Umbra
Carolina Cane
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2016
- Messages
- 2,248
WARNING: absurdly long post! I'm sure this post will get negged but I haven't officially introduced myself on the site and wanted to share how I became a canes fan. I don't personally know any where I live in SC. After after yesterday I said Fk it and who knows maybe I can find a nice person amongst the negativity here.
I moved to Ft. Lauderdale from the Netherlands during the summer of 2001 when I was 7. I was a little kid, new to Florida and America. I was new to football and now I lived in this place where there was insane hype around a team. Even though I was too young, I remember that it was surreal. I have awesome memories like when my stepdad took me to Canesfest to get autographs from Coker, Dorsey, and Taylor (RIP). I remember the insanity when we won the championship.
Skip ahead 12 years to 2013: my mom had since divorced and we moved to Greenville, SC. I'm about to begin my 1st semester at the University of South Carolina. When school started, I don't know why, but something clicked and all of a sudden I started following football. I never cared before, but the Gamecock/Spurrier hype and my Clemson friends' excitement pushed me to try football. But...even at SC, it was wrong to not root for the Canes: I had too many shirts and memories... and that hat with Dorsey's signature. SCAR had no program history aside from George Rogers and nothing to be excited for. So I watched The U part 1 and immediately knew what was wrong with the Gamecocks. There was no swag. No hard-hitting defense (aside from Clowney). There were no Ray Lewis's and Ed Reeds and Shockeys. SC wasn't [insert-position]U. They weren't the most hated team with this amazing ****y confidence that got **** done while making everyone look silly and uptight. I knew I was always a canes fan.
Instead of going to home games, I stayed in my dorm and watched Miami. I watched Duke Johnson breaking his ankle vs FSU in 2013 and the beginning of our yearly FSU tailspin tradition. I saw Kaaya's first start against Louisville in 2014 and how much better he got every game despite the crappy season. I became a loud Miami fan. I was an RA for SC and wore Miami shirts and hoodies on campus, had a U bumper sticker, and didn't own a SC shirt. I proudly took **** from all my friends when SC beat Miami in the "We both suck and need new coaches soon" bowl. I've even converted my anti-football girlfriend, whose dad was a DE at USC, to love Miami (and cry after we lost again last week to UNC). Then last season happened: the anger of Cincinnati, the very short-lived drinking game I played during Clemson where I intended to drink for every Miami mistake, and my best friend at Clemson calling me and genuinely apologizing for that game while I thanked him for ending the pain. I had new hope and followed the drama of hiring and the excitement for Richt while SC **** the bed with Muschamp.
I know it's been a long time since we've been us. And like many fans my age, it's hard to know what us is anymore. During my lifetime, I've seen the Coker's Canes daycare center winning and the draft decimating us, Shannon's struggles, and Golden's sweaty failures. My favorite UM NFL players are limited to Johnson, Perryman, and Dorsett. I only know the game-to-game pain of the last three seasons, but I know lots of fans that have been waiting 10+ years for something...Every year, I've watched us get so close to beating FSU before losing and giving up for the season. Every year I get new hope that we got it this year, we're favored to win it, we have the talent, and that coastal chaos chooses But every year that koolaid tastes bitter around this time.
I will never stop supporting the team. It's not possible with green and orange transfused into my blood. But I want to know to maintain faith that one year will finally be our year and the true return of the U. With coach #4 and it doesn't seem better. I look at Harbaugh or OSU and get sad about how easy that seemed for them. For us there's always: the one position to fix, the few recruits, the game-changing hire, the unlucky injury, the stat that kills us, the game-breaking officiating call. We always need to "work harder and win the next one" to make it okay. But it never happens.
Why should it?
Why should I ever be able to actually believe in our ability to compete and make teams like FSU or Clemson scared? Or that we can beat Alabama?
Will we hire a complete staff to put 100% faith in? Will we ever not have players do stupid **** like Muhammad or a strict compliance policy so we can keep our roster in tact?
Will we ever be the U with Swag again?
Why should I expect Richt to change anything anyways? What recruiting can he improve drastically from before? What evidence do we currently have that things have improved from last year (besides the D?)
Will the IPF make a difference?
Or Is being a private school with less money the nail in our coffin for why we will we never compete for recruits with the SEC and Alabama (and the money they pay recruits)?
