Perspective lost

I was there at GSP in '78, when Charley Pell's men flew home from Maryland after clinching the program's first ACC title in 11 years. Former Voice of the Tigers Jim Phillips called those 11 years a “drought”. Imagine his thoughts on this being year-20. I was a kid, but I was there.

It was night as we headed up I-85 North from Greenville to welcome them home. Cars lined the interstate and people, families with children, walked in all orange in the cold dark air long distances up said interstate and into the airport. Moms holding their kids hands, dads carrying small paw flags and other celebratory gear. Being long before 9/11 and a much simpler time, people could go to the gate to welcome loved ones home, and that's exactly what everyone did. And the team of Dwight Clark, Steve Fuller and the Bostic Brothers were indeed our loved ones.

Must've been thousands there at the gate, in the lobbies above and below the escalators. Chanting, yelling.

“C-L-E-M-S-O-N.....T-I-G-E-rrR---S!”

Airport security didn't give a shit. It was like Occupy Greenville-Spartanburg Airport but it was like security was in on it too. Much happiness abounded.

I remember vaguely standing near the gate, my dad somehow managed that, and reaching out and touching Jim Stuckey's thigh-sized upper arm. Clemson's Marlboro Man was one of my heroes and it was unbelievable that I got to connect with a guy who went on to win Super Bowls with the Niners.

It was indeed a magical time. But what made it magical was that Clemson empirically achieved something – an ACC championship. The throng was justified.

With the 2:00 am mass held at the West End Zone after Clemson beat good but very beatable teams and no hardware was brought home, it felt empty. Three big wins, no doubt. And I get the excitement. But fans were chanting “DABO DABO DABO!”, and the last time they did that they hired him. Very much in contrast to '78, there was no ACC title to hold in the air this past early Sunday morning. I watched the video on YouTube of the gathering, and it was like watching a Roman mass with Pope Swinney presiding. I rather didn't get the outrageous exuberance.

Are fans so desperate for something good that they'll celebrate...nothing? Or rather, celebrate anything at all that vaguely resembles respectable accomplishment?

Maybe it's because many of today's fans are mid-20 somethings who've only been a fan since the early 90s and are thus incapable of comprehending championship teams. Maybe these fans can't possibly act like they've “been there” before, because they haven't. You were never there during the title run days, so really you don't know what you're talking about. Not really.

To put this into perspective, let me post this:

Let's sober up now, people.

Don't get me wrong; Clemson has had a hell of a season so far. I was figuring 0-3 from Auburn through Virginia Tech. But the exact inverse?

Against an SEC team other than South Carolina? Looking at Clemson's history, that's a loss.

Against a Seminole team led by Jimbo Fisher and not Bobby Bowden? Possible loss.

Against the class of the ACC who's owned Clemson's ass for years? At at their own hostile backyard no less? Definite loss.

Didn't see that coming, and now the Tigers are perched at No. 8 in the AP poll and are coming home to face a horrid Boston College team. Undefeated at the halfway point is some serious momentum.

But we're not even at the halfway point yet. Yet to hear the multitudes of fans desperate for championships, you'd think ACC commissioner John Swofford flew up to Blacksburg and went ahead and handed the conference title trophy to Dabo Swinney after the game. I get the excitement and that you're desperate for it, but let's not lose our goddamn minds here.

Have you forgotten Clemson's penchant for letdowns throughout the season? Remember 2000? 2006? The one play each of the past few seasons that has been all too costly?

I know you aren't going to sober up anytime soon. You've already got Clemson pegged for Charlotte, NC, and then again in New Orleans just like that dipshit ClemsonTom out there in YouTubeLand. I hope you're not out there driving around or otherwise operating heavy machinery with the bender you're on.

It's absolutely crucial for the team to sober up TODAY to prepare for the Eagles. I think it's a win, but until Clemson actually goes through a schedule WITHOUT losing to a team it should stomp, it will always remain a distinct probability that they have the capacity to blow it.

