Dabo Swinney on Clemson fans: "98.5 percent are amazing"

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Tue Oct 17 13:12:17 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney took part in his weekly press conference on Tuesday as he previewed Saturday's road matchup with Miami.

During the session, Swinney was asked by a local reporter if he was cognizant of some of the criticism by fans of his team being 4-2 this season.

"I don’t think anybody’s satisfied at being four and two," Swinney said. We’re never satisfied. It’s just kind of where we are. But I assume you’re talking about the guy who called in and was complaining about whoever he works with. I guess nobody has a sense of humor anymore around here, but that’s just the world we live in."

Swinney believes that the vast majority of Clemson fans are amazing.

"But no, our fans are awesome. 98.5 percent of our fans are amazing," Swinney said. "This is my 21st year. Literally, 98.5 percent are amazing. But we got one and a half percent that they’re with you win or win. And so I was trying to, I don’t even know who I was talking to, pep him up a little bit."

Swinney understands that adversity in life can often lead to real growth.

"A little adversity in this world is sometimes good because for a couple of reasons," Swinney said. "I think sometimes you can win so much that you lose appreciation for the blessing. That’s just the reality. It’s hard to win. It’s freaking hard to win. To win consistently is almost impossible. People don’t understand that. I can’t help them. But I just made the comment of a little adversity along the way. You hate it, but the one positive is it makes you grow, but you also learn who’s with you. And that’s a good thing. That’s good."

Swinney is not a big fan of social media, as it is often a place for people to complain and rant.

"I love our fans. I think we got, again, 98.5 percent of them are amazing," Swinney said. "But the other one and a half percent, they create a lot of the problems. They’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. But that’s everywhere. That’s what social media does. It’s a loud voice for a minority of people that want to complain about something."

This isn't the first time he has had to deal with criticism in Swinney's life.

"It’s my 21st year here. I mean, I had 13 years in Alabama," Swinney said. "I’ve had plenty of criticism. And as long as I’m doing this, I’ll continue to get criticism. I’ve been married for 29 years, going on 30 years. I’ve had plenty of criticism along my way. It’s just part of it. I know what’s real and what’s not real. But I think if anybody doesn’t believe in us after what they’ve been able to witness the last 15 years, they never believed anyway, so it doesn’t matter to me."