BYOG is a motto Dabo Swinney came up with for the Clemson Tigers football program, and it certainly has caught on.
The acronym BYOG stands for “Bring Your Own Guts.” It’s something head coach Dabo Swinney came up with before his team’s game against top-5 opponent Notre Dame on Oct. 3. BYOG went national when the coach shared the term during his postgame interview following the Tigers’ huge win over the Fighting Irish.
What does BYOG mean? Well, as Swinney explained, the Clemson football program can provide a lot of things for its players, but it can’t give them guts or heart:
After the BYOG motto went viral that weekend, Swinney was asked by reporters to elaborate on its origins.
“I’m really not that interesting. I’m really not,” Swinney said of himself. “My wife would be the first to say that. It’s weird to me that something that you say (would go viral), but that’s what I told the team.
“The BYOG just came into my head. There was probably a lot of people BYOB bringing their beer in the parking lot,” Swinney said, acknowledging the similarity to the acronym for bring your own beer.
BYOG certainly has caught on with the Clemson program. Merchandise with the BYOG acronym has been sold, while the #byog hashtag is often used.
Plus, players in the program wear clothing with the BYOG motto:
It's another #BYOG game pic.twitter.com/IFOp0WpxRv
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) January 12, 2016
#Clemson players and fans are filling the stadium! The Championship is less than an hour away. #BYOG pic.twitter.com/RxD9NKSUli
— FOX Carolina News (@foxcarolinanews) January 12, 2016
#BYOG #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/ohhQMJY0UM
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 12, 2016
Nike capitalized on it and has been selling clothing featuring the BYOG motto. You’re not a real Clemson fan unless you have something saying Bring Your Own Guts on it.
