the sun is still shining.
At the huge risk of being a sunshine pumper on this dark and dismal day in the Gamecock Nation, I think that stepping back a little and gaining perhaps a little perspective is in order here.
Two weeks ago the sun was so bright in the Gamecock Nation that we all needed shades. We had a defense that couldn't be scored upon. Our offensive line was coming off a dominant performance against a pretty good UGA defense. Connor Shaw was being praised and receiving Heisman consideration. Marcus Lattimore was looking like his pre-injury self and sneaking back into the Heisman talk. Even Jadaveon Clowney was being mentioned for the coveted, usually offensive, trophy. Spurrier was a genius that had found the way to win at South Carolina this season. We were the darlings of the nation this season and every major media outlet was treating us as such. Gameday had been here and we had risen to the occasion in such a dramatic fashion that we had Williams-Brice rocking like it hadn't rocked it hadn't since the 80's. Physically rocking. The talk was not only of winning the Eastern Division of the SEC, but in beating Bama in Atlanta and then accepting the crystal football a game later.
My how the times have changed.
Two weeks later after having played in two of the most difficult stadiums in the world to play to two teams one of which was preseason #1 in the nation and the other #2 in the nation when we played them, we have lost all hope and we are questioning the very ones that have brought about this success.
Put the pipes, bowls, kool-aide, and expectations down for just a moment, you can pick them up later, and let's look at things for a moment.
*2010: We won the East, swept the Big Three, beat clemson, played for the SEC Championship, and tied our own record for most wins in a season.
*2011: We swept and should have won the East (that is a dumbassed setup), swept the Big Three again, beat Clemson, beat Nebraska in convincing fashion in a New Years Day bowl game, and set a new record for most wins in school history.
*2012: We spent 10 consecutive weeks in the Top 10. Beat UGA. Won with Gameday here getting Lee Corso to sort apologize for some of his earlier remarks and to pick us to win. We won against UGA in spite of the Corso Curse. We lost to LSU at Death Valley on a Saturday night after a loss for them playing terribly in the process by two points. 2 points. The feat is nothing to be ashamed of, but how we played is. This is a game that we could have easily won. And we all know it. We lost yesterday to Florida, in front of Gameday (again, two times this season) and the nation. They are ranked second in the nation to 'Bama (defending national champs) at The Swamp. We gave them 3 touchdowns and allowed, pushed even, momentum into their corner and refused to have anything to do with it.
And now we find ourselves here.
Out of national title contention. Out of SEC Championship contention. Out of Eastern Division contention.
Some are thinking, "The more things change, the more they remain the same."
I am here to tell you, that is simply not the case.
If you have been a Gamecock for any significant amount of time, and I have been, then as much as these past two weeks have hurt, and yesterday hurt more for me than last Saturday did, and look past the pains of these last two losses, you realize something. The grass is pretty green. The water in the creek is high. The harvest is ripening and is still bountiful.
Yes, the past eight days have sucked and it is understandable to hear people say, "Same ol' Gamecocks", but that just isn't the case. Let's just step back a bit and look at things with a little separation from the events of the last two games.
Note what I mention at the first of this for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
2012:
*This team is loaded with talent.
*We can extend our win streak to 3 against Tennessee.
*We can beat Arkansas.
*We can extend our win streak to 4 against Clemson finally graduating a class that doesn't know what it is like to lose to them.
*We should get a pretty decent New Year's Day bowl game.
*Win that and we'll tie our record for most wins in a season here at Carolina. 11 wins in back-to-back seasons.
*Folks, we had Williams-Brice shaking, or swaying, the other night for the first time since the mid-80's. The difference this time was that it wasn't the East Deck swaying, it was the West Uppers. The older, more solidly built deck that is filled with the older, "sit on by butt and leave early" crowd in seasons past. That's quite a feat.
On paper, we should win out. But games aren't played on paper, a fact that in the past gave us hope and usually worked to our advantage. Now, we are on the other side looking at things differently. And that is part of the difference, the growing pains if you will, that we are experiencing now.
The long and short of this post (and I realize that I can be a bit long at times) is to call our little part of the Gamecock Nation to reality. It isn't that we can't play with the big boys now, we can, but to realize that we have made great strides these past three seasons. In fact, we are one of the big boys now. And that every time two big boys match up, one of them has to lose. As much as we don't like it, these past two weeks, it was us. Back in 2009 if this fate had been offered to us for the next 2 1/2 (so far) seasons, every one of us would have accepted it with smiles and hidden giggles.
