The Horror: Clemson/Alabama Breakdown

Hoo boy. Two things to cover in this article. Both involve a little slice of humble pie, to say the least. One for me, and one for the Clemson Tigers.

First off, I feel the need to apologize for being a bad fan. I don't mean a bad fan posting impossibly high expectations for his team, or engaging in a little good-natured ribbing on friends and acquaintences of the other squad, or not making it out to every game of the season.

I want my Tigers to win it all; that will never change. I make an honest effort to not be mean-spirited or nasty in speaking to fans of our opponents, two of which include members of my own family. And sometimes I have greater priorities that take precedence over a trivial football game, and as much as I'd like to, I physically can't make it.

No, I mean a bad fan who quits encouraging the team he loves, loses his emotions, and gets so upset he tears down the very football players who are out there busting their tails to win the game. I've been guilty of that more times than I care to admit, and last year, I finally sat down and came to the realization that I was in fact doing more harm than good by calling out players and coaches in the heat of the moment.

I certainly was not helping the team in any way (they get yelled at plenty in practice) and I had to be fueling the fires of discontent around me. Others, no doubt, heard me and joined in the criticism.

Why did I react so harshly? I'm not really an emotional guy by any means, but when I'm that invested in something, it will evoke a passionate response from me. Yelling during a football game is how I give vent to those emotions.

But, what I did wasn't constructive in any way, and anyone who heard me could not have come away with a positive image of me as a Tiger fan, a college football fan, or even as a person in general.

Plus, I know it's dishonorable to God. I'm a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ, and I knew deep down what I did wasn't honoring the standards of the lifestyle I want to lead in and out of the stands, much less as a spectator.

So this year, I made a conscious decision to change my approach. From now on, I wasn't going to yell or shout or scream anything during a football game that wasn't in some way encouraging or supportive.

If Cullen Harper was intercepted, or James Davis fumbled the ball, or Cory Lambert whiffed on a tackle and let a lineman sack our QB, I would bite back the automatic negative response and just shut my mouth.

The team doesn't need those kinds of words, the people around me don't need them, and I certainly don't need them. I want to get up the next morning, read the sports page recap, reflect on the game, and I want to say:

"At least I did my part as a fan. I supported the team. I had their backs. I didn't throw them under the bus in anger. I don't regret anything I said or did yesterday."

End of tangent. Onto the game breakdown...

Offense

Now it's humble pie time. Concerns about the Clemson offensive line were well-founded. Alabama's defensive front line man-handled our less experienced guys. At times, it seemed like as soon as Thomas Austin snapped the ball, Bama's linemen were closing on Cullen Harper.

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