to win the last five ACC titles and the winner of the annual contest has gone on to represent the Atlantic division in the ACC Championship every year since 2009.
Before Saturday’s nationally televised prime contest between the Seminoles and Tigers kicks off however, rival fans will have the chance to come together to try to raise money for a worthy cause. Beginning Friday, well-known Tigers’ fan and co-host of Southern Fried Sports, Clemson Tom will be part of a fundraiser to raise money for Kidz1stFund — a charity organization created by FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher and his ex-wife Candi that aims to find a cure for Fanconi anemia.
“It’s always rewarding to help out with any type of charity,” said Clemson Tom. “I try to do a few charity events every year. Using the platform that I have on social media, I feel that is important to bring some positivity towards college football events.”
Fanconi amenia is a rare blood disease that attacks the bone marrow and affects the Fisher’s youngest son, Ethan. Less than one in every 150,000 people are diagnosed with the disease.
On Friday night, Clemson Tom and Dr. Micah (Doc) Brienan, an FSU enthusiast and the other co-host of Southern Fried Sports, will be at the Tallahassee Double Tree, located at 101 S. Adams St., to perform the show live from 5-7 p.m. EST. Admission is free.
Following the show, there will be live music and two donation buckets — one labeled FSU and the other labeled Clemson. All donations will go to Kidz1stFund and the fight song will be played for whichever school’s bucket has raised the most money. There will also be pairs of FSU and Clemson socks donated by Rock Em’ Apparel given to select contest winners.
On Saturday, there will be a fundraiser held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. EST at the popular Tallahassee restaurant, Madison Social, located at 705 S. Woodward Ave. In honor of former FSU Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston’s “we some dogs, we ain’t no puppies” halftime speech during FSU’s season-opening victory over Ole Miss, Clemson Tom will eat a dog biscuit for every $250 raised for Kidz1stFund.
“Two years ago, Matt (Thompson) from Madison social reached out to me about raising money for Kidz1st,” the Clemson super fan said. “I agreed to do it knowing that it was going towards a great cause. From there, Matt and I developed a friendship and we have kept in touch since then. The biggest takeaway is how welcoming all the Florida State fans have been afterwards.”
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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