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CLEMSON | The bingo sessions had become a bit of a routine, enough that when Clemson's group of football players said goodbye to Clemson Downs on this afternoon of Feb. 27 it meant goodbye until next week.

That's the saddest part of it, and maybe it's not right to start a feel-good story with the very detail that leaves the biggest lump in your throat: The most basic, fulfilling and seemingly assured form of human interaction -- in-person communication and contact -- taken away from the world by a virus.

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This retirement community stopped accepting visitors soon thereafter, protecting its elderly population from infection. A month later, there are far bigger problems than a group of senior citizens not being able to play bingo with a group of football players.

But at Clemson Downs, they miss their adopted grandkids.

"When we said goodbye to them, we all thought they'd be back the next week," said Ruthie Millar, director of community outreach for the retirement community.

"The only thing we thought might be a conflict was a practice schedule that coincided with the times we played bingo, or maybe they'd just be too busy. We didn't think for a second that it would be for the reasons that it is now."

On Feb. 6, Millar received a call from Savannah Bailey of Clemson's PAW Journey program. Conceived and cultivated by Jeff Davis, PAW Journey's mission is to prepare and strengthen football players for life away from the football field. Community involvement is a part of that, and that's why Bailey reached out to Clemson Downs.

A cluster of players had a few hours free that afternoon, and Bailey asked if there were any activities going on.

Millar told her Mondays and Thursdays were bingo days at Clemson Downs. This was a Thursday.

"They called right before bingo started," Millar said. "We told them it starts at 3 PM. Not 3:02 or 3:01; 3 PM on the dot."

Sure enough, the following contingent showed up less than an hour later: Trevor Lawrence, D.J. Uiagalelei, Amari Rodgers, Joseph Ngata, Myles Murphy, Bryton Constantin, James Edwards, Sylvester Mayers and Hamp Greene.

They didn't just show up on time; they showed up early and helped set up the tables. Uiagalelei even brought his own bingo cards and dauber.

Here's the important part of this: The group didn't carry itself like it was being forced or even asked to be there. The players didn't behave like they were checking off an item on their to-do list before they hurried back home or to the football offices to play video games or do normal college-kid things.

No. This was genuine.

Of course all these seniors, almost exclusively die-hard Clemson fans, were smitten by the presence of their football heroes.

Most of these guys were celebrities in high school. They're used to the rock-star treatment everywhere they go, probably even tired of it in a lot of cases.

This was not one of those cases. The revelation of this visit was that the players seemed just as excited to see the seniors as the seniors were to see them.

"We didn't expect both groups to have so much fun," Millar said. "We just had a blast. You'd have never known there was 60-plus years separating the two groups. That was the neatest thing to witness. The players walked in and were so at home, so at ease. There was none of that awkwardness, none of that: 'What do we say?' They came in and they sat down and they just enjoyed being with a group of people that loved on them.

"I know that these players have a lot of people making sure they eat healthy and are taking care of themselves. But when you have a sweet little grandmother asking you if you're taking care of yourself, it takes on a whole new meaning. They want to make sure you're cared for, to make sure you're OK."

Dabo Swinney's program has become a national recruiting force in recent years, as Clemson is capitalizing on its enhanced profile by cherry-picking the top talent from as far away as California.

So seeing the names of two Californians on the list of visitors -- Uiagalelei and Ngata -- crystallizes a notion: More players from far-flung locales means more players who are a long way from their support systems.

Even the players who are a short drive from home don't have many pockets of time to go back home because of the year-round nature of major college football.

"The members of the team don't get to see their families very often, and our residents don't always get to see their grandkids very often," Millar said. "So it was a natural fit. Both groups had a blast."

Four days later, the Monday-afternoon bingo was scheduled for 3 PM like always. And this time, here came 13 football players. Jackson Carman, Andrew Booth and Bryan Bresee were among several first-timers.

"We were getting calls from the football staff asking us: 'Is bingo still on?'" Millar said. "We always said: 'Come on. It starts at 3 o'clock.'"

Two weeks later, seven players participated. Included was Xavier Thomas, who showed up early to visit with a 99-year-old resident who wasn't physically able to walk from her room to the activity center to play bingo.

"We surprised her by bringing Xavier Thomas to her apartment," Millar said. "She was just thrilled. This young man went into her room and sat down on her floor and talked with her so she could have this experience without having to walk over. We took the team to her, and it was really neat. They hit it off so well."

Thomas was planning to come back soon to visit his new friend, but that didn't happen because of the virus.

As the world longs for brighter and safer days, a small slice of Clemson's world yearns for the days of enjoying the simpler pleasures that have been taken away.

Like playing bingo with their adopted grandchildren.

The feeling is probably mutual.

"It was heartwarming," Millar said. "Heartwarming then, but especially now as we realize that those things we took for granted we're not able to do right now. We didn't realize at the time how special it was. It was so great to see them playing bingo together, and wanting to come back."

The full list of players who joined the Clemson Downs retirement community for games on bingo on three occasions in February:

Xavier Thomas, Darien Rencher, Jackson Carman, Will Edwards, Jordan McFadden, DJ Uiagalelei, Zac McIntosh, Andrew Booth, Will Brown, Hamp Greene, James Edwards, Jacob Edwards, Bryton Constantin, Tayquon Johnson, Bryn Tucker, Bryan Breese, Joseph Charleston, Trevor Lawrence, Amari Rodgers, Joseph Ngata, Sylvester Mayers and Myles Murphy.

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