When you are going through the growing pains of becoming a
winning football program, AND you’re a program that follows the rules as
tightly as USC does, you can’t avoid good players leaving early for the
pros. And in the context of this column,
I am really not talking about players such as Alshon or Clowney. Their going pro after 3 seasons would happen
anywhere. I am really talking about
cases such as Sidney Rice or Ace Sanders.
In other words, less “crystal clear” decisions.
Now at some schools, things happen behind closed doors that
lead to a higher percentage of these “tweeners” remaining for another
year. And yes, it is irritating and you
hope the old karma wheel circles around at some point but that has nothing to
do with Carolina. Outside of technical
violations and “rampant tutoring” and the like, USC has a coach that chooses
the straight and narrow path and I like it that way.
But more tweeners will leave because of that, and we have to
live with it in Columbia. The Gamecocks
could have chosen to remain the big-yapping “sizzle,” but instead we have dug
in, built for the long-term and are the steak instead. Some schools can be both and have more
history at it. Alabama is the most
obvious example of course, but there aren’t many that can consistently combine
the substance AND the hype.
So if you’re a Carolina fan, ask yourself if you’d like to
return to running our mouths all year, beating up on a weak schedule and then
getting whipped by Clemson? Yes, we may
have had (gasp) 4 losses in the last 2 seasons.
Oh, the horror! Yes, we may
“only” be a consistent top-10 program now that is almost “disappointed” to be
sitting at #7 to end a season. I have
lived long enough to see us have an active and current win streak of at least
three games against Tennessee, Georgia and Clemson. And of course the big one on that list is at
4 and counting.
I do wish our fans could learn to enjoy things more but that
will come I guess. After 2012, all I heard was USC fans bellyaching
over having to replace Antonio Allen, Melvin Ingram, Alshon, etc, etc. What on EARTH were we going to do? Annnnd we turn around and go 11-2 again and
are right there in the top 10. Much to
no one’s surprise, now the bellyaching has started back up. OH NO!
We have to replace Ace, DJ, Devin, etc. What are we going to do??? Geez.
Good programs graduate great players who must be replaced by
other great players, and we’re doing that now.
Consistently. No, we’re not as
adept at manipulating the media as some other schools with hyper fools at the
helm who ignore reality, and yes that does lead to some head-shaking and heavy
breathing. But we are what we are. Carolina is not where we want to be, but
we’re a hell of a lot better than we used to be. I can live with that.
22 wins, 4 losses, and ZERO “Moral Victories.” Love it.
Bring on the Tarheels and 2013!
What a great time to be a Gamecock!