Up next in 10
Clemson coach Shawn Poppie and player Loyal McQueen after loss to #UNC.
Feb 9, 2025
Clemson coach Shawn Poppie and player Loyal McQueen after loss to #UNC.
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uh and one play better than us today uh
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thank you for the fans that came out to
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have over 2,000 yet again today it's uh
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you know they keep coming keep
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supporting um hopefully we gave them
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something for them to keep coming back
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proud of our kids effort I thought we
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competed um just again one possession
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short and that's on me as the head coach
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I got to find a way to get him over the
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hump so um that locker room sad uh but
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we're going to keep working we got no
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other choice
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coaches man cl's third straight game log
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in double figures is what is she
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beginning to find a rhythm offensively
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yeah well she's coming into the year we
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knew she'd be a mismatch right like
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we're playing untr like non-traditional
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basketball we got her as really a guard
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playing the four um but we we spaced it
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out a lot and and uh I think to be
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honest over the last couple weeks she's
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just kind of coming into her own of
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figuring out when to how to um but also
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I think tacking attacking things with a
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totally different mindset um there's
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no push back or fight it's it's look in
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the mirror and if she's wrong hey I'll
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make it better next time and I'll keep
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working hard and I think that when she's
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played that way she's played with a
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clear mind which has allowed her to see
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some success so it's been much needed uh
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at that position and to add some
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consistency to that position will really
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help us as we we come down the home
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stretch what what do you think your team
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did to kind of make UNC struggle
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offensively I thought we competed I mean
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there's been times where as of late
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we've gotten so spread out and I thought
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we played in in our gaps quite a bit we
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started off in some Zone um I thought
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took them out of rhythm a little bit
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they didn't didn't shoot the three great
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they got some decent looks but the right
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people that we went in the game hoping
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they got shots uh took some right and
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then uh we then switched into some man
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and played a lot more man than we've
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really Practice coming in um but we were
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connected and I thought we played in
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gaps and played for each other other and
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and with each other which then all of a
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sudden forced them to take contested
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shots uh and mostly out of the paint
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which we have not been doing as of late
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so um with that said I wish we could
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take a handful of offensive rebounds
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back right they're in the second half I
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think they had two or three times down
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the floor where they got not only two
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but three opportunities um and that's
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just really hard to get over um so but
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proud of their effort that that was as
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connected as we've been on that side of
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the ball in a while I have to ask if you
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ever seen that happen before in a game
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where an opposing player goes the wrong
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direction I have not in that situation
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right uh I've seen it sometimes out of a
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halftime per se um but in that situation
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when she took off I'm like wait a second
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this is wrong we were all kind of thrown
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off you know um including the referees I
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think there for a second um but no I
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have never seen that uh I really wish
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able have taken advantage of it for sure
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you talked about just the crowd in t
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today especially with being Super Bowl
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Sunday just what was it like like to
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have another
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strong today well I've been I I should
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have started with this our marketing
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team thank you so much um what they've
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done for us showed importance to our
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program to our young women in that
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locker room over the last really year
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right but um this week especially right
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this is a tough day you think about
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Super Bowl Sunday but also don't forget
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we just had 9,000 in here last night
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with the men's team playing Duke and so
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uh you know I get like Clemson is a
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little different people are traveling to
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and from to get here right and so um you
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think that this would be one that you
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wouldn't have a ton of people at and um
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for for them to do their job and to
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spread the word again our our young
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people have been phenomenal on campus um
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but really marketing did an absolute
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phenomenal job and have been but but
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specifically for today to help us with
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that and um and again we we did not come
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out on top but I truly hope that that
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they're seeing and feeling of where this
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program is headed coach it obviously
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wasn't the result that you wanted but at
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the end of the day this was a number one
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12 team and you guys had a pretty
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incredible performance what are you
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taking from today into yet another
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challenging team that you're facing on
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Thursday yeah well we've really just
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tried to focus this one at a time you
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know and and um as as much as it's hurt
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um to not come out on
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top this team has fought and competed
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with the best of them dang near all year
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there's been a couple couple games where
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we you know did not play great and and
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got beat pretty bad um but for majority
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of the Year these top teams we've been
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hanging in and we put a little bit
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closer to 40 minutes together today um
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that's kind of what we keep talking
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about it's going to take all 40 because
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that's how we are built right we're
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we're not as big we're not as fast we're
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not as strong but we have to be focused
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and we got to be connected while we play
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with a lot of energy and effort and um
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that's what's so hard because did we get
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much better than we've been absolutely
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but we were still one plays short right
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and and I guarantee me included um if we
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went back in there and say if you could
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get one play back right we all would say
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absolutely and it' be a different
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feeling you know but um it is what it is
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we lost right and we could hang our head
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um or we can look in the mirror and say
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we are just as good as anybody in the
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country we have to keep working that's
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life we don't always get exactly what
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you want um but you better stay the
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course and keep working if you ever want
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to get to what you believe you deserve
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what were your message for on you today
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playing a whole team yeah you know it's
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interesting a couple years ago I think
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that was a huge huge emotional thing um
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in times where uh transfers weren't as
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many as you see in today's world um and
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so I I feel like I mean Loyals played
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against her former team obviously Anya
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today it's a little bit more normal in
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today's world you know it's um I'm sure
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she's got some close friends over there
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um to be honest we kind of flipped it
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and just allowed her knowledge to share
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some of just you've been around them for
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so long and so um you know I thought she
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had little nuances of just what each kid
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may try to do they she likes to break a
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play here compared to run what the
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normal set supposed to be um and so she
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gave us some of that knowledge which I
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felt was helpful um but I also think it
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took her attention off being an
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emotional game you know where you put so
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much pressure on
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yourself well was a leader for this team
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what are you telling your girls in that
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locker room right now how do you conquer
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Thursday
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yeah I think first I just want to thank
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my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just for
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another opportunity um to compete with
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my teammates um to play for Coach Poppy
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I'm just so grateful to be here thankful
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for the fan base um just the support
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that they've shown over you know just
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the course of the season has been
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amazing and it's been like a total flip
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and a switch from last year so just I'm
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thankful for that um but you know I just
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stay in the course continue to keep our
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heads up um we have nothing to put our
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heads down about um but like coach poy
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said um we just didn't get it done
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tonight um but we got another
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opportunity on Thursday so that's just
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the good thing about basketball um we
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let this one slip through our fingers
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but we got another opportunity so just
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keep we just got to keep moving
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forward thank you guys thanks so much
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Super Bowl Sunday and y'all are still
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here however many