My Buddy of 20+ Yrs Talked Me Off the Ledge Yesterday (long)
Nov 29, 2022, 5:22 PM
Big sunshine pumper here (or so I thought LOL). Even when we were down at the half to Notre Dame, I truly believed that we would come back and win despite the lack of momentum. It obviously didn't work out but I even held out hope of us stealing the 4th CFP spot by finishing strong.
That brings me to this past weekend. I REALLY hate losing to the Coots. Our loss in 2006 (which this game eerily reminded me of) ruined my mood for a good couple of weeks. This 2022 loss was just a perfect recipe for frustration: fumbles on special teams, DJ completing 27% of his passes on 29 attempts (!), abandoning the run game and busted plays in the secondary. The postgame comments by the coaching staff did not help matters either. I will refrain from revisiting that.
In the midst of my frustration, I came to a conclusion and sent a text to my buddy:
"Dabo gotta go."
I sent this not long after Dabo announced that DJ would remain the starter after such a listless performance. This was very infuriating to hear. To me, it just screamed that Dabo was on an ego trip and wanted to prove yet again that he could win with "his guy". Just as he wants to prove that he can win without using the transfer portal and also by hiring from within to fill important slots on the coaching staff. Hate it or not, the NCAA is evolving very quickly. IMO, pride would not be the right weapon to use to survive this landscape. As a result, I was just unsure that Dabo would have the temperament to fully adapt.
Super emotional response? Most definitely. But it's just how I felt.
I received a few texts back from my buddy saying the following statements, in short summary. I'll preface this by saying that he's a huge Fighting Illini fan and honestly doesn't care much for Clemson:
"So 10-2 and he's done." "Got you to how many playoffs and national championships?" "Can you guarantee another coach who can keep them top 10?" "Maybe he'll be humbled this offseason and change his approach." "It took some Manziel's, Bo Wallace's and Cardale Jones's before Saban got with the program. He finally said 'Fine, I'll recruit QBs and open the offense up'. But it didn't happen overnight." "Even Harbaugh had to adjust. Now OSU has a problem on their hands."
This reined me in quite a bit and put things in perspective. We have 5 goals placed in the locker room. As Dabo has stated on many occasions, we can have the season we want once those goals are reached. I believe he will do everything in his power to put us in a better position to hit all of those goals moving forward. How we will get there? Only Dabo knows. But the fact is that he's an all-timer of a coach that genuinely cares for Clemson. I was highly upset after this weekend and honestly still am a bit after reading some of Dabo's comments in his recent pressers lol. However, there is not a coach in America that I trust more to lead this program. To steal one of his favorite statements, "He's earned the right."
Re: My Buddy of 20+ Yrs Talked Me Off the Ledge Yesterday (long)
Nov 29, 2022, 7:24 PM
Dabo just needs to listen to his own advice over the years and go back and read all his slogans and see if he's a hypocrite or if he's ALL-IN or not. The only ones who want Dabo gone are coots.