ATLANTA, Ga. – When LSU coach Les Miles and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney took questions at their joint news conference Sunday, they looked more like best buddies than two coaches vying for a Chick-fil-A Bowl title.
Miles and Swinney arrived to little fanfare and proceeded to answer multiple questions with effusive praise for one another. They could have well been old pals sitting in that conference room between recycled answers, watching about looking in on the opposing team’s practices, Spygate-style.
What else could they say?
They’ve had a month to talk to the media about one another’s teams in the lead-up to their New Year’s Eve bowl game. That’s a whole lot of time to get their overarching clichés straight and regurgitate them to the media.
When it comes to the actual game, it also means they’ve had plenty time to formulate and perfect their teams’ game plans. With school being out since early December, there’s been nothing for the coaches to preach besides beating the other team.
Their players were undoubtedly listening. But how much are they actually following that advice, especially now that they’re in this unfamiliar city with much to offer?
Focus has been a bit of a problem for the Tigers from Baton Rouge this season. Players have dropped like flies for team rules violations, the most recent being redshirt sophomore Brad Wing, one of the best punters in the country, less than two weeks from kickoff. They were blindsided by Florida early in the season after weeks of underperformance.
And you’ve got to think it’s been even more difficult to focus given the situation.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl berth seems to have been a disappointment for both those associated with the team (Miles said it “would be fine” if they played in Atlanta prior to the announcement) and the fans. LSU, with its infamous traveling fan base, has sold just 10,500 tickets of its allotment of 16,000.
The teams have been here for a week, during which bowl officials schedule events for the players each day. LSU players’ solicitations for nightly plans have been apparent to anyone who knows how to work Twitter and a city like Atlanta holds plenty of distractions, especially when the sun sets.
When I asked Miles about his team’s focus leading up to the game, he said there was a “strong center core of [his] team that’s about playing the game”. That must mean he knows there are players in it for the trip. No player is going to say that explicitly, but it’s apparent.
I don’t blame them.
Ask yourself what bowl games are for and there’s no other logical answer but money. Sponsors like Chick-fil-A splurge for exposure, coaches have incentives for bowl victories and television contracts, and as we all know, that makes the world of collegiate football go ‘round.
The players see none of that. For their months of unpaid labor, this is the fruit.
They were brought to Baton Rouge to win games. Put yourself in their collegiate shoes before judging though. Years removed from what will be an irrelevant bout, would you want to remember a win in a bowl you didn’t think you should be in, or would you rather recall enjoying yourself with your closest friends after you’ve spent the distant past with them in the trenches?
Those scheduled events, ranging from a milkshake slurping contest to a Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial visit cultivates unity and memories for the team. Atlanta presents what is a new environment for many of the players. I watched Clemson players shake older fans’ hands and sign youngsters’ footballs unnecessarily in their hotel lobby, further tying them to their fan base.
The game will be played, and LSU will win.
Clemson has one of the most potent offenses in the NCAA, but the six sacks Jadeveon Clowney and his South Carolina Gamecocks posted in Clemson’s final regular season game en route to a win has to have junior defensive end Sam Montgomery and his cohorts salivating. An endless stable of fresh legs will run all over Clemson’s mediocre run defense.
But Whether the Bayou Bengals hoist the chicken trophy or not, the trip will have been worth it. The returning players returning get an extra, extended period of practice like Miles mentioned in the news conference and the NFL hopefuls get to strut their stuff one more time against a quality opponent.
Most of all though, the all of the players get a unique experience that may shape their lives. What else is college about?
LSU head coach Les Miles speaks Dec. 30, 2012 during a Chick-fil-A Bowl news conference in Atlanta, Ga.