Look at it this way, Clemson hasn't “dominated” these games. They've been wins, sure, but they've been ugly ones. Very fugly. How many three-and-outs did Clemson have this past game? How many dropped passes? Or have you conveniently overlooked these warts? Do you think if this shit doesn't get corrected soon that it won't catch up with them? Chad Morris is all too aware of this swelled-head syndrome, yet you're not and you are more aware of Clemson's past than Morris is.

And all those turdbrains chanting “Dabo Dabo!” after the team arrived back in Clemson? Have you forgotten that it's Morris that turned around this offense and, quite possibly, the entire team?

I'm pulling for them as much as you are, but let's not chalk this up as an ACC title season until they actually win it. Can you actually grow a brain and remember the past before you start banking on the present? “Cart before the horse” ring a bell? Okay?

Booing characterizes a maturing fanbase

The first time I remember hearing the Boo Birds at Clemson was during the Ken Hatfield years. I remember thinking as an early 20-something, “this is new.”

As a kid, I was taken aback not because I disagreed with it, but rather it was something I’d simply never experienced. I’d heard it on the telly with other teams, whether college or NFL or baseball or whatever, so it wasn’t like it was totally foreign to me. I’d simply never heard it at Clemson.

This past Saturday as Clemson headed into the locker room trailing Troy 13-16 at halftime, the Big Black Flock took flight once again and let the team have it.

Maybe it had an effect, maybe it didn’t, but you bet your ass it was heard by the coaches. Clemson then went on to rip off a whopping 30 points (which included four touchdowns, not shitloads of field goals this time mind you) in the second half to seal a 43-19 win.

Talk about a tale of two halves. Another bipolar Clemson team? If history’s any indicator, yep.

Then game’s end comes and we’re treated to the usual coaching interviews, blah blah blah, but in this case it was reported that defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, offensive coordinator Chad Morris and offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell had some colorful opinions on the booing. Needless to say, they didn’t like it and that is putting it nicely.

Head coach Dabo Swinney, on the other hand, opted to take his usual bullshit moral highroad and said that he didn’t need the fans’ input to tell him Clemson sucked in the first half.

Oh Dabo, you elitist you. But don’t worry, coach, that’s just that crazy five-percent crowd. Must’ve been a loud five-percent because their boos accounted for 95 percent of the sound in the stadium as your team trotted into the locker room.

It's been written in the Clemson beat media that the booing was aimed at taking a knee in the last seconds of the half. Please, it was aimed at the entire team for their so-called performance of the entire half, not just one play. Look at it this way; do you think the Birds would have taken flight if Clemson still took the knee yet was up, say, 27-16? I’ll let you think on that one.

Here’s a fact of big-time sports: there’s absolutely nothing wrong in booing. Nothing at all. It absolutely does not damage the psyche of the players unless they’re dumpling soft and can’t...oh wait... Anyway, does not damage the players’ psyche which is the argument held by many of the Tigers’ fanbase’s leading enablers.

Could it be possible that the fans are tired of getting fed recruiting hype preseason after preseason and, come gameday, the reality is nowhere close? Nope, not a bit.

I’m not saying the typical flimsy reason for it being okay is because everyone does it. Rather, a fanbase who isn’t afraid to boo a shitty product is one sign of a maturing fanbase. Why? Because they now have standards, and high ones at that. But that’s only one sign. Intelligence is another and Clemson’s fanbase still lacks in that category.

I love it when a coach goes to this school or that and says, “The fans are great! They’re very passionate, the best in the nation and we wouldn’t have it any other way!” Then they get pissed when these same passionate fans boo them when they shit out a pathetic team. Well, guess what, genius? A fanbase that boos is...here it comes...indicative of a passionate one. It’s impossible to have a passionate fanbase who won’t boo when you fuck up. What do you want, one that will pat you on the head, tell you everything will be okay and Jesus is in control and put a gold star by your name on the chalkboard?

Obviously we’re not talking about fans like that of many pro teams who go there only to bitch and throw stuff. I’m talking about fans who release the Flock from the birdcage when it’s warranted.

