I grew up an NC State fan. I was born into it.

I understand the hunger and the thirst for an ACC Championship. 1987 was the last time the Wolfpack won the ACC Tournament, and I wasn’t old enough to remember it.

I understand being irritated with being the red-headed stepchild to Duke and UNC in basketball for decades.

I understand the frustration with trying to explain our impressive history to opposing fans, but no one appreciates history unless you’ve made some lately.

Despite a lack of desired results, I still believe that NC State has one of the most passionate and loyal fanbases in the nation.

What do we do, as passionate fans, when dreams continually don’t come true?

We find coping mechanisms.

Here are some examples of such coping mechanisms:

• Not wanting to be ranked, because we “always” lose after we get ranked
• Thinking rankings don’t matter
• Embracing superstitions, like #NCStateS#@t or the Law of the Wolf
• As soon as our opponent goes on a run, we conclude the game is over so as to not get our hopes up

Every time I post an article that is seemingly optimistic, one of these coping mechanisms comes flying out on a comment on social media like a knee-jerk reaction.

I’ll confess, I’ve embraced all of the above coping mechanisms in my years as a fan of the Wolfpack and I’m not proud of it.

But here’s the truth. Embracing this mindset builds a losing culture.

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, whatever can go wrong, ends up going wrong. This mindset, when accepted by the fans, seeps into the program and eats at it like a cancer. Ask the players over the past decade if they felt it.

They did.

Sure, it was a lack of mental toughness from them, they should be able to block that sort of talk out, but they’re 18-year-old kids and their coaches didn’t exactly preach or exude a true winners mentality either. So the cycle continued….and continued…until it became who NC State was. It was their calling card, their brand and the fans, for some reason, wore it on their sleeve.

Winners don’t make excuses. Winners don’t believe in curses or bad luck. Winners believe hard work equals success and the harder you work the more you deserve to take.

Kevin Keatts has walked into a job many ran from. He didn’t hedge his bets and tell the NC State fans that he’d just do his best, or that this is a tough job with UNC and Duke down the road, so don’t expect much.

Instead, Kevin Keatts walked up to the podium on his first day on the job and told you he was a winner. He told you he’d win championships at NC State. His mouth wrote a check that he, by all means, intends to cash.

It was exactly what most Wolfpack fans have wanted to hear for years. This was the type of opening press conference they dreamed about.

But then the NC State mindset set in.

People wondered if he was just a slick talker and if he would have a rude awakening once his team started playing ACC opponents. It’ll probably be 4 or 5 years before we ever see any real return on the Keatts investment, right?

Wrong. Keatts didn’t care. He didn’t have time for those questions. He was busy tearing down years of doubt, years of losing, years of coming up just short. He was intent on building up players in his mold. Guys that play for something. Guys that put in the work in practice so when the bright lights come on, they can look at their opponent and know that guy hasn’t worked as hard or sacrificed as much as they have.

In his mind, last year didn’t exist. Everything those guys had done until this point never happened. This was a new year, a new era and a new mindset.

That approach has, in less than a calendar year, changed the entire culture around the NC State program. It has changed the way players approach the game. They believe they are capable of more, not because someone told them they were, but because they put in the work required and because they have started to see it pay off.

How many times have you said or thought it. “This was a game NC State would have lost last year.” or “I can’t believe NC State is finishing games!”

Believe it. This team sure does. They’ve bought in. They have put their insecurities aside and made the decision to play together as champions. To work harder than everyone else. To quit making excuses and just win.

They’ve gone out and put it on the line night after night. You’ve witnessed it for 29 games now and for the first time in a long, long time, NC State is in the running to finish 3rd in the ACC, above either Duke or Carolina.

They have played with a chip on their shoulder and without a doubt in their mind. They’ve decided to take matters into their own hands and to dictate their own fate. They’ve completely changed the culture and shifted from a woe-is-me mindset full of doubt to one of confidence and pride. A take no prisoners, winners mentality…

… and i think it’s just about time that we, the fanbase, sucked it up and followed suit.