I’ve almost recovered from the upset that occurred yesterday. Putting up all of my Christmas decorations helped a little bit. I’m looking forward to December for many reasons.

That’s right: I will brand it an upset, and those of you who would like to argue against that terminology are only lying to yourselves. Or else you simply don’t read.

Of course plenty of Clemson fans felt uneasy about this game. It’s not like the Tigers regularly face Carolina at the end of the season with a big game looming the week afterward. All week long in interviews, the coaches and players continually attempted to remind everyone that they were focused on Carolina and Carolina only.

I didn’t really buy it then, and I certainly don’t buy it now. The Tigers lacked utter enthusiasm yesterday, as well as lacking focus. Critical fumbles and penalties the ninth game of the season? Of course that should result in a loss.

The Gamecocks deserved to win, no doubt about it. They outplayed Clemson yesterday. There’s talent on that team; everybody knew that. Enough talent to stop Clemson? Most people agreed with that, given the right circumstances.

Steve Spurrier even agreed with this statement. In interviews with the media, he was quoted as saying, “We caught Clemson at the right time. They have a big game next week, and we haven’t done much lately.”

He couldn’t have said it better. Clemson was caught with it’s pants down. Coming off of a six game winning streak, looking forward to earning some redemption against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship, and recalling the history of pure, undisputed Clemson dominance in the Clemson/Carolina series, the Tigers simply didn’t show up to play.

Carolina, on the other hand, had plenty of reasons to play for blood. It was a pivotal game in their season; without a win over the Tigers, they would’ve faced a 6-6 season, a paltry Bowl game and some speculated changes in football staff. Not to mention another drop in the bucket that is losses to archrival Clemson.

Carolina had two weeks to prepare for Clemson. Those guys evidently utilized that time to its fullest extent. They preyed on Clemson’s weaknesses, magnifying them to reach the result of the worst loss Clemson has suffered to Carolina in Columbia since 1975. It was also the worst loss Clemson has suffered, period, since having Dabo Swinney as head coach.

It didn’t help that C.J. Spiller was apparently suffering from a case of the flu. This limited his playing time and subsequently damaged his Heisman chances. The kick-off return for a touchdown, however, was a pretty enthralling start to the game, which quickly faded into discomfort for Clemson fans thereafter.

I don’t have any complaints with losing to Carolina yesterday. Clemson got what it deserved, and likewise, Carolina got what it deserved. I still maintain that Carolina is a mediocre team. Clemson lost to Maryland, for goodness’ sake. Everybody knew Clemson had the ability to choke in certain circumstances.

But I’m satisfied with ending the regular season 8-4 and heading down to Tampa under a brand spankin’ new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. I think it’s been–realistically–a positive season under this new staff.

Speaking of Dabo and his short tenure, he’s still 1-1 against Carolina. Can you imagine how awful it must’ve felt for Carolina to lose 31-14 last year, with Clemson having suffered a crisis midseason and subsequently being led by a substitute coach-in-training? With Carolina led by Mr. Steve Spurrier himself? That’s kind of like going to war on horseback with swords and shields to face an opponent with the atom bomb, and still managing to emerge victoriously.

I personally don’t reach a state of devastation after losing to Carolina, as the laws of statistics prove that they are going to pull out a win every once in a while. Three wins in thirteen years definitely qualifies as “once in a while.”

Following the game, I offered congratulations to the Carolina fans via my Facebook status. All that got me was an influx of trash talking messages, including references to Clemson not being able to hang with “the big boys of the SEC.”

Excuse me? You win 10 out of the last 13 meetings with a particular SEC team, and all of a sudden you can’t hang with “the big boys of the SEC?” Does Carolina even qualify as “the big boys of the SEC?” I don’t need to go into why that’s one of the silliest attempts at an insult I’ve ever heard.

Photo owned by clemsonwallpapers.com

Someone also said the ‘Cocks “beat you like we owned you.” I think “ownership” has probably been accrued by 65-38-4. Not this singular meeting. Maybe if the ‘Cocks win in Death Valley next year, I might get a little more concerned. But I’m not one to say “wait ’til next year.” Partly because I don’t qualify as a Carolina fan, so that line isn’t in my daily vocabulary. In fact, next year’s meeting with Carolina ranks last on my priorities list, and probably isn’t too high on the Tigers’ priority list, either. After all, it’s Carolina’s locker room that has (or used to, ’til Steve Spurrier removed them) the “Beat Clemson” signs that would hang on the walls year-long. If that’s not symbolic of a complex, what is?!

The complex is what bugs me most in this good ole’ state rivalry. Carolina fans absolutely despise Clemson. And when you are dominated and repressed by any entity for decades, of course that intense hatred and resentment will be there. On the other hand, Clemson fans don’t identify with these decades of repression and domination (by any team). It’s my belief that Clemson fans primarily dislike Carolina because of the fans. For example, yesterday my boyfriend got seven phone calls from the Carolina fan whose antics were featured in my previous blog. SEVEN, for several hours following the game’s end.

Shouldn’t that person have been celebrating in a more positive way other than blowing up someone’s phone to hurl insults? Damned if Clemson beats Carolina, and damned if Clemson doesn’t. Anyone having a penchant for Clemson football will never be safe from harassment under either circumstance, apparently. This same person referred to Clemson as “the laughing stock of the South.”

Had Clemson won, I would have called absolutely no Carolina fans. It would’ve been just another day at the ballfield. Same with every other Clemson fan I personally know. In fact, my freshman year of college, when for the first time I stayed in Columbia for the duration of the rivalry weekend, Clemson beat Carolina 63-17. I didn’t say a word to anybody. What is there to even say at that point if you’re at all interested in keeping your friends?

It just seems to me that many Carolina fans have the equivalent of the short man’s complex. Remember those kids in school that felt deficient in some area of life, so they were incredibly mean to everyone else? It’s like everyone else has to pay for any feelings of inferiority harbored in those people’s hearts.

Whatever. I felt bad for those kids then, and I do now. Carolina fans, I genuinely hope you guys enjoy this win. I hope it puts you right on your road to happiness and satisfaction. Everyone deserves to be happy.

At least every once in a while.