TL;DR
What do you guys do when you lose hope?
Why do you think there is a reason to be optimistic for next season and beyond?
I moved to Ft. Lauderdale from the Netherlands during the summer of 2001 when I was 7. I was a little kid, new to Florida and America. I was new to football and now I lived in this place where there was insane hype around a team. Even though I was too young, I remember that it was surreal. I have awesome memories like when my stepdad took me to Canesfest to get autographs from Coker, Dorsey, and Taylor (RIP). I remember the insanity when we won the championship.
Skip ahead 12 years to 2013: my mom had since divorced and we moved to Greenville, SC. I'm about to begin my 1st semester at the University of South Carolina. When school started, I don't know why, but something clicked and all of a sudden I started following football. I never cared before, but the Gamecock/Spurrier hype and my Clemson friends' excitement pushed me to try football. But...even at SC, it was wrong to not root for the Canes: I had too many shirts and memories... and that hat with Dorsey's signature. SCAR had no program history aside from George Rogers and nothing to be excited for. So I watched The U part 1 and immediately knew what was wrong with the Gamecocks. There was no swag. No hard-hitting defense (aside from Clowney). There were no Ray Lewis's and Ed Reeds and Shockeys. SC wasn't [insert-position]U. They weren't the most hated team with this amazing ****y confidence that got **** done while making everyone look silly and uptight. I knew I was always a canes fan.
Instead of going to home games, I stayed in my dorm and watched Miami. I watched Duke Johnson breaking his ankle vs FSU in 2013 and the beginning of our yearly FSU tailspin tradition. I saw Kaaya's first start against Louisville in 2014 and how much better he got every game despite the crappy season. I became a loud Miami fan. I was an RA for SC and wore Miami shirts and hoodies on campus, had a U bumper sticker, and didn't own a SC shirt. I proudly took **** from all my friends when SC beat Miami in the "We both suck and need new coaches soon" bowl. I've even converted my anti-football girlfriend, whose dad was a DE at USC, to love Miami (and cry after we lost again last week to UNC). Then last season happened: the anger of Cincinnati, the very short-lived drinking game I played during Clemson where I intended to drink for every Miami mistake, and my best friend at Clemson calling me and genuinely apologizing for that game while I thanked him for ending the pain. I had new hope and followed the drama of hiring and the excitement for Richt while SC **** the bed with Muschamp.
I know it's been a long time since we've been us. And like many fans my age, it's hard to know what us is anymore. During my lifetime, I've seen the Coker's Canes daycare center winning and the draft decimating us, Shannon's struggles, and Golden's sweaty failures. My favorite UM NFL players are limited to Johnson, Perryman, and Dorsett. I only know the game-to-game pain of the last three seasons, but I know lots of fans that have been waiting 10+ years for something...Every year, I've watched us get so close to beating FSU before losing and giving up for the season. Every year I get new hope that we got it this year, we're favored to win it, we have the talent, and that coastal chaos chooses But every year that koolaid tastes bitter around this time.
I will never stop supporting the team. It's not possible with green and orange transfused into my blood. But I want to know to maintain faith that one year will finally be our year and the true return of the U. With coach #4 and it doesn't seem better. I look at Harbaugh or OSU and get sad about how easy that seemed for them. For us there's always: the one position to fix, the few recruits, the game-changing hire, the unlucky injury, the stat that kills us, the game-breaking officiating call. We always need to "work harder and win the next one" to make it okay. But it never happens.
Why should it?
Why should I ever be able to actually believe in our ability to compete and make teams like FSU or Clemson scared? Or that we can beat Alabama?
Will we hire a complete staff to put 100% faith in? Will we ever not have players do stupid **** like Muhammad or a strict compliance policy so we can keep our roster in tact?
Will we ever be the U with Swag again?
Why should I expect Richt to change anything anyways? What recruiting can he improve drastically from before? What evidence do we currently have that things have improved from last year (besides the D?)
Will the IPF make a difference?
Or Is being a private school with less money the nail in our coffin for why we will we never compete for recruits with the SEC and Alabama (and the money they pay recruits)?
TL;DR
What do you guys do when you lose hope?
Why do you think there is a reason to be optimistic for next season and beyond?
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