I love Carolina. There can be no argument about that. I graduated from UNC. Mom and Dad met at UNC. Without UNC, there is no me.

I love football. That's why I'm sitting in front of a television right now watching ESPN, and HeelsBlogGirl is in Charlotte for the Panthers game without me.

So, we've established that I love those two things: Carolina and football. But I'm beginning to hate Carolina football.

Don't get me wrong. I don't wish failure upon our coaches and players. In fact, I'm dying for success. But it's just not happening. From 1999 to 2002, I sat in the student section. Saw some good games. Saw a bowl team. Didn't see consistent success. Didn't see many wins over teams we should have beaten. Since 2003, HeelsBlogGirl have sat in our seats, section 109, row O. We've seen some good teams. Saw an inexplicable bowl team. Made the trip to Bank of America Stadium to see the Continental Tire Bowl. Still haven't seen consistent success.

I'm not asking for this team to be in the Top 10 every year. Yet. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. What I am asking for (and paying for, for that matter), is effort. And I'm not seeing it. Why, with two minutes to go in the first half, with the ball, did we let the clock run out? We're down 14-3. We're getting the ball after halftime. If we get just a field goal, we're down eight going into the locker room with some momentum. But no. A few run plays and the clock runs out. That was a coaching decision. That was a poor coaching decision.

I like John Bunting. He's a Carolina guy. Perhaps the most appealing thing was that, were Bunting to take Carolina to the top, he wouldn't bolt to the NFL or another program. He is interested in making Carolina great, not making John Bunting great. Well, John Bunting ain't great. I like the guy, but I'm tired of the excuses. I'm tired of the missed opportunities. I'm tired of the "We'll hit the practice field hard for next week"s. I'm just exhausted as a Carolina football fan.

Those videos on the jumbotron? You want me to stand up, Jesse Holley? Give me something to stand up and cheer about.

Incidentally, I have no qualms with the defense's performance yesterday. They played well enough to win, if the offense would have a) not given Virginia Tech the ball inside the five-yard line, or b) had sustained drives that would give the defense some rest.

So, what do we have? An offense that showed up one week, and a defense that showed up the next. We've got to have better playcalling. We've got to have better motivation.We'll probably beat Furman next week. Hip hip hooray. Then we'll get it handed to us at Clemson and Miami. We've got to have better coaching from the coaches, and better efforts from the players.

Otherwise, what did I get for my $420 for two tickets and Ram's Club donation? Apparently, I got unlimited M&M's and Goldfish in the Rams' Room. Next time, I'll just go to Target.