TAMPA \u2014 It was late April, and Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney still was searching his brain for a team theme for the 2016 season.
Little did he know the very words he was looking for were waiting for him at Wrigley Field.
In the manager\u2019s office.
In this all-things-Cubs world, it somehow only makes sense that Joe Maddon would have a hand in Clemson\u2019s effort to win a national championship.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney in Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s Wrigley Field office in April. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Swinney)
One of the reasons the Tigers were able to reach Monday\u2019s title game \u2014 against Alabama, for the second year in a row \u2014 is they \u201cembraced the target\u201d from the first day of training camp. Also, and this was a real key, they \u201ctried not to suck.\u201d
Gee, where have we heard those phrases before?
Swinney spent only about half an hour an hour in the Cubs\u2019 sparkling new clubhouse, yet he managed to rob Maddon blind.
\u201cI got a chance to kind of see the culture in there,\u201d he recalled here Saturday, \u201cand I was like, \u2018Man, this is really cool. These guys are loose. They know they\u2019ve got a good team.\u2019 \u201d
The 47-year-old Swinney is no seamhead. He was in Chicago with assistant coaches Brent Venables and Marion Hobby for the NFL Draft, and one of them got the idea to check out Wrigley and the surging Cubs, who were off to a 15-5 start. So Swinney called his agent, Mike Brown, and asked if he knew anyone who could hook them up with tickets.
\u201cHe goes, \u2018Well, I know Joe Maddon.\u2019 And I go, \u2018Who\u2019s Joe Maddon?\u2019 He went, \u2018He\u2019s the manager.\u2019 I go, \u2018That\u2019s a pretty good guy to know.\u2019 \u201d
Swinney and his party were invited into the clubhouse during a rain delay of a game against the Brewers that eventually was postponed. As first impressions go, this one was pretty big.
\u201cI walk in there,\u201d Swinney said, \u201cand they\u2019ve got a drum set, they\u2019ve got a disco ball hanging. I\u2019m like, \u2018What the heck is this?\u2019 And they\u2019re like, \u2018This is the celebration room. Joe likes to celebrate.\u2019 And I thought, I like this guy.\u201d
Jon Lester, an avid football fan whose wife attended Clemson, instantly recognized him. John Lackey and others welcomed him warmly and talked college football.
Maddon \u2014 a football nut \u2014 was eager to meet him, too. When Swinney walked into the manager\u2019s office, he found a white-haired man in thick-framed glasses and a ridiculous pink \u201cTry Not to Suck\u201d T-shirt smiling back at him.
\u201cWe talked for a minute and he\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, man, I watched you guys last year,\u2019 and we kind of had an instant connection,\u201d Swinney said. \u201cIt was really neat. I told him, because I had met his players and been around them, \u2018You guys have a great culture. I\u2019m telling you, you\u2019ve got a winning culture here. You\u2019ve got just a good feel in this building. You can smell it.\u201d
Nearly nine months later, Swinney and Maddon remain friendly. Texts were exchanged during the Cubs\u2019 run to the World Series crown, and Swinney has heard from sports\u2019 sloganizer-in-chief as Clemson has neared its first national title since 1981.
\u201cThey knew they had the best team, and I think they embraced that,\u201d Swinney said. \u201cDon\u2019t run from that. It resonated with me.\u201d
On the first day of camp, the fiery Swinney gathered his players and treated them to something along the lines of a Maddon-meets-Knute Rockne performance. He told them not to suck. He told them the target on their collective backs was a good thing.
\u201cLet\u2019s focus on being the best we can be,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s be committed to that, and let\u2019s embrace that. Let\u2019s run right to it.\u201d
It might just be crazy enough to work.
Email: sgreenberg@suntimes.com<\/p>\n

\n

\nSimilarity rank: 1.1\n<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 2.8<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n