And you bet your ass going into the locker room with a halftime deficit to a Sun Belt team warrants it. And you’re a nadless shithead if you think it doesn’t.

If Caldwell, Steele, Morris and Swinney take issue with booing, they best not go to the NFL (assuming they even have a shot in their ass to begin with). At least not to Philly or Oakland. Because if they think Clemson fans are asspains wait'll they get a load of certain NFL fans. What's more, wait’ll they get a load of the NFL players they’ll be coaching.

If Swinney’s going to make the players tougher, perhaps he and his staff should set a better example. Pissing and moaning over bitchy fans, who ironically are paying for their bloated paychecks, won’t do anything but turn them against you. Pissing back is a losing venture at other places.

Maybe he should say something like what I said above, “we have very passionate fans and booing comes with the territory. It happens with all passionate fanbases.”

See how easy that was?

The Hatfield era was when Clemson’s fanbase sprouted its first pube. Unfortunately they’re still at peach-fuzz level two decades later and haven’t fully grown into a zero-tolerance, no-bullshit group. After all, this is the same nutless bunch that allowed Bowden to hang around and hang around for almost a decade only to give Terry Don Phillips the opportunity to hire a total downgrade, then fans give this downgrade two years to get it over the hump at which point he hands Clemson its first losing season in 12 years and second straight loss to South Carolina only to give him another two-year pass like the eunuchs they are.

But at least booing was a start.

Thank god booing is something fans continue to do when the team fucks up. And in this era of Clemson football where the average fan clearly is resented and viewed as a necessary evil by the athletic department and university, that’s a good thing.

Ballers vs. Athletes: A Nick Dawson study

Can't remember exactly where I saw it, but I've seen more than once where, when Clemson football's lack of toughness is brought up, someone of note says that the program needs to recruit more players and fewer athletes. While I get where they're going with this, it does sound rather abstract. I can only assume that this has to do, at least in part, with the psychology of the footballer in question.

I'm guessing the psychology part of this basically says that, to oversimplify, athletes have good measurables. Forty times, vertical leaps, the kind of stuff you can put a number on basically. Great, great talents who are a threat every time they step onto the field. Players, on the other hand, may not have all the elite numbers but they have heart. They thrive on competition and have an almost sociopathic need to smash someone in the mouth. They want to go up against and slay the biggest dragons in Mordor. Modern day Beowulfs, to be corny. To borrow from former USC coach Pete Carroll's recruiting philosophy, the best players don't want to win – they need to win.

* * *

So I am speaking with someone about Clemson recruiting, something I'm not terribly acute at nor do I care to be, and they're telling me they read someplace that prized recruit Nick Dawson, a North Carolinian linebacker currently with scads of offers nationwide, would have followed his BFF Germone Hopper, a four-star Tar Heel State baller and Clemson commit, and committed to Clemson a lot earlier had it not been for coach Dabo Swinney's 2011 linebacker windfall on National Signing Day with signees Stephone Anthony, Tony Steward and Lateek Townsend. Says he's concerned about getting playing time.

Dawson says he's not afraid of competition, but really?

Here's the cold-hard fact, Nick: Anthony, Steward nor Townsend are going anywhere, period. Get over it. If you sign with Clemson you are going to compete with them. That's inevitable. If you think Swinney is stupid enough to bench them in favor of you....well, wait a minute there...

If you think a coach who knows what he's doing is going to shower you with favor in lieu of an incoming stocked linebacker corps, you're the one being stupid. But then again this is Clemson we're talking about, a school where decision-making takes a back seat to politics, so you have that working in your favor.

Here's a reality check: those who aren't afraid of competition don't shy away from it, which is exactly what Dawson's doing by virtue of his own words and his hesitancy to commit. If you want to go to a place where you will be starting from day-one, that only happens at a school that has no linebackers, and BCS schools with no linebackers lose games. And given its Signing Day success a few months ago, Clemson appears to no longer be one of them, for now. Just move on, man. Commit somewhere else where you'll get your ass kissed.

