Palpable HOPE for the Gamecock faithful

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

I WAS ENCOURAGED during a quick Labor Day trip to the gym this morning to see so many guys working out in their Gamecock sweatshirts and covers (Marine-speak for caps): Not because they didn’t have anything else to wear, but because rain or shine they are Gamecock fans. I know because I talked with them about it. And speaking of rain, there have been a lot of dark clouds in the wake of Saturday night’s uber-disappointing loss to UNC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Yes, we were all hopeful for weeks even months prior to the game, and we held out hope even at the half on Saturday night when the Gamecocks trailed the Tarheels by only three points. But the wheels came off in the third quarter and we ultimately lost 31-17.

Of course much of the blame has been leveled at third-year Head Coach Shane Beamer who the reactionary Gamecock faithful seemed to love prior to kickoff (by the way I still love Beamer) and even more baffling-to-me redshirt senior signal-caller Spencer Rattler whose stats were actually impressive (completing 30 of 39 passes for over 350 yards) despite being sacked nine times throughout the night. There is no reason anyone should blame Rattler. In fact, we ought to be cheering that amazing young man. And most are, except for an unfortunately vocal few who don’t really understand the game.

The real problem Saturday night was in the trenches “id est” the offensive line. And yes, Beamer, his offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley and his offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains are responsible for that o-line breakdown.

Beamer says, “We have work to do.” Indeed we (they) do, but there’s no way Beamer or anyone else could have completely known how much work needed to be done until we were tested. Now we have been, and I am confident Beamer and company will right the listing ship because Beamer knows the game. He’s young, smart, extremely enthusiastic, and in his dream job at his dream school. He’s also doing everything right: Recruiting, coaching, staff-hiring, and putting a premium focus on special teams and overall football culture.

What now? The Gamecocks need to find a way to run the ball. The o-line must find a way to protect the QB. Maybe our young as yet untested players are the answer. I don’t know: We don’t have a lot of o-line depth and I’m not a coach. We must always capitalize on our opportunities in the red zone. We need to recover quickly from injuries (we have quite a few right now). And the defensive line needs a bit of work too.

What about the fans? Stop being so publicly reproving. Be supportive. Encourage these young men. Make no mistake, what you post on social media (in comments, etc.) is picked up by others, repurposed and widely disseminated. The players ultimately see it. They are on Facebook and Twitter as much as you are, maybe more.

Moreover, the incessant unconstructive whining without solutions from the Gamecock faithful is about as tiresome as our rival fanbases’ gleeful taunting. Trust me, I know exactly how you all feel. I’m not happy about Saturday night’s loss either, but I’m not going to cry about it especially not in the face of the public and our rivals, and certainly not so that our players might get wind of it. Remember, the coaches and players want to win too – likely more than we do because they have so much more at stake – and they are facing what is arguably the toughest schedule in the nation.

THERE IS HOPE. If you’re a true Gamecock fan, cling to our rebuilding success. Remember how we were trounced by a not-very-good Florida team 38-6 in mid-November of last year only to punish highly ranked Tennessee 63-38 the following week followed by a 31-30 victory over archrival Clemson? Hang on to that.

THERE ARE PERSONAL OPTIONS. If you don’t like being a Gamecock, that’s okay too. Pack your trash and move on.

If you’re a fair-weather fan (and I personally know many of you) who will only jump on the bandwagon and pretend to be a Gamecock when we’re winning and you want to be a part of the “cool club,” hang on. You’ll have your opportunity. We will win. We will figure a way to correct our problems, o-line and otherwise. We will upset ranked opponents. It’s coming.

And if you need a little more motivation, here’s a 2021 story explaining “Why I love being a Gamecock” – https://whosonthemove.com/why-i-love-being-a-gamecock/.

– W. Thomas Smith Jr, a University of South Carolina graduate (class of ‘82) and former USC adjunct professor, is a former U.S. Marine Infantry leader and a New York Times bestselling editor. Visit him online at http://uswriter.com.