It’s not that the Tar Heels are losing games, but how they’re doing it.
One thing that I have always loved about most Carolina fans is that they are rational about winning and losing. Sure, they want to win and are disappointed when they lose, sometimes bitterly depending on which school beats them. But they usually leave the game proud.
The loss to Florida State is one of those that falls into my personal five stages of fandom – Euphoria, Happiness, Disappointment, Anger and Apathy. It was UNC’s third defeat of the season, one so similar to losing at Georgia Tech that fans are very disappointed and some are getting angry.
Dropped passes, turnovers and even some penalties are forgivable because these are kids trying very hard to win for themselves and their school. But poor sportsmanship that shows a lack of discipline and committing fouls that we know are supposed to be coached out of them, well, that’s different especially when it leads to uneven play on both sides of the ball.
In the losses at Georgia Tech and at home Saturday to FSU, there were long segments of the games when the Yellow Jackets and Seminoles were scoring unanswered points.
Tech had 27 straight points and Florida State had 21, stretches of such bad play that they basically decided the outcomes of both games.
In both cases, the Tar Heels jumped out to leads in the first quarter and then seemed to go flat and play like they hadn’t been coached very well. That frustrates the kids and their coaches and their fans who spend their valuable time and money for a better look.
We want them to play aggressively but within the rules, which is one of the reasons we are so proud of their effort. But when that effort and execution is not there, fans have every right to be angry. The last two years of Larry Fedora, the disappointment turned to anger and eventually to apathy, when fans stopped coming to games.
It is easy to blame the coaches because it is their job and the buck stops with them. They spend an entire week developing a game plan and then training the players to be competitive on each play.
The Heels have played better than those last two losses and are capable of winning more games. More importantly, make us proud.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines