Jim Brown is one of the greatest running backs in football history. That was apparently news to the Clemson football program this week.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney paid homage to the former Syracuse running back this week by naming Tigers long-snapper Jim Brown a captain for the team’s Week 11 contest against the Orange.
However, when he told his team of the plans, they didn’t get the joke because they weren’t aware of who Brown was.
From Syracuse.com:
"One thing that's kind of funny, I've been waiting all year to name Jim Brown the captain for the Syracuse game," Swinney said, prompting laughter from Clemson reporters. "See now, I appreciate that. That's the way the response is supposed to be. We have some wise, mature people in this room. When I said that to the team yesterday they were just looking at me. ... Crickets."
(…)
"I can't wait. We're going to Syracuse and Jim Brown is going to be the captain," Swinney said. "We got our own Jim Brown. They're like ... Is that not sad? That is sad. That is just sad beyond explanation that arguably the greatest running back of all time, they don't know who he is. The only Jim Brown they know is the long-snapper at Clemson. That's unbelievable to me."
While funny, that is pretty unbelievable. Who doesn’t know who Jim Brown is? He’s an inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Fortunately for Clemson, their lack of knowledge about college football history hasn’t hurt them on the field. They’re 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
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