Perhaps this is what some former players and coaches are talking about when they distinguish between “talented athletes” and true ballers. Maybe this is what former Clemson and Carolina Panther standout Brentson Bucker meant when he said Clemson needs more winners and fewer athletes. People like Chris Morocco, DeChane Cameron, Ed McDaniel, Rob Bodine and Rodney Williams – those who weren't top prospects coming out of high school but worked their asses off and led Clemson to big winning. Grown-ass men who may or may not have a Pinto body but sure as hell have a Ferrari engine.

I'm no coach, admittedly, but if I was and I hear about a recruit expressing the kind of hesitation that Dawson has, I immediately requestion myself asking if I really want this “player” on my team.

It's tragic to see such potential talent symbiotically coexist with such a potential waste of it, which quite possibly goes to the heart of the very definition of prima donna. And perhaps therein lies one big difference between athletes and ballers.

Time for Direct Action

So I was reading this column in The Guardian (UK) a while back about a direct action group there called UK Uncut and their fine work in attempting to fend off Austerity measures taken by the British government to get its economy back in check. This Austerity has swept Europe and has resulted in protests all across the continent, namely in France, Spain and the UK.

(An American group has appropriated the name, US Uncut, to fight American Austerity, and I’ve obviously appropriated it here as well for our purposes.)

In reality the Conservative and Labour Parties are essentially doing in England what US politicians in both parties are doing here: squeezing the middle- and lower-classes dry and slashing public spending while funneling piles of cash to Wall Street and other corporate fatcats in the form of tax avoidances and to the four wars we’ve started (Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen).

From the Guardian column:

Campaigners dressed in doctors' coats and armed with fake blood are planning to close 30 high street banks on Saturday in the biggest direct action to date against proposed changes to the NHS.

More than 30 groups across the country are expected to occupy major high street banks, turning them into mock hospitals and setting up "operating theatres" inside to draw attention to the banks' role in creating the deficit.

 * * *


Clemson fans have talked, bitched and moaned ad nauseam for several years now. Not that I’m trashing them; the university has earned every bit of criticism levied against it.

The hiring of the inexperienced Dabo Swinney after Tommy Bowden’s dismissal over more qualified candidates like Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster and, as rumor has it, TCU’s Gary Patterson, the virtual holding athletic director Terry Don Phillips at gunpoint to build an indoor football practice facility and training table after years of him poo-pooing on the ideas, the havoc reeked inside Jervey walls by sociopathic boors such as Katie Hill, the lashing out at fans by Swinney early last season when things were clearly heading south only for him to justify the vitriol against him as he ended the season on a losing note...there is so much wrong at Clemson you just shake your head.

But it may be time for the bitching and moaning to manifest into direct action.

The most effective way to bring change at Clemson is quite simple: withhold your monies. Fans who cancel their IPTAY memberships and season tickets will send a message, because the only thing president Jim Barker and the faux-academian, corporate tools like him understand is money. So you hit him where it hurts most - his wallet. Problem is Clemson fans historically are rubes and will gladly give this pathetic university their money in a way no different than the elderly woman who gives her entire social security check over to big-tent carnival evangelists. In both cases it’s a blind, religious adherence to a warped dogma.

A year ago there was a billboard movement started, but the guy charged with creating it plundered the coffers and the agenda went nowhere. While that is a blow, that should not have stopped the movement. In the spirit of our brethren across the pond, here may be some ideas that would pick up where that left off:

Duck Calls: Available at any Bass Pro Shop or other redneck store, these can be used during games when the team starts to screw up or just flat-out wilt. Instead of booing to voice your displeasure, use one of these bad boys to remind Swinney just how many quacking ducks are in the fanbase. Moreover, booing may be interpreted as being aimed at the players, who are only following orders. Given his slap at the fans last season when he referred to them as “quacking like ducks”, the duck call is unquestionably and directly aimed at Swinney, and only Swinney. There’s no way a duck call can be interpreted as being aimed at players given historical context. They range anywhere from $15 on up to $70 or so. (Keep in mind if y’all go this route collectively and use these during games, Clemson will likely come up with a rule forbidding them inside the stadiums. Okay, fine, but you can still use your own voice by going “QUACK!” And make sure it’s nasally. They can’t prohibit you from bringing your larynx.)

