Clemson Men’s Basketball: Coping with the guilt of not believing….yet

Clemson Men’s Basketball defeated Louisville 83-70. The Tigers are 6-0 in ACC games this season. This is the first time in Clemson’s 70 seasons of ACC basketball that they have started with six consecutive conference wins.

Yet, I am still bracing for it to all come crashing down. I am dealing with the guilt of being a fan who doesn’t believe. I want to believe.

I want to believe that everything is lining up for the Tigers. The blue bloods of the ACC, Duke and North Carolina, are going through transitions following the retirement of Hall of Fame coaches. They are good, but neither is the dominant force they have been in the past.

Other programs like Virginia, Syracuse, and NC State are good but not great. Virginia Tech and Notre Dame are struggling in league play.

Florida State and Louisville, two programs that have had strong showings in the ACC in recent years, have fallen off a cliff.

It would seem the veteran Clemson squad would be in a prime position to take advantage of this misfortune amongst the other teams of the conference. Virginia and Miami look like the strongest contenders, and the Tigers appear to match up well with both of them.

I guess the problem is that I have seen this movie a few times. The Tigers have started great before and have not been able to finish.

It doesn’t happen nearly as often as it seems, but when it does happen, it sticks with you as a fan. Every five years, give or take, Clemson will start hot, only to fall apart. Fans get their hopes up and are then let down. After being disappointed over and over, you just kind of expect it.

I am trying to keep my mind on 2017-18. That season started like many of these campaigns. The team came out of the gate at 14-1 overall, 3-0 in the ACC. They then lost three of the next five, all on the road. It seemed like the collapse was well in progress.

That team finished the ACC schedule at 11-7, a respectable showing. They made the semi-finals of the ACC tournament and the Sweet Sixteen.

It is only natural for fans to be skeptical of Clemson Men’s Basketball because they have rarely finished well after a hot start

I don’t think I am alone here. I think there are a fair number of Tiger fans that are hesitant to get too excited about this season just yet.

As therapy for myself, I am going to talk to those fans.

It’s okay the be hesitant. You aren’t basing your anxiety on a figment of your imagination. You are basing it on reality. Clemson doesn’t have a track record of consistent success. Before this season, you had to go back to when I was a student at Clemson to find the last time they started 5-0 in the ACC. My children will happily remind you that I was in school a long, long time ago.

If you feel guilty for not believing yet that the Tigers will continue to stay at or towards the top of the standings, all that means is you are a real fan. You care. Fans that don’t care don’t feel guilty for being hesitant to believe.

There, do you feel better?

Me either. Let’s just ride this roller coaster.