Admittedly, I did not have a dog in the national championship fight between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers. The only thing I was hoping for was a good game. The idea that this matchup, the fourth in five years, would end up being a blowout never came to mind. (Even though I was fully aware that either team could run up the score if given the possibility.) Nonetheless, here we are: 44-16.
Yet, while watching the game with a friend at the newly renovated Ashley Phosphate Road dining establishment, Chill N Grill, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of a Nick Saban-led school getting mushed hard in the face. But more than that, I was just happy for a South Carolina school to become a National Champion. It’s a similar feeling to when I watched the USC Lady Gamecocks, under the leadership of coach Dawn Staley, win their first national championship.
I jokingly suggested on Twitter that anyone who knows a University of South Carolina Gamecock fan should give them a hug because we are witnessing a changing of the college football guard, so to speak. It may be hard for a Gamecock to watch as their bitter rivals ascend to the top of the mountain.
But then I thought, “Who gives a shit?” I mean outside of the hilariousness of seeing USC getting trampled every year, what difference would it make for the rest of the football-watching population of South Carolina if Clemson actually becomes the new Alabama? How would that change any of our fortunes, good or bad? The truth is, it probably wouldn’t change a thing.
We aren’t talking health care or education, we’re talking about college football. And in college football, a rising tide (no pun intended) does not lift all boats. Quite the contrary. When one school’s ship comes in, it’s usually at the expense of everyone else’s. Clemson’s recruiting is going to get better. That’s not going to help USC. Clemson is going to see an influx of cash. That’s not going to trickle down to South Carolina State University. Clemson is going to get more TV time … doesn’t mean the same will transpire for Charleston Southern. The rich are going to get richer and everyone else is going to have to grin and bear it.
And to be honest, I need to spend less time laughing at USC and more time worrying about the state of my alma mater. South Carolina State University, home of the mighty Bulldogs and the Marching 101, recently sent out a letter from athletic director Stacy Danley, excitedly welcoming our head football coach, Buddy Pough, back for another season. In actuality, the letter was less about coach and more about showing the economic reasons why he decided to bring Buddy Pough back despite pre-season talk that last year was going to be his swan song.
Even going 5-6 in 2016, 3-7 in 2017, and 5-6 in 2018, Danley decided to keep Coach Pough around for at least one more season, essentially, because we don’t have enough money to bring anyone else in. To be clear, the letter did not reflect that sentiment in any way, but that’s how I processed it. And while I think it is time for us to move on from Pough, I 100 percent understand why Danley decided otherwise. It takes money to win and that’s something that we just don’t have. The losing has made it difficult to fundraise, but the lack of money has also tied Danley’s hands. It’s a concept that 18-year-old me didn’t understand.
At 18, I played for Coach Pough. I use the word “played” loosely, as I didn’t see much of the field once he came to Orangeburg — a more accurate description would be that I was a member of the team his inaugural season. At the time, I didn’t care for him much. I felt he used my academic scholarship as a reason to keep me off the field. He’d give me backhanded compliments like “You don’t need football, son. You’re a bright young man. You’ll be successful regardless.”
I mean, thanks, I guess? But I didn’t want to hear that. Football had been my entire life up until that point and to take that away from me because I was a nerd? I resented him for a long time. What I didn’t realize at that age is that college football is big business. The boys who play are merely commodities, a means to an end. Was I a good player? Yes. Was I start-in-front-of-the-guy-on-scholarship good? No. And when you have a wife and a mortgage and kids, you can’t be out here playing people because you like them. You gotta make decisions as if your life depends on it.
The success of a college football program, like politics, can usually be connected to the amount of money in the coffers. And like any incumbent politician, Clemson is going to find itself awash in adoration and dollar bills, with people falling over themselves to roll with the winners. TV time, sponsorships, season tickets, all that money is going to find its way to them. Their defeat of Alabama will not elevate the status of football in the entire state. Any elevation that takes place will be limited to Pickens County.
So, what does Clemson’s win mean for every other program in South Carolina? It means that we are all farther from the summit than we already were. And if they keep winning, it won’t just be USC fans who need a hug. SCSU needs money and so do other schools, so pretty soon, I’m sure we’ll be serving up our players on a platter to pad Dabo’s schedule.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.