I couldn't bring myself to do it.
No matter how hard this Gamecock tried, he couldn't support Clemson. Nope. Not at all.
I don't much care for Alabama either, but my blood runneth garnet and black, and never could I support orange and purple.
I was excited as Alabama took an early lead. Since the game started so late, I had to connect to my dialysis machine during the first half. By the second half, when Clemson began coming back, I started to hope the machine would electrocute me. Sadly, it didn't.
I dreaded Facebook, and vowed I would stay off of it for days, even weeks, if I had to.
But after Clemson ultimately came back in the final seconds of the Championship game Monday night, I did the unthinkable: I decided to write a congratulatory piece using Tiger fans' reactions.
I'm sure my blood pressure medications had something to do with it.
I sent several messages out, cringing at nearly every reply I received. Lord, the exclamation points.
The hardest message to send to was Carrie Trebil. She is probably one of the most rabid Clemson fans I know.
"I know how hard this is for you, (so) major props," she texted.
I told her she was short and no one really likes her. I'm nothing if not petty. I asked her how it felt to have her team holding a second National Championship. And reminded her again that she's a terrible human being.
"This game gave me a heart attack," she said. "I thought it was over at 14-0. After the loss to Pitt, I thought we would beat Bama in the Championship, because they were 13-1 and No. 2 and beat Clemson last year, and Clemson was the same this year."
Trebil said she was "super impressed" with the defense for keeping the score so close, "to give Deshaun and the offense a chance to come back and win!"
Johnny Weeks, whom we sometimes run into at Anytime Fitness, said the game was like a roller coaster. That much I agree with.
"The emotions that all of our Clemson fans had to endure (Monday night) was a roller coaster," he said. "In 1981, I vaguely remember watching the game with my TG&Y T-shirt. I was 13. This has been a long time coming, and it was well worth the wait. Clemson Tigers are national champions!"
My friend Kathy Murdock, a member of the Back Porch Players, a singing group that I play piano for, well she was present during the first National Championship game won by Clemson in 1981 in Miami.
"It, too, was a very exciting game and, of course, Clemson was not expected to win," she said. "For this year, I kept saying the entire game, 'We can do this.' I felt very confident that Clemson was going to win. Once they found their groove, it was quite a game. It brought me to tears."
Cody Simpson said seeing the Lord praised on national TV meant just as much to him as the Tigers' win.
"The class-act team fought all the way to the end; they never wavered, even when their hearts were tested," he said. "When the Lord was praised on national TV, it sent a message across the world that we owe all of our success to Him above."
Ramelle Coker, who lives near Turbeville, said she wished her father was still alive to see the "amazing win and share it with me and my brothers."
"He was a Clemson alumnus from the Class of 1941," Coker said. "The week before he died in 2015, we had attended his class reunion. He would've loved to have seen this one! I knew they were going to win, even with those few seconds left. I just knew it."
Dory Corbett was similarly confident.
"Jamie and I never doubted they'd win this year," Corbett said of her and her husband's feelings on the game. "They aren't called the Cardiac Cats for nothing. They definitely cleared our arteries. It is simply wonderful that we're bringing the National Championship back to the state of South Carolina. This was a truly thrilling game."
Rick Elms of Manning wasn't so sure of the win going into Monday night's game.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't think I would live to see Clemson win another championship," he said. "Now that it's here, I think this is a great moment for South Carolina football and the Tigers. This game was as good, but better, then the game last year, since we won this one. I felt we could win, but my heart couldn't take the last moments. That's why we call them the Cardiac Clemson Tigers here at my house."
Dixie Elliott has followed the team for about two decades, she said, and "seeing how hard they've fought, that means a lot."
"To see a team and a coach that always gives God the glory win a National Championship is amazing!" she said. "I've been to almost every home game in the past five years, traveled to Miami for the Orange Bowl, and Orlando for the Tampa Bowl. I was one of the last people sitting in the stands in 2014 when we got killed by FSU."
Elliott said, like the players, Clemson fans never give up.
"Coming back at the end has kind of been the trademark for Clemson all year," she said. "It gives me heart palpitations to where I need a medic on standby, but it makes for some great football."
Jenna Reynolds Windham said she wouldn't be a part of any other fanbase.
"It's been an honor to be a part of this fanbase," she said. "To see this team do everything that the critics said they couldn't do, it's amazing. You can feel the heart and drive of this team. It's just epic. It's a great time to be a tiger."
Freddie Huth was excited to share the Clemson win with his 90-year-old grandfather
"He taught me everything he knows about the Tigers," Huth said. "I was 8 years old when we won the first one, so I remember granddaddy talking about it more than anything. I've been saying for weeks that we would take Alabama this year. Even when I said it and was laughed at in the Turbeville IGA, I meant it. It didn't surprise me because I've watched how resilient this team has been all season."
Manning High School football standout Jabril Wilson said Clemson players were the underdogs going into the game.
"Many people said Clemson had no chance against the power school of football, but I knew from the years of football camps that I attended at Clemson that Coach Swinney was in the process of turning the program around," he said. "I have been a die-hard Clemson fan since I was in the first grade. I can honestly say that I was on pins and needles the entire game because nobody gave Clemson the chance, but I knew!"
I used to work with Ashley Fry Martin, and we always had a friendly rivarly in the office. I'd tell her how ugly orange looked on her, and she'd get sad. It was fun.
"The tigers bringing the National Championship home is absolutely mind-blowing to me!" she said. "I wasn't alive when they won in 1981, so this is a first-in a lifetime experience for me as a fan, and I couldn't be more proud of them. I think most of my joy comes from hearing Coach Swinney, along with the key players, give glory to God. They're right. Without him, none of this would be possible. Even though the tigers were lagging behind throughout most of the game, I kept my faith. They are a strong team and are most deserving of this championship."
George Trip Hussey was alive when Clemson won its first National Championship. Thankfully, I wasn't born yet and didn't have to live through that. I came along a few months later, after the sting had worn off for my Gamecock parents.
"I was in high school in Summerville," Hussey said. "We had no idea what winning a National Championship was like. We won, and I was shocked. This game (Monday) was one for the ages. It was a crazy emotional game, but I never doubted they could be there at the end. The best player in the country made the biggest play at the most important time of the game."
I talked to plenty more fans, but I just can't stomach it anymore.
I'm petty. I'm sorry. At least I admit it.
But I will close by saying, begrudgingly, congratulations. Wear your National Championship swag with pride. And just remember that you're all short and no one likes you.