Motor Oil: In honor of Swinney’s inauguration back in ’08 when he said that Clemson didn’t need an overhaul but only an “oil change”, then proceeded to win the Atlantic Division title in ’09 (thanks CJ!) before handing Clemson its first losing season since ’98 and first back-to-back losses to South Carolina since the early ‘70s, the use of a quart bottle as a prop is only in order. Perhaps when you’re in Death Valley and Clemson is losing (or looking shitty winning) to a lesser team again, just hold an empty container of Quaker State, Valvoline or whatever to remind Swinney of his dipshittedness. Like with the Duck Calls above, this show of displeasure can’t be aimed at the players; this is all on Swinney.

Pair of Dimes: To say TDP made a shitty hire in Swinney is an understatement. Words can’t really capture the utter imbecility of that move. Since then TDP has been preaching to give Swinney more time, as his so-called “paradigm” is 4-6 years for a coach regardless that the writing on the wall screams poor hire from the start. You can use real dimes, obviously...somehow...but to make a bigger and more public statement at the game or in your tailgating environment, I suggest cutting out two really big cardboard circles and paint a giant silver dime on each. And again, you can proudly hold these up when Clemson is aborting a winnable game as a clear and direct shot at TDP’s moronic hiring philosophy. You can even do it when you catch Swinney signaling plays like he’s done in the past or if you know he’s meddling in the offense (which will be evident).

Straight Jackets: Like the quacking ducks thing, Swinney also took a shot the fans when he said that some of them are “crazy”. Well, if you’re one of the “crazy” ones then lob it back in Swinney’s court - wear a straight jacket into the stadium during gameday. You can optionally add the phrase “5%” to the back (or front). This will make a statement, no doubt.

Wings: When TDP took the AD job, he said during his press conference, “I am going to show you a little about my organizational skills, because I am going to start to wing it. My notes are in the car.” Well, he wasn’t lying, as his decisions to this day and his answers to interview questions feel winged and dodgy. In honor of this, cardboard cutouts of angel's wings or something like that and brought to the game. Make them about 6-8 inches large then affix them to a stick or something. When Swinney screws up, hold these up proudly as a shot at TDP, because he was probably winging it when he made the dumb decision to hire Swinney to begin with. When security approaches you and accuses you of being disruptive, start fanning yourself and say “I can’t have a fan on this hot day?” You can also use the stick mount for the Pair of Dimes.

Gene Stallings masks: Very simple here - find pictures of Gene Stallings, cut out the face and add affix a rubber band to it, then wear this mask during games, tailgating, at Tiger Walk, etc. Because as you know, Swinney used Stallings as a campaign prop to get him this job, so it’s only fitting that we ensure Swinney feels reassured that Stallings is still by his side in spirit.

Spinning Tops: Buy 20 of these things then dump them at the front door of Sikes Hall to represent Barker’s bullshit magazine top-20 goal. If you can get them all spinning, great, as that’ll represent how much this corporate tool has spun statistics and metrics to manipulate Clemson up the rankings. On each one write some metric or statistic Clemson has manipulated to climb the rankings (classroom size reductions, eliminating majors, etc). Or you can box them up and ship them to Barker but a public display of sarcastic unrest if more effective. Shouldn’t have to pay more than $2-3 for each.

Keep in mind those things that can be used during the games aren’t exclusive to game use. You can use them when tailgating, and if you really want to send a message you can use them at Tiger Walk. Imagine a radical faction of fans at Tiger Walk as Swinney passes by, and he’s berated with the sounds of duck calls and has to see Pennzoil bottles raised in the air by people wearing straight jackets.

