Legend [16629]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 6482
Joined: 9/29/12
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A few random thoughts...
Jan 5, 2014, 11:42 PM
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Many folks on these boards are so obsessed with the most recent nonsense that comes out of Steve Spurrier's mouth as well as the current 5 game slide against the coots. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't particularly like Spurrier, and I certainly don't like losing to South Carolina. However, with that being said, I have to be totally honest about a few things. Some of you may disagree, but here goes:
Gamecock football has been around since something like 1892. In that timeframe they've got one conference title that was decades ago. They have a few bowl wins, but those have mostly come in the last decade. For literally more than a century before the last couple years they were the doormat of whatever conference they happened to be in. They were so irrelevant that many Clemson fans just looked at the annual game as a warm-up for a bowl. Now, that being said, I will give credit where credit is due. They've had unusual success in the past several seasons, and to deny that would not be reasonable. This leads me to my overall point.
For decades before Spurrier arrived in Columbia, South Carolina football was completely irrelevant. Now, they have established a presence on the national scene. However, let's not forget how long it took Spurrier to get them to this point. It's not like he came in and had them booming in 2 seasons. They lost at least 5 games in each of his first 6 seasons in Columbia, and only 2 of these seasons featured a winning conference record. In addition, their best bowl appearance in his 9 years there is the Capital One Bowl. They also only won their division once in that span, and we all remember what Cam Newton and Auburn did to them in the SEC Championship that season. So, with all of this in mind, let's turn our attention to the coach of his in-state rival.
Dabo has coached five full seasons at Clemson (throw out the interim data for the sake of this argument). In five seasons Clemson has three division titles, one conference title (two appearances in ACC title games), one BCS bowl win (two BCS bowl appearances), and a winning conference record in 4 of the 5 seasons. Not only has Dabo done far more in 5 years at Clemson than Spurrier has done in 9 years in Columbia, but Dabo has also literally surpassed many of the accomplishments of the entire history of South Carolina football in just 5 years as well. So, it's pretty easy to understand why you see Spurrier and Holtz bashing on Clemson early and often in interviews. The answer is pretty simple. They are jealous as h3ll.
Spurrier can go on and on about the power of the SEC and state championships all he wants, folks, because you know what? That's all he's got to rest his cap on. Don't believe me? Well, look at it this way. The Gamecocks have been playing football since 1892. What would most of their fans and coaches say is their greatest accomplishment in that span? You got it, a 5-game win streak against Clemson. Still don't believe me? Ok, well, take a look at Spurrier's post-game speech after their bowl win the other day. They had just won the equivalent of the best bowl game in their history, and all he cared to talk about was how he had some state championships.
Well, Steve, we have a ton of state championships. We have a ton of conference championships, too. We also have BCS success, and let's not forget about that national championship.
So, my fellow Clemson fans, the next time you think about getting all hot under the collar about something Steve Spurrier said, just remember that it's coming from a man and a program that are desperately trying to be what we already are and, for that matter, have always been.
South Carolina fans like to go on about how recently all Clemson fans want to do is talk about the past. That's only half true. We like to talk about the past and the present because we've accomplished far more in both.
ALL IN.
Go Tigers.
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