Clemson Football: Tigers should embrace ‘hated role’ in CFB

For the longest time, Clemson football was considered one of the ‘lovable programs’ around the nation. It may be time for a new role.

A little less than a decade ago, the Clemson football program was regarded as one of the most lovable programs in the nation.

People loved the vibrancy and excitement of Dabo Swinney. People loved the bright colors, the tradition of running down the hill and the growth of a promising program. Well, most everyone anyway, when you consider the nation as a whole.

However, things have changed in terms of the Clemson football program in the past few years. The Tigers have started winning at an unprecedented rate. Clemson has won the past four ACC Championships, made it to the CFB Playoff four times and won two of the last three National Championships.

All of a sudden, people aren’t viewing Clemson in the same light.

The Tigers are under a microscope. People are overanalyzing every aspect of the program. They look for anything they can to discredit Clemson and hope that the program will just go away. Why? Jealousy.

As the program continues to progress and get better, the nation will continue to grow in jealousy.

And Clemson fans will need to embrace a new persona. Instead of trying to make the nation like the Tigers. Instead of trying to defend the program at all costs, just let the haters be haters.

We all know how special Dabo Swinney is and the uniqueness of what he has built up in Tiger Town.

It’s time that Clemson football fans ‘embrace the hate,’ for lack of a better term. It’s a Championship Mentality. Opposing fans are going to look for anything to discredit the Tigers, but the truth is that Clemson is the better team on the field.

And it’s going to stay that way for many more years, as long as Dabo Swinney has something to say about it.