(Wait, how can anyone hold anything up while wearing a straight jacket? Well, you’re reading this blog so that means you’re smart, which means you’ll figure it out.)

So there you have it, some ideas for direct action. Some may be lame but all will grab attention, and I’ve accounted for the retarded Swinney/TDP/Barker triumvirate in this list.

Comical, perhaps. But it’ll get attention. Of course, I’m sure some of you are wanting something more intense I’d guess, as I’m sure some of you nutjobs are probably considering something insane like painting TDP’s car all orange and then write in white the words “solid orange”, “competitive” and “paradigm” on it or dumping off a herd of goats at Swinneys’ house. Well, you’re not getting it here.

Clemson's penchant for blowing early leads

In light of the basketball team blowing leads against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament and again against West Virginia in the NCAAs, I'm reminded that Clemson's football team has a huge problem in this area as well, and it goes back a ways.


Let first define and early lead: having one in either the first or second quarter. With normally-functioning football programs with championship-caliber coaching and an actual supportive university, this kind of thing is capitalized upon. Momentum is established and rarely, again with good football teams, is that momentum taken away.


But at Clemson, it's not rare - it's pretty damn common. At Clemson, early leads cause anxiety and stress, because we all know that an early lead only translates to plenty of chances to blow them. So let's go through, year by year, and showcase yet another wart on the Tigers' collective backside:


2010 Blown leads, early or not


vs. South Carolina: Clemson jumped out early to a 7-0 lead within two minutes of 1st quarter; lost lead eight minutes later, never scored again and proceeded to lose 7-29.


@ Florida State: 10-3 advantage entering second half; lost lead in 4th quarter, never scored another touchdown and proceeded to lose 13-16.


@ Boston College: 10-3 advantage entering second quarter; lost lead in second quarter, never scored again and proceeded to lose 10-16.


vs. then-No. 16 Miami: 14-7 advantage soon after second quarter began; lost lead just over a minute later and proceeded to lose 21-30.


@ then-No. 16 Auburn: 17-3 advantage entering second half; lost lead with under four minutes to go in third quarter and proceeded to lose 24-27 in overtime.


**Among Clemson's seven total losses, five were where Clemson blew an early lead (in either the first or second quarter). (Clemson never had a lead against USF nor UNC at all so they're not listed as blown early leads above.)


Before I go any further, let me make you aware of something - in the lists above I've included all instances where Clemson lost after having a lead at some point in the game, whether an early lead or they finally gained a late one. I write this because if I didn't showcase late leads, a lot of you numbnuts out there would whine and bitch and use it as some sort of retarded excuse to discredit facts as so many of you are prone to do.


So there are three tiers of losing at Clemson: 1) not having a lead at all (which is not in the lists above), 2) blowing late leads and 3) blowing early leads. The lists above detail both late and early leads but our focus here is early leads. Let's continue.


2009 Blown leads, early or not


vs. GT (ACC Title Game): 7-3 advantage entering second quarter; lost lead inside two minutes of second quarter and never gained another lead until 6:11 to go in the game when the Tigers went up by one point. Lost lead again at 1:20 mark in regulation and proceeded to lose 34-39.


@ South Carolina: Jumped out to early 7-0 advantage via C.J. Spiller's opening kickoff return; lost lead about nine minutes later, never regained a lead, and proceeded to lose 17-34.


@ Maryland: 13-3 advantage up until 4:32 mark in second quarter; lost lead with 35 seconds left in the half and proceeded to lose 21-24.


vs. then No. 15 TCU: 3-0 advantage at 8:21 mark in first quarter; lost lead about five minutes later, regained 10-7 lead in second quarter but lost lead again just inside fourth quarter, and proceeded to lose 10-14.


@ GT: Didn't get a lead until 11:33 in fourth quarter when the Tigers went up 27-24; lost lead six minutes later and proceeded to lose 27-30.


