I am going to attempt to be better about writing more often this season. This follows the privilege to do some writing leading up to this upcoming season from a buddy on twitter @hokieguru. It has my juices flowing again and I love sharing my thoughts and opinions on my favorite sport in the world.
Now on to the good stuff.....I read a blog written by Scott Rhymer who hosts the Tiger Pregame Show on August 6 (http://tigerpregameshow.blogspot.com/ ) regarding the new media policies being implemented by Coach Swinney with regard to the football program.
Some of the highlights of the new media policy include:
* No in-depth one-on-one interviews with local media
* Only coordinators will be made available to the media.
* Freshmen will not be available to the media until after the first game
* Graduate Assistants, Strength Coaches, Player Development Staff will not be available at any time.
* National Media is able to call the SID Office and sign up for an in-depth interview.
As one might expect, the changes prompted some terse responses, especially by the folks who cover Clemson football on the local level. To an extent I fully understand the frustration of the local media members. I tune into WCCP and always enjoy hearing from the coaching staff and other members of the Clemson athletic department as much as anybody. I too was concerned about the content that would be available. Would there be content available that would warrant my continued subscription to pay sites? Would the content released from the Clemson AD be so vague that it raised more questions than answers?
I can say three practices into Fall Camp 2011 that there is still plenty of good content out there about what is going on with Clemson Football. I am not looking to end any subscriptions. I am probably in the minority in this in that I am becoming more and more fascinated with Coach Swinney's more centralized approach to media relations.
I have to preface my comments to say I was a communications major and I worked in politics in Washington, D.C. for a little over two years so I have an intimate understanding of the strategy of one message, one voice. The fewer people talking the better. Sadly, the actions taken by Coach Swinney are largely a response to the technology age we live in....I am not sure what people want. We live in the 24 hour news cycle. Nothing happens in secret anymore and there are people out there lurking for someone to say something that can create a story. We have seen lately stories take a life of their own, I can understand when programs take a hard look at media access and messaging.
By writing this blog I do not proclaim to be a member of the media. I do not foresee myself trying to turn this into a press pass. I like so many people, like to engage in conversation about a game I love very much and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to air those thoughts. I made the comment to someone recently, I cannot stand the stupid questions asked by many members of the media. So asking stupid questions for a living is probably not in my future. I do not know how many coaches, athletes and officials do not lose their minds more often given the juvenille and pestering questions presented by journalists.
Back to the task at hand...this is a Clemson football program that has brought about much consternation to many over the last 20 years. At one point it was the facilities, it was recruiting, it was one play away, it was coaching, it was the fans, it always has been something with Clemson football. In a time period that saw Wake Forest jump up and win the ACC, Clemson fans, coaches, administrators have been left scratching their head and left saying at the end of the season, "How in the hell did we lose to those guys?" This comes as we are watching another Atlantic Division foe take the field in the ACC Championship game where Clemson is left sitting at home often due to a loss to an inferior conference opponent during the season.
Here we are in 2011. Still no ACC title, Clemson does have improved facilities, recruiting is as good as it has been since the beginning of the 85 scholarship rule, fan support is still good, Clemson is spending big money on its coaching staff, maybe a change in media access is the missing link to Clemson winning its first ACC Title since 1991?
Probably not.....Lets not forget Clemson went 6-7 last year. The energy surrounding the Clemson football program hit an all time low in late December after a dissappointing loss to USF in the bowl game. Feelings began to change upon the firing of OC Billy Napier, RB Coach Andre Powell and the retirement of OL Coach Brad Scott. The addition of Chad Morris, Tony Elliot, and Robbie Caldwell changed the morale of the Tiger faithful almost overnight. The return of Marion Hobby was also big after Chris Rumph left for Alabama.
In the wake of all these changes a full review on how things are done was not only a good move but a must. Of course the media restrictions are going to make the most headlines of course but do we really need to hear from a freshman? I love Coach Batson but is lacking access to him the end of the world? I personally believe that we have solid members of the media on the Clemson beat who will be able to produce worthwhile content.
I know, I know we are all eager to here from some of the members of what many experts claim could be one of the best signing classes ever to set foot on the Clemson campus. I am of the opinion that recruiting classes should be evaluated 4 years later not five months before they even step on campus.
This is where I can provide authoritative insight into what is going on into what is happening not only in Clemson but in Columbia, Auburn, Athens, Tallahassee, and so on. You have 17-18 year old KIDS many of who just 6 weeks ago left home for the first time, have entered an academic world that is much less forgiving and more rigorous than they previously had, they have been subjected to conditioning unlike anything they have ever dreamed up, now they are processing schemes, steps and competing against other teammates who may have 4 years of experience on them.
They have more than enough to keep their attention and worry about that we can wait to here from them later.
Maybe because I am relatively young, I can still remember my freshmen year like it was yesterday and the learning curve was STEEP to say the least. I know we live in the an age where kids are anointed the second coming before they are out of diapers but at the end of the day football is a results oriented game. Lets give Steward, Anthony, Peake, Bellamy, Watkins and the rest of the gang a chance to go through camp, see if they can earn time and we will hopefully be hearing from the a lot throughout this year. Lets say the light does not come on immediately for these guys, it does not mean that their career is over. I hope for the sake of the team and of the player that the coaching staff does not put a player on the field who is not ready to perform at a high level.
Lets chill. Lets enjoy the good content that is widely available about our team and let the results on the field speak for themselves.
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