In light of the Deshaun Watson situation, who are the people that would get grief for entering Clemson territory?
By now you’ve probably seen stories about Deshaun Watson leaving a restaurant in Tuscaloosa this weekend after being taunted by some Crimson Tide patron. It was an unfortunate incident that Watson handled with class.
Certainly, most Bama fans respect Watson despite his dazzling national title game-winning performance in January. But ever fan base have those few fans that want nothing to do with rivals of the school or other perceived enemies.
Just for fun, let’s imagine an individual despised by many Clemson fans walking into the beloved Esso Club, one of Clemson’s most beloved eating establishments. While certainly the fine folks at the Esso Club would never banish any customers from their establishment, it’s fun to think about. Who might strike the most ire in the hearts of the Tiger faithful sitting enjoying burgers and beer after a big win? Here are five people that might get some angry stares if they walked in. Can you think of some others?
Chad Kelly
The nephew of NFL great Jim Kelly and also known as the rapper “Swag” Kelly, now former Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly was once a promising signal-caller for the Tigers. In fact, in 2014, the opportunity was wide open for Kelly to take departing Tajh Boyd’s spot under center. In the spring game, however, he threw two picks and got into a verbal altercation with coaches, prompting his benching and eventual dismissal from the team.
See also: What if Chad Kelly had stayed at Clemson?
His impulsive anger isn’t the only reason Tiger fans don’t like “Swag”. He referred to LSU’s stadium as “the real Death Valley”, throwing unnecessary shade at Clemson. In the same interview, he referred to himself not only as the best QB in the SEC, but the best in the nation. Clemson fans might have initially hated Kelly because the promise he had as a potential star QB. But his dismissal paved the way for Deshaun Watson, so maybe Tiger fans would even go as far as to buy Kelly a beer for his foolish antics that got him kicked off a team that would win a national title just a few years later.
Woody Hayes
Yes, Woody Hayes is dead. Yes, if you’re under the age of 35, you may not even know who he is. But if he were alive today, he likely wouldn’t be offered a seat in the Esso Club. Let’s take a quick look at why he holds a special place of annoyance in Clemson history.
In 1978, Clemson matched up with Ohio State in the Gator Bowl. Woody Hayes, the coach of the Buckeyes, had guided the team to 7 wins that season in a strong Big 10 conference. Late in the game, down 17-15, Ohio State was driving downfield in field goal range. On third down, Art Schlichter threw a pass that was intercepted by Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman. As Bauman ran out of bounds, Hayes promptly stormed towards him and punched Bauman in the throat.
Clemson went on to win the game, Bauman shrugged off the hit from Hayes, and Hayes was subsequently fired shortly after. It would be the final game Woody Hayes would ever coach. And though it remains an odd moment in college football history, Clemson fans wouldn’t take too kind to Woody strolling into town. Imagine today if something like that happened. Can you picture Nick Saban taking a jab at Ben Boulware? Yeah, me either.
Jesse Palmer
This guy. You know him from calling college games on ESPN (most recently with Brent Musberger), or you may know him as the guy who had the most awkward Bachelor moment in history. But do you know why Jesse Palmer would get food thrown at him as soon as he entered the Esso Club? One word: Clemsoning.
Not only was Palmer the one who coined the term “Clemsoning”, he perpetrated it to the point that, for a while at least, it turned every close Clemson game into a national punch line. Despite losing close games and the occasional game they shouldn’t lose like several other teams do, Clemson was the team that seemed to become some bizarre poster-child for programs that “can’t get it done”.
Well, it’s 2017 and Clemson has thoroughly dominated opponents in recent years, all but ending the talk of “Clemsoning”. And should a reporter ever bring up the term in a presser, Dabo Swinney is quick to put it to rest. So there may be the occasional Clemson fan that will have a beer with Jesse Palmer, but don’t expect any coaches to do so.
Gamecock/SEC Fans
Gamecock fans are pretty insufferable for most Clemson fans, but also terrible are the ones that pull for any team in their conference. The most recent example of this was in the closing moments of South Carolina’s win against Baylor when both Gamecock and Florida fans could be heard doing the “S-E-C” chant. Could anything be more obnoxious?
It’s an idea that boggles the mind. Why would you openly root for another team just because they happen to play in the same conference as you? And then there’s these fans, the ones who tried to be cute by posing with Dabo in pictures holding up 5 fingers for the Gamecocks’ five-game win streak over Clemson. These are the same fans that probably wore this hat back in January when Clemson won the national title. If they walked into the Esso Club wearing that, I don’t know if they’d get heckled or just laughed at.
Steve Spurrier
You know you’re a hated individual when you could be booed out of multiple southeastern towns. Steve Spurrier wouldn’t last long at the Esso Club in Clemson, nor most places in Tallahassee and, for good measure, Knoxville either. The Ol’ Ball Coach has said plenty of things over the years to stoke the fires of opposing fanbases.
His tit-for-tat with Dabo Swinney during his time in Columbia was epic and caused the Clemson faithful who respected Spurrier when he was at Florida to want nothing more than to see him humbled each November. Spurrier ended his tenure with the Gamecocks posting a 7-6 record against Clemson, 5-2 against Dabo as coach. It wasn’t just his talk that annoyed Clemson fans, but the fact that he temporarily took South Carolina football into the realm of national relevance.
See also: Dabo Swinney to Deon Cain- “You’re the guy.”
Spurrier would surely get heckled out of the Esso Club, but knowing him he’d find a way to have the last laugh.