**Among Clemson's five total losses, four were where Clemson blew an early lead.


2008 Blown leads, early or not


vs. Nebraska (Gator Bowl): 21-10 advantage in under five minutes into the second half; never scores again, loses lead with 1:40 left in third quarter and proceeds to lose 21-26.


@ Florida State: 10-0 lead up until about six minutes into first quarter; loses lead with 4:16 left in first, regains lead at 8:17 mark in second quarter, loses lead again at 1:25 mark and proceeds to lose 27-41.


vs GT: No lead until 2:16 mark in third quarter when Clemson went up 17-14; lost lead with 5:22 left in game and proceeded to lose 17-21.


@ Wake Forest: Grabbed 7-3 advantage with seven seconds to go in third quarter; lost lead at 5:28 mark and proceeded to lose 7-12. (NOTE: This was Tommy Bowden's final game.)


vs. Maryland: 10-0 advantage entering second quarter; lost lead with 10:25 to go in game and proceeded to lose 17-20.


**In Clemson's six total losses, three were where Clemson blew an early lead. (Clemson never had a lead at all against Alabama so it's not listed as a blown early lead above.)


2007 Blown leads, early or not


vs. Auburn (Chick-fil-A Bowl): 7-3 advantage entering second half; lost lead about four minutes into third quarter, regained lead at 11:24 mark in fourth, lost lead three minutes later, regained three-point lead in overtime but lost lead on a Kodi Burns scoring run, proceeding to lose 20-23.


vs. Boston College: 10-3 advantage entering fourth quarter with Atlantic Division title on the line; lost lead a minute-and-a-half later, regained lead at 5:28 mark but lost lead again with under two minutes to go, and proceeded to lose 17-20.


@ GT: "Whopping" 3-0 lead in just over a minute into first quarter; never scored again, lost lead at 5:05 mark and proceeded to lose 3-13.


**Of Clemson's four total losses, three were where Clemson blew an early lead. (Clemson never had a lead at all against VT so it's not listed as a blown early lead above.)


So in short, over the past four seasons (and I included Bowden's last years intentionally so you Dabo Dipshits won't think I'm beating up only on him), Clemson has lost a grand total of 22 losses. Of those 22, 15 of them were where Clemson had a lead in the first or second quarter then proceeded to blow it. That's 68 percent, and this two-thirds-plus leads-blowing crap has cost the Tigers wins against arch-rival South Carolina (twice), an ACC championship, an Atlantic Division title, bowl games and a win over an ensuing national champion on their own turf.


Face it: there's absolutely no way in hell Clemson will ever get over any humps if they can't maintain early momentums for any significant length of time. And because these early leads aren't all that large to begin with (most are only 10 points), there's no way you can expect your defense to keep any good offenses out of the endzone while your offense sits on the rock and plays conservatively to run out the clock. As if you can magically speed up 30 or 45 minutes of remaining gameclock that much to keep a measly 10- or 14-point lead. Please.


If this trend continues, will Swinney lose his job? Probably not, because as long as Terry Don Phillips is running the athletics department (into the ground), Swinney will be there. Swinney is TDP's golden child, and to fire Swinney is an admission of failure by TDP, and he's way to proud for that. But with Swinney at the helm, you can count on blowing early leads and continue Clemson's fine tradition of "WTF" losses.


Swinney can scold the fans countless more times for being quacky, crazy and irrelevant, and he can ban media access to this person or that all he wants. But the continues losing will happen because, well, he's Dabo Swinney - a former real estate agent who thinks he can actually talk his way out of losing.

Swinney’s media lockout good and bad, but why?

By now many of you have heard of Dabo Swinney's new media policy. Among its tenets are...

1. Swinney will no longer do one-on-one interviews with local media, including radio.
2. No media access to assistant coaches.
3. Only the coordinators will be available to media.
4. Freshman players won’t be available for interviews until week of the first game
5. No media access to grad assistants, strength coaches, player development coaches, and so on.

Now, I’m told by my bullshit “sources close to the situation” this isn’t the brainchild of athletics director Terry Don Phillips, nor SID Tim Bourret. This is all Swinney.

