The Clemson fan who pushed Dabo Swinney too far discussed the fallout from Monday night’s tense interaction.
Tyler from Spartanburg called into the head coach’s radio show to disparage Swinney making a $11.5 million salary while the Tigers have fallen to 4-4. Swinney laid into the “smart-ass kid,” lamenting the unreasonable expectations from fans who don’t appreciate winning.
Larry Williams of Tiger Illustrated spoke to Tyler, a 29-year-old legal intern who has attended Tigers games for over two decades. (He didn’t provide his last name to avoid extra attention.)
Tyler revealed that he received a text message from his girlfriend criticizing his behavior in the call.
“I hate to sound like a scolding parent, but I hope this is a lesson about thinking things through before doing them,” she wrote. “The fact that the Internet thinks you’re a child is not the best look.
Not meaning to be harsh. You’ve always been respectful to adults.”
Tyler showed much more wisdom this time when replying, “I know. You’re right.”
All I got to say is: Only in college football, man.
“If I had to do it all over again, I’d be way more respectful.”
Learning more about Tyler from Spartanburg here (FREE):https://t.co/fmVNIj8U4W
— Larry Williams (@LarryWilliamsTI) October 31, 2023
Tyler explained what motivated him to call and accuse Swinney of arrogance in a monologue that lasted more than two minutes before the coach interjected.
“Tact is not one of my strong suits, especially when I’m upset. But as I listened to Dabo last night and sat through his spiel about how we’d be 8-0 without the turnovers and ‘if, if, if,’ it upset me,” Tyler said.
“I want to be clear: I’m not blaming Dabo at all for the way I handled it. I’m just explaining what happened. If I had to do it over again, I’d have been way more respectful.”
Tyler showed admiration for Swinney’s Clemson tenure but didn’t appreciate getting categorized as a fair-weather fan.
“I love him and am so thankful for what he’s done. He’s a great guy, a great human. I’m so thankful for these things,” Tyler said. “But I don’t like hearing that I’m a part of the 1 percent. And also, I’m not a kid. I was going to every Clemson game before he was here.”
Swinney wasn’t finished with Tyler. He continued to discuss the exchange during Tuesday’s press conference.
“I had some idiot go Old Testament on me and he got an Old Testament response,” he told reporters. “Y’all print that one.”
Tyler admitted in a text to Tiger Illustrated that the coach’s latest burn stung.
“Call me sensitive, but he really got after me today hahaha. Definitely brought it on myself,” he said. “I should’ve thought this through more.”