Like every other N.C. State fan, I was extremely disappointed and upset on Saturday when we lost to UNC-Chapel Hill.  Oh man, I said it, didn’t I? I said CAROLINA. I’m 99 percent sure that after Saturday, that’s enough reason for some people to stop reading and think I’m an idiot.  Please don’t. I’m not an idiot.  I just have different views than the self-proclaimed “diehard” fans. I live with one of those people. But, I know I’m not the only person who was embarrassed by the way some N.C. State fans were talking on Facebook. With the NCAA tournament coming up, and us going dancing, keep in mind, it’s just a game. Although it would be amazing to win the whole thing, it’s just a game.  Our basketball team deserves our support- win or lose, they’re still our team. Our reactions to the next game or games we play, should be drastically different. Instead of blaming everyone for the outcome and saying “…in spite of the referees” or something similar, we should try a different technique. Congratulating the team for a game well played would be nice.  The outcome of a game may be disappointing, but there are ways to be disappointed. Not with the negativity some of us expressed last Saturday.  Shortly after the game, one of my friends posted online, and all the comments started, “Dear NCSU students, please keep it civil…” Just prior to that, another friend posted “The refs put on the wrong colors today.  Black and white weren’t right, should have been Carolina blue, because UNC had eight players on the court at all times.” This wasn’t even the worst comments posted on Facebook and Twitter. While I understand the need to be upset over the perceived missed calls that supposedly changed the outcome of the game, there’s no need to blame anyone. Both teams, ours and UNC’s , played the best game they possibly could.  I’m not a sports person, but I’m pretty confident playing such high-stakes games are stressful. Perhaps more so for NCSU players, since a lot of people believed our NCAA bid rode on that one game. Considering the referees are trained to make the appropriate calls, it’s hard to believe they would intentionally make wrong calls or miss things that could lead to fouls.  Even so, the folks who referee any sports game are only human. As I said on Saturday, “Yes, the refs weren’t really fair with the game. Yes, I firmly believe that N.C. State should have won. But, for goodness sakes, everyone grow up. It was a basketball game. I promise you, the outcome of the game did not drastically change anyone’s life, so please, please, stop cursing the refs and Carolina…” Blaming the referees and cussing Carolina doesn’t change the outcome of the game. If anything, I feel it made the outcome a little harder to accept. The kind of behavior I saw from N.C. State fans on Facebook and Twitter, even comments on WRAL.com, was the kind of behavior I would have expected from Carolina fans, had they lost. I thought N.C. State fans had more class and were more mature than that. I was sorely disappointed. So, let’s try something new. Let’s show the sports world how to be gracious losers.  No offense, but someone has to lose every basketball game played. Let’s not blame everyone for the outcome of the game. Let’s support our basketball team and coach. Let’s congratulate them for even making it to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2005-2006 season. Let’s be positive. Let’s show the world what it means to be an NCSU fan and that last weekend wasn’t really what we’re like.