Re: It's no longer about football, I simply do not like Dabo as a person anymore

this.

(A) I agree the stubbornness, gaslighting the fans, and reflexive bristling at even reasonable criticism is huge turnoff and a real problem. You're right, none of us would waive that off very easily if someone in our life did it;

(B) Negative tendencies sometimes tend to accompany positive ones - some very productive people might veer towards being a workaholic, successful people can be prideful and arrogant, very particular people might be tempted towards perfectionism and nitpickiness, sensitive souls might tend towards discouragement or sadness ... You get the point.

I think Dabo has admirably cultivated a practically indominable spirit of optimism in his life. He endured a lot of really rough stuff especially when it was younger, with his family dynamic, and he and his mother made it through that slog. That takes quite a determined spirit. Some people collapse under all that, and some find a way not to. I suppose if you go through stuff that rough, you might just grasp at whatever internal resources and tendencies you have to go through it. From the outside looking in, it appears to me that his doggedly optimistic spirit is both a partial cause and consequence of his experiences . . . in other words, it's largely served him well to help him get through all that hard stuff (as well as his professional success), and so he's understandably inclined to retain that posture.

I don't think that justifies all of what you're talking about- I think there ought to be some balance there - but it at least makes it more understandable, and keeps him from being unlikeable in my eyes, even if I notice some of the same shortcomings.

Swarley

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LOL at "NET happiness". Couple comments...

Oct 31, 2025, 9:08 AM

"Clemson needs a total program reset, #### even the basketball team uses the portal, but somehow 'culture' is still there. "

It is? What's Clemson Men's Basketball culture? Does it have an identity at all? Seriously, I didn't know that. I'm assuming you mean more than putting "Grit" on a t-shirt? I really don't know...what's Clemson's Men's Basketball culture besides putting together whatever will get us as many wins as we can every season in a turned-strikingly-bad conference and losing early in whatever tournament we can make, only to rebuild again the next season?

"In fact, if you AVERAGE the years 2014-2019 with the years 2020-2025, the NET happiness probably averages to the Bowden years. Pumpers will continue to pump until the year 2050, most are delusional."

Yes, Dabo is the victim of his own success. When Bowden was here, most Clemson fans had had a multi-decade diet of Subway sandwiches. His Jersey Mike subs were a revelation. Fast forward to today, and most Clemson fans enjoyed feasting on Filet Mignon from Halls, and from 2020-2025 we've had to settle for Firebirds.

What's "Firebirds" to Clemson fans from 2020-2025?

* Top Ten in Winning Percentage in the country.
https://betiq.teamrankings.com/college-football/betting-trends/win-loss-records/?season=since-2020

* Three Conference Titles in those five years (I'll give you six years since it obviously isn't happening this year). We are disgusted that we only win the conference title 50% of the time.

* Two playoff appearances.
Keep in mind that, in the same period, we had:
Bama, Ohio State, Michigan and UGA each with three appearances
Notre Dame and Texas with two appearances along with Clemson
The remainder of college football had either one appearance (10 programs) or none

Bleh. Like eating shoe leather.

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It's no longer about football, I simply do not like Dabo as a person anymore

Well, thank you for your input, Mr. HappyPants.***

Like there's a straight line between your fondness of mediocrity