Replies: 8
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All-In [49612]
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It's not hate ... it's fear
Dec 3, 2015, 7:56 AM
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From ESPN to Twitter to uncounted radio talk shows around the country, the top topic since the last CFP standings came out has been "If UNC beats Clemson..."
I'm tired of hearing about it. You're tired of hearing about it. But that's not going to stop the chatter, the rousing drumbeat of hate the Sons of Clemson seem to have engendered.
After turning off the radio and clicking off Twitter, and after some musing, I've come to the conclusion that this anti-Clemson spew isn't hate.
It's fear.
It is a national, and natural, extension of the unceasing blend of Capon emotions ... less intense, to be sure, less personal and less prone to visceral reaction. But it's the same. Think of the reaction this week as Capon Lite.
Here's why: Trace the anti-Clemson trend over the past few weeks. Where is it coming from, aside from the usual suspects? It's coming primarily from fans of places like Ohio State, Alabama ... the traditional big names. There's been little beef coming from our traditional foes, like FSU and Georgia. Heck, aside from their grousing about having to play in a monsoon while it was sunny and 70 on our side of the field, Notre Dame folks have been quiet.
Some of it is simply angling for options, grasping for a way into this years playoff. That's the fun part, upsetting the apple cart just to see which way things would tumble.
But there's something deeper, and darker, afoot as well. These big boys, for the first time in a long time, are afraid. It's not just missing this year's playoff that has them skert. It's the thought, quickly quelled but lingering still ... what if this is the way it's going to be?
What if Clemson ... that little school in the hills in the "weak" ACC ... really IS that good?
And if a school like Clemson, a place that does things the right way, that insists on building men instead of just football players is able to surpass us ... what does that mean for the future? What if some other school is out there on the horizon that can follow the Clemson model? What becomes of us?
Currency cannot compensate for class. They have built their reputation on being bullies, on getting their way with tradition an dollars. If buckets of money, if owning the collective ear of pontificating poltroons and college football Baghdad Bobs mean nothing in the end, then their psychic cushion has been stripped away.
And Saturday night in Charlotte, Clemson will continue that stripping.
I believe that Clemson is not a "We can win" team. We're a "We WILL win" team. And I believe that those who fear what Clemson's success mean have a right to be afraid.
A Clemson victory does far more than rain free pizza on us. It heralds a potential sea change in how schools who currently aren't in power can reach the promised land.
They fear it.
I welcome it.
Go Clemson.
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All-In [40024]
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Re: It's not hate ... it's fear
Dec 3, 2015, 7:58 AM
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Preach!
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CU Medallion [67102]
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Re: It's not hate ... it's fear- my question is
Dec 3, 2015, 7:59 AM
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will there be any gluten free pizza?
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CU Medallion [56102]
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and we'll be stronger next year.***
Dec 3, 2015, 8:26 AM
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All-TigerNet [10563]
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And dont forget your pal Brett the Coot
Dec 3, 2015, 8:58 AM
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Poor little fella
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Orange Blooded [2783]
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Amen Brother Dodd
Dec 3, 2015, 9:03 AM
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It's only going to get better
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Commissioner [940]
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No..... It's Ratings
Dec 3, 2015, 9:06 AM
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What are they supposed to say? UNC has no shot to beat Clemson so don't even bother watching this football game that we paid millions of dollars for the right to broadcast? That multinational corporations have paid us millions of dollars for the right to advertise during the game?
Disney didn't pay millions of dollars to not promote and not sell something. Do you also think that maybe Disney secretly hates Luke Skywalker and that's why they bought Star Wars from George Lucas? So they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to sabotage Luke Skywalker's legacy?
Yes, these people on ESPN are shills. Yes, the independence of journalism is compromised by corporate marketing strategies. Guess what? It has always been this way. William Randolph Hearst started a war to sell newspapers. Disney didn't invent this strategy.
Just like in every other sector of society, if you follow the money, you'll almost always come up with the right answers. But theorizing that there is some nefarious purpose other than making gobs of cash is just trite Tigernet pablum.
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Orange Blooded [2613]
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Amen Rev!! +1***
Dec 3, 2015, 9:37 AM
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All-Conference [434]
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Re: It's not hate ... it's fear
Dec 3, 2015, 9:44 AM
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"Currency cannot compensate for class"
No truer words have ever been spoken.
Amen Rev.
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