Dabo Swinney Throws Subtle Shade at Clemson Fans

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The Clemson Tigers rallied back from a 17-3 deficit to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, overcoming a two-and-a-half-hour lightning delay in the process.

Clemson has now experienced lightning delays in each of is first three games, which has certainly made things complicated for the players — and the fans.

But head coach Dabo Swinney noticed something interesting against North Carolina: many of the Tigers fans were gone before the delay even occurred.

“We didn’t have many fans there when we came out in third quarter,” Swinney said. “I guess everybody goes out and does whatever. So, it was kind of interesting to see that.”

Clemson trailed 17-6 coming out of the break, and with the Tigers having already been routed by LSU in Week 1 and having barely beaten Georgia Southern in Week 2, perhaps the fans were fed up.

Swinney didn't stop there, though. He took another swipe at the Clemson faithful, making sure to mention that Tar Heels fans were still in the building … Clemson's building.

“Them North Carolina fans were there,” Swinney said. “They were there when we came out. When we came back after that delay, I saw a lot of Baby Blue in there. I saw a lot of them taking some pictures over there.”

The two-time national champion was sure to add that he appreciated the fans who did stay, saying that the Tigers certainly "heard them" during their comeback.

But it seems pretty clear that Swinney was not too enthralled with the fact that the stadium was so empty during the second half.

Suddenly, Clemson is now 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play with a critical matchup at California on tap this Friday. If the Tigers are be able to win that game, it would set up a critical showdown against Miami — at home — on Oct. 3.

Should Clemson get to 3-1 before the Miami matchup, you can bet that Memorial Stadium will be jammed for that affair.

The win over UNC was a baby step for the Tigers, but perhaps it could be the start of something very positive moving forward.

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