I can understand a few of them. The ban on assistant coaches is a good one, I think. Assistants are way way way too busy recruiting and coaching to worry about media access. If I were a head coach, I’d rather them focus on recruiting than half-and-half between that and interviews. Sure, former running backs coach André Powell had a foot-in-mouth moment when he said that backs André Ellington and Jamie Harper decided who would play and when during games, and that was beyond stupid and irresponsible as a coach. But there is a bigger issue I think.

Same thing with the grad assistants, strength coaches, development coaches, and so on. They’re so far down the totem pole I’m not sure there would be any meat on that interview’s bones.

I do think the restriction of access to incoming freshmen is a good idea, too. Those youngsters are too busy acclimating to a new life, independence, an academic environment and so on, in addition to football responsibilities mind you, to have to worry about media interviews and what to say and how to say it and when. I’m sure many of them would love an interview; they’re in the spotlight. What campus celebrity wouldn’t love that? But there are more important things for them to be concerned with initially. And, this access is only temporary. After their cherry is busted during that first game, they’re open to the media.

I’m guessing those freshmen’s parents like that too.

What’s baffling, though, is that Swinney is self-imposing a ban on the media, and stranger it’s only the local media.

After coming off Clemson’s first losing season in over a decade, first back-to-back losses to the South Carolina Gamecocks in 40 years and him scolding the fanbase multiple times during this past season (quacking ducks, crazy five percenters, message board fans being irrelevant), the timing of this can’t be considered as mere coincidence. Swinney utterly failed Clemson in 2010, and this particular media restriction smacks of humiliation and unwillingness to face the music.

Sure he's admitted failure, that it's all on him. But it's easy to take full responsibility when there are no real consequences, isn't it? As long as Phillips is there, Swinney's job is safe wins and losses be damed. So Swinney's mea culpa is light and airy at best. He's also doing this in the comforts of a press conference, where he's not being thrown fastballs and the questions pretty much controlled. Throw in there that Clemson's local beat media has been a rather nutless bunch ever since I can remember, and it makes for situation that's an all-out joke.

Furthermore, if his scoldings of the fans have alienated him from them, this only alienates him more. No radio interviews translates into no call-ins from fans during the broadcast, I’d think, which means even more disconnection from the fans.

One thing that suckered many fans in to him was his likeability and openness. After all the hideous “accomplishments” he’s achieved this past season, it’s easy to think that Swinney is now skulking into a corner hoping that time will pass and fans will forget the atrocities he’s committed in light of the program's top-10 recruiting class. As if Swinney can actually coach and develop these fine athletes to be better than they are. Please. And don’t think that fans are letting him off the hook. Swinney's enemies in the fanbase seem to be on the rise.

Not only is Swinney alienating himself further from the fans, but now he’s alienating himself from the local media. Not the national media, mind you. Probably because he feels the national humps don’t know (nor care) about Clemson enough because their livelihood doesn’t depend on the school and therefore they’ll likely be more distant, and thus nicer, to him in interviews. The local media knows him all too well, warts and all, and Swinney doesn’t want anyone with a mirror holding it up in front of him.

A while back I saw ESPN’s “30 For 30” on Southern Methodist's glory years back in the 1980s, a time the Mustangs were hell on wheels but were brought down by scandal and were subsequently put on probation, including the death penalty. During that segment legendary announcer Brent Musberger said something like “when the local beat media turn on you, you’re finished as a coach”.

If that’s true, then Swinney has indeed laid the groundwork to be skewered by everyone from Bart Wright to Travis Sawchik to Larry Williams. The only way out of it is to have a humongous season this year, and humongous doesn't mean nine goddamn wins; it means at least 10 regular season wins, an ACC title and an Orange Bowl win. If he loses or continues on with Tommy Bowden's 8-win tradition with all that talent, the media will have a field day. I know I will.

And after inexplicably driving a 10-win talented team head on into 6-7 last year, what do you think will happen in ’11?