So, my advice is step back a bit, or get outside, see that the sun is still shining, and remember who it is that is leading us
At the huge risk of being a sunshine pumper on this dark and dismal day in the Gamecock Nation, I think that stepping back a little and gaining perhaps a little perspective is in order here.
Two weeks ago the sun was so bright in the Gamecock Nation that we all needed shades. We had a defense that couldn't be scored upon. Our offensive line was coming off a dominant performance against a pretty good UGA defense. Connor Shaw was being praised and receiving Heisman consideration. Marcus Lattimore was looking like his pre-injury self and sneaking back into the Heisman talk. Even Jadaveon Clowney was being mentioned for the coveted, usually offensive, trophy. Spurrier was a genius that had found the way to win at South Carolina this season. We were the darlings of the nation this season and every major media outlet was treating us as such. Gameday had been here and we had risen to the occasion in such a dramatic fashion that we had Williams-Brice rocking like it hadn't rocked it hadn't since the 80's. Physically rocking. The talk was not only of winning the Eastern Division of the SEC, but in beating Bama in Atlanta and then accepting the crystal football a game later.
My how the times have changed.
Two weeks later after having played in two of the most difficult stadiums in the world to play to two teams one of which was preseason #1 in the nation and the other #2 in the nation when we played them, we have lost all hope and we are questioning the very ones that have brought about this success.
Put the pipes, bowls, kool-aide, and expectations down for just a moment, you can pick them up later, and let's look at things for a moment.
*2010: We won the East, swept the Big Three, beat clemson, played for the SEC Championship, and tied our own record for most wins in a season.
*2011: We swept and should have won the East (that is a dumbassed setup), swept the Big Three again, beat Clemson, beat Nebraska in convincing fashion in a New Years Day bowl game, and set a new record for most wins in school history.
*2012: We spent 10 consecutive weeks in the Top 10. Beat UGA. Won with Gameday here getting Lee Corso to sort apologize for some of his earlier remarks and to pick us to win. We won against UGA in spite of the Corso Curse. We lost to LSU at Death Valley on a Saturday night after a loss for them playing terribly in the process by two points. 2 points. The feat is nothing to be ashamed of, but how we played is. This is a game that we could have easily won. And we all know it. We lost yesterday to Florida, in front of Gameday (again, two times this season) and the nation. They are ranked second in the nation to 'Bama (defending national champs) at The Swamp. We gave them 3 touchdowns and allowed, pushed even, momentum into their corner and refused to have anything to do with it.
And now we find ourselves here.
Out of national title contention. Out of SEC Championship contention. Out of Eastern Division contention.
Some are thinking, "The more things change, the more they remain the same."
I am here to tell you, that is simply not the case.
If you have been a Gamecock for any significant amount of time, and I have been, then as much as these past two weeks have hurt, and yesterday hurt more for me than last Saturday did, and look past the pains of these last two losses, you realize something. The grass is pretty green. The water in the creek is high. The harvest is ripening and is still bountiful.
Yes, the past eight days have sucked and it is understandable to hear people say, "Same ol' Gamecocks", but that just isn't the case. Let's just step back a bit and look at things with a little separation from the events of the last two games.
Note what I mention at the first of this for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
2012:
*This team is loaded with talent.
*We can extend our win streak to 3 against Tennessee.
*We can beat Arkansas.
*We can extend our win streak to 4 against Clemson finally graduating a class that doesn't know what it is like to lose to them.
*We should get a pretty decent New Year's Day bowl game.
*Win that and we'll tie our record for most wins in a season here at Carolina. 11 wins in back-to-back seasons.
*Folks, we had Williams-Brice shaking, or swaying, the other night for the first time since the mid-80's. The difference this time was that it wasn't the East Deck swaying, it was the West Uppers. The older, more solidly built deck that is filled with the older, "sit on by butt and leave early" crowd in seasons past. That's quite a feat.
On paper, we should win out. But games aren't played on paper, a fact that in the past gave us hope and usually worked to our advantage. Now, we are on the other side looking at things differently. And that is part of the difference, the growing pains if you will, that we are experiencing now.
The long and short of this post (and I realize that I can be a bit long at times) is to call our little part of the Gamecock Nation to reality. It isn't that we can't play with the big boys now, we can, but to realize that we have made great strides these past three seasons. In fact, we are one of the big boys now. And that every time two big boys match up, one of them has to lose. As much as we don't like it, these past two weeks, it was us. Back in 2009 if this fate had been offered to us for the next 2 1/2 (so far) seasons, every one of us would have accepted it with smiles and hidden giggles.
So, my advice is step back a bit, or get outside, see that the sun is still shining, and remember who it is that is leading us
