Don’t Drink the Kool Aid - Yet

This post is copied from StateFansNation, the web site of the NCSU Athletics lunatic fringe. Of which I am a proud crazy member.

The post captured my feelings almost exactly about this year’s football team. The original SFN post was put up rather quickly (complete with syntax and spelling errors) and needed some editing to better reflect my personal take.

So, with some editing, here’s how I (and SFN) think NCSU fans should handle the current wonderful success on the football field.

Which game is the most important? The next one.

Major Tom O’Brien was hired to win and has found himself, for any number of reasons, unable to accomplish his mission. This season would be a pivotal one where the most rationale fans would be trying to determine whether he was “right” for the Wolfpack and the most fanatical believers in “Operation TOB” would be trying to figure out whether their messiah was a false prophet. TOB needed to start at the basics; stop worrying about the entire season or the fate of the program; he needed to focus on winning the next game and nothing more. The most important game this season would be “the next one”.

NC State’s most important game this season is Virginia Tech this Saturday at home. We must beat Virginia Tech. We have to beat Virginia Tech. The fate of our program for years to come amounts to this one game.

After this week, we must beat Boston College. We have to beat Boston College.

After that - ECU.

Let’s keep our noses to the ground, hunting for our next kill and keep our egos even lower than that. If NC State wins, it will not be because we swaggered and bullied our way to the top, but because we are led with Marine-like discipline to become an elite, efficient, and fear-invoking machine stopping any offense that comes our way and slicing deeply with surgeon-like precision through our opponent’s defense.

Keep humble, Wolfpack. The hunt is going to be long and the prey will be strong. Let’s not concern ourselves with all the other opponents on the schedule. Only concern ourselves with the opponent on the field at the moment. Only concentrate on our next prey.

Respect our opponents.

Be grateful and enjoy the success. Cheer and support our team in all the right ways. Celebrate with humility and grace. Meet adversity and setbacks with determination.

As a team and as loyal Wolfpackers – let's do it - ‘the right way’.