Vonwolf: The Awkward Predicament of NC State Fandom

Saturday night, I watched the State football game with what has become a usual mindset; We’re a good team, but not as good as we should be THAT night. I love State, I believe in State and I love watching these players each and every season fight with everything they’ve got.

But unlike most years and big game letdowns, I was overly calm.

The Pain of the Big Three

I already know there will be immediate comments about Women’s Basketball, Wrestling and other programs on the rise…It’s coming, just wait, keep reading.

It’s been well established how the big three (Football, Men’s Basketball and Baseball) have had….how do you say…struggled. The only school in the ACC that hasn’t won a championship in any of those sports since 1992. Yet the chances were there, repeatedly, scattered throughout the last three decades.

The loss to Wake Forest was compounded, because they’re Wake Forest. This small school in Winston-Salem somehow takes advantage of far more opportunities than we do in Raleigh. They find a generational point guard in Chris Paul and win the ACC in 2003. They get cracks at football in 2006 and again this year, and seem to be on the verge of winning both times. It’s astounding and demoralizing.

State had a chance to win Saturday and make this November one we’d all remember for years upon years to come. The baseball team gave up one run to Duke in the ACC Championship and still found a way to lose. And men’s basketball…well…yeah.

There are moments when the “NC State Shit” is funny…but I’ve gotten to the point where being the lovable loser just ain’t fun anymore. I’d like to win something and feel as though State, for the first time in a long time, is on top of the world. Specifically, in one of these three sports.

A Talk with a Time Traveler

The clock has struck midnight and we’re celebrating the New Year. Beyond over 2020 and the hell that it was. Two minutes into January 1st, 2021 and already it’s so refreshing. Things will be different and we can move on with our lives, in the normalcy we all crave.

Sitting in the bar, enjoying a last round before heading home, a man sits next to you. You start a convo and it goes sideways fast, as he says he’s from exactly one year in the future. You ask what every super State fan would ask, “Does State win this year?” (You’d probably also ask about the lottery, but he wouldn’t remember any specific numbers…then ask about COVID and he’d quickly reply, “for a good chunk, it’s the same”…State wouldn’t have been your first question, but it would end up there eventually.)

“Yeah you will. State will win A LOT.”

You still want to experience the emotions and ride, so you ask, “Don’t tell me the endings, but tell me how far we could go?”

“Well…women’s basketball will win another ACC title and for the first time be a #1 seed in the NCAAT with a coach of the year winner leading them…Your baseball team will capture the attention of the nation, heading into the final four teams in Omaha as THE best team…Football will be playing meaningful games into November, just having to get by one in-state rival…Wrestling, swim, cross-country, all these sports would be monsters in conference and nationally ranked. Like I said, State will win a lot.”

Where State Stands

Just imagine that conversation? Being told we’d be winners across the board and yet here we sit waiting. We’re all in an awkward predicament of State fandom; we’re winning more consistently than ever, yet still want more.

This isn’t meant to turn into a conversation about coaching. We’ll be digging into that in the coming weeks and months. I am, however, going to say that if the floor is a 9-win football team, NCAAT Men’s basketball team, Omaha bound baseball team and Wrestling, Swim, Cross-Country, Women’s Basketball all these sports are just hammering the ACC with eyes on the national prize…damnit…that actually doesn’t seem too bad.

I want to win, but the first step is being a yearly contender. The thought that we’d go from middle of the pack to national champion is unrealistic even for the most optimistic dreamer. For me, I want to have the yearly feeling that we are in the running late. I want to know that my programs, across the board, are taking strides in the right direction. And right now, nearly every single one is.

It’s okay and understandable to be upset. You can complain all you want about whether certain programs have the right coach, players or funding needed to succeed. Just know, with major change comes major unknown results. Risk the now and future in HOPES that it will turn. Nothing is for certain, no matter how hard you believe, “this will be the difference.”

In this time, right now, I’m enjoying the ride. At this very moment, State is winning more than they’re losing. Each week a State program is upsetting a better team or taking care of business like they should.  Just hoping in the very near future we can crack the code and win the big one. #GoPack