Thursday March 20, 2008

We Belong

We Belong
Ever been to a wedding or a social event and felt out of place? Nothing is worse than looking around the room and wondering, “What in the world am I doing here? I don’t belong here!”

In the past when I went to the ACC tournament I had that feeling. I always looked around and saw all of the old men from North Carolina and Virginia and said to myself, “I have zero in common with these guys. What the heck are stock options?”

I did not smoke cigars and I could not tell the difference between a merlot and a pinot noir. I liked Budweiser and NASCAR. Watching spring football was more important than watching CNBC.

But the main reason I felt out of place is I felt I did not belong. I guess it was an inferiority complex because I knew Clemson could not beat these guys and competing with them was difficult. I knew I would get hounded walking out of the coliseum by the winners about my tickers for the rest of the event. I didn’t like it because deep down I knew I was not in their class in basketball.

Not anymore. I feel I belong now.

March Madness got its title because of all of the crazy things that happen on the hardwood each year. It is a time when Cinderella can grab the spot light even for a short time. That was the great thing in the past is that at least we had a chance to shock the world just for one night. Occasionally we did and that was fun but it could not be done two straight nights. Eventually we all knew the clock would strike midnight.

Last weekend was different though. It started with the bye. It was so nice to sit back and watch other bad teams play bad basketball games that were actually meaningless in the grand scheme of things. NC State looked awful and Miami was already in the NCAA tournament. Florida State and Wake Forest was a bore and as we expected it really meant nothing. Virginia and Georgia Tech was a little better game for a while at least and the Maryland-Boston College game could not hold my attention long enough to keep me from napping.

Who would have thought Clemson fans could actually watch the first round of the ACC tournament and be bored and distracted with anticipation of the Tigers game the following day? Insignificance never looked so good!

Tiger fans were the ones buying tickets. They were the vultures that waited for the prey to die before pouncing on carcass for tickets. The downtown restaurants and hotels had an orange tint on Saturday and Sunday and Charlotte never looked better.

Now, a new tournament and a new frontier awaits. Each year we all fill out our brackets and each year we want a do over after the first weekend but I never got the excitement that most people had. I may have been the only man in America that watched Doral or Bay Hill that week instead of the NCAA tournament.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the George Mason run but I am not a George Mason fan. I am a Clemson fan and if Clemson was not involved then I don’t have a lot of interest. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I just don’t get it. But I always pulled for one team and was not interested in watching others. When the Yankees are eliminated in the playoffs, I usually don’t watch much of the World Series. When Earnhardt wrecked I usually headed to the golf course to hit some balls. When Clemson stunk in basketball I usually just headed down to Doug Kingsmore to catch a great game that involved a good Clemson team.

Even in the years when Clemson made the NCAA tournament I was a little apprehensive to fully embrace the chances. I felt we had a chance because we were Cinderella. I thought we had a chance because others like Butler and St, Mary’s also had a chance. We were in the same boat. We were not on the cruise ship like UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina but the dingey was better than drowning.

Not anymore. I feel like we belong.

This is a year in which I hope Cinderella will make noise in the first round. This is the year in which I want the best team to win (at least in the first two rounds). The feeling is totally different.

The other feeling I have now is that this is not a one-time deal. Under Cliff Ellis I felt we may have had a chance but I always knew the next year was going to be a rebuilding year. Now I am not ashamed to look at the other fans after the tournament is over because I think I am looking forward to seeing them again several more times in the next few seasons.

In our past NCAA trips there were so much pressure because I felt like we had to win now. This was our only chance. I am not worried about tomorrow night’s game because I know Clemson will be back more frequently in the future.

Changing the culture is hard to do but Oliver Purnell and his staff has done just that. In the past many Clemson fan’s looked forward to spring break vacations but now they will have to consider spending some vacation time following this team in the tournament. Kentucky fans are always the best about doing this every March but the funny thing is I no longer feel like we should not have the same considerations. This is not a fluke or a one-hit wonder. We are not crashing the party. We belong!

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