Out of town, out of hope?

Sorry for the recent inactivity; but I was out of town for a wedding. And frankly, I had little motivation to post injury reports or whatever after Saturday's Bear-mauling.

I am an eternal optimist, something my friends always point out when I give them reasons why this year's Maryland team could surprise people. And somehow, I have maintained my optimistic outlook after Week 1.

I still think this team has as good a chance as anyone in the Atlantic division to earn a trip to Jacksonville. After a 4-5 Week 1 for the ACC. with three wins coming against non-Div. 1 opponents, I feel just as confident about Maryland's ACC Title hopes as I did last Friday. The only teams from the Atlantic Division that did not look as dreadful as Maryland were Florida State (lost to Miami) and Clemson (beat Middle Tennessee State). And neither made much of a statement. In fact, the team that separated itself in Week 1 from the sesspool of mediocrity was Virginia Tech -- and it lost 34-24 to Alabama.

The question I struggle with is this: even if the Terps win an ACC title this year, should I get excited about it? Do I have enough self-respect to realize that it was a mediocre playing field and a flawed system that guided them to that elite tier? Or do I get caught up in all the hype and wear my Fear the Turtle t-shirt for the entire week leading up to the game? A game, btw, which will probably pit them against UC or Pitt from the Big East. What a joke.