We have an attitude problem

if they wanted to stick it back to Barker, they should’ve given him the finger by not building them, that would’ve immediately woken up some alumni to the shit they are cooking up in Clemson.

includes 4 wins over the likes of Middle Tenn, Coastal Carolina, North Texas, and Presbyterian. Against quality competition (BCS conf teams + TCU) he is 11-10. That is flat out NOT getting the job done.

I don’t believe it has much to do with us losing to Miami.

The Miami loss is due to the players and coaches. Crappy execution, crappy coaching, crappy play calling, crappy performance. The game is won/lost by the players and coaches on the field, at that time.

You have to realize that not everyone is, or ever will be, flush with an all-consuming desire for the football team to be world champions. In fact, those who do have that desire are a small, but vocal, minority.

For many people, if not most, football is an excuse to have a big social activity. Get drunk, enjoy the fall air, paint yourself orange, grill some burgers, see your old buddies, yell and scream, whatever. A loss is disappointing, but it’s really not the end of the world. Life goes on, and there’s another game next week.

The student body now is composed of people who were not alive during all “the glory years.”

This may sound like “making excuses,” but it isn’t intended that way. Nothing excuses the crap we saw occur on the field yesterday, or the giveaway game at Auburn. But in my opinion, that stems from the players and coaches, and how they prepared and executed on the field.

We can do all the “demanding” we want, but the reality is, it doesn’t make any difference until the very small group of people who donate very LARGE amounts of money start demanding. Even then, what does it accomplish? Suppose all the whales band together and demand Dabo and his entire staff be fired immediately. How does the outlook for the rest of the season look then? How about recruiting for a few years?

I think if/when the team begins to perform above a level of mediocrity, then the expectation of even casual fans is raised. For example, if we win the ACC, fans will expect that to occur again, at least soon. 7-5 seasons would be less acceptable to more fans because we had recently won a conference chamionship. Right now, for many people, there is little reason to expect more than mediocrity because that is all they have have experienced.

…that I think Carolina and Clemson fans have much more in common than they might realize. If I could single-handedly slap our entire fanbase and give them an attitude adjustment, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Of course, our problems and the reasons why we have them are a bit different than yours, but it all comes down to the same thing: accepting mediocrity because trying harder is just too much effort.

However, he is untouchable due to the academic success (the real point of college) of the institution under his watch. The administration has the higher moral ground here. What you just described, about complacent fans, is exactly what the administration wants….to be known as an academics first institution. What academic wouldn’t want that?

Meanwhile, the football people have been beating their head against the wall ever since Danny decided to find out if Clemson football was bigger than Clemson University in 1989. It’s been clear what is more important since then.

So, you can only beat your head against a wall so many times before you stop and get complacent. Only when fans/alumni/donors stop giving money to the school, will they listen. Until then, we’re going to keep finding brussel sprouts in our birthday cake every year.

I think many Clemson people, admins and fans alike, are almost afraid of Clemson becoming a powerhouse in football again. They think that if that were to happen, the perception nationally would be that we’re a “football” school and the academic achievements the university has made would be overlooked. Plus, there’s the stigma of the probations of the 80’s, no matter that most of the violations were small potatoes. The aftermath of the battle between Lennon and Ford is still very much being felt today. When I was growing up, Ronald Reagan was President and Danny Ford was our ‘baccer-chewin’, ref cussin’, cow farmin’ coach and we loved him. We may never have another Danny, but I’m convinced we could become a decent football program again….if the fanbase as a whole demanded it, it could happen. But we’ve become a complacent, politicall correct society in general and especially at Clemson. I’ll always be a fan, but Clemson has left me behind. It’s simply not the same place.