Joe L. HUGHES II LEDGER STAFF WRITER Sometimes I wonder how casual fans live with themselves.

Guess this partly has to do with the fact I’ve never been casual about anything in my life — sports is no exception.

So for that reason, it comes as no surprise to those who know me that today it is hard to piece my thoughts together, my heart taken from my chest and beaten repeatedly after Austin Rivers’ coldblooded 3-pointer gave the hated “Dook” Blue Devils an 85-84 victory over my beloved North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday night.

Goodness, the only thing that kept me from launching my television, cell phone, and any other thing in the vicinity through a nearby window was the sight of my 2- month old daughter looking on, confused as to why her father was behaving so childishly.

It’s been a tough go of things lately in my “sports life,” ranging from the outright bizarre — my Atlanta Braves blowing a 10-game lead late last baseball season and missing the playoffs — to feeling totally helpless — LSU finding getting past the 50-yard line tough in its 21-0 demolition at the hands of Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.

Needless to say, Wednesday night was another punch to the gut.

I tell you, sports brings out the best and worst in people. Luckily, during my lifetime, each of the teams I root for have been able to bring home a championship, allowing me to celebrate in the accomplishments of a job well done.

Lately, it’s been tough to celebrate anything, instead finding my face cupped in my hands and crying to the heavens, “LORD WHY?”

Guess it’s all a part of the game — especially when it comes to rivalries — one team returns joyously back to its fan base, and the other to its lockerroom to sulk and wonder what went wrong.

Speaking of rivalries, one which most people here in the Palmetto State look forward to regardless of the sport are the annual meetings between South Carolina and Clemson. Though I do not root for either school, the contests prove to be rather exciting, with two intense fan bases rabidly supporting their teams.

From the moment they are born, a child’s fate has been decided — they will either pledge their loyalty to the garnet and black of Carolina or don Clemson’s orange, purple and white color scheme. In the opinion of some, there is no gray area — either you’re with them or against them.

The rivalry also happens to yield quite the profit for the two schools, as scores of supporters convene upon the campuses separated by 132 miles. Businesses must see dollar signs in anticipating these rivals colliding … I know I would.

It seemed this week members of the S.C. House of Representatives wanted their piece of the action, drafting legislation requiring the longtime rivals to play each other annually on the gridiron. State Rep. Nathan Ballentine (R —Chapin) sponsored the bill, fearing that further conference realignment could eventually affect the two schools.

Meeting each of the past 103 years though pledging allegiance to different athletic conferences — Clemson being part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), South Carolina a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) — it would almost be disastrous for the two not to meet each other. As much as the two programs disagree, both recognize neither is anything without the other.

Surveying the landscape that is now college football, I’m guessing Ballentine and his peers took quite the look at what recently occurred in Texas and the dissolving of a century’s long rivalry between the Lone Star State’s top teams, the University of Texas and Texas A&M.

Unhappy with being the “redheaded stepchild” to the hated Longhorns, Texas A&M took matters into their own hands last fall, leaving the Big XII conference and jumping ship to the SEC. In doing so, the schools chose to break off relations indefinitely, ending one of the more spirited and storied feuds in college football.

Hoping not to have a repeat of such in the Palmetto State, Ballentine put the discussion to a vote, which was turned down by members of the House’s Higher Education Subcommittee believing the government has no business dictating to the schools how they should schedule athletic events. Athletic department heads at Clemson and South Carolina also opposed the bill.

While football is definitely a Southern pastime, I wonder … how does the scheduling of games on the gridiron or other athletic events help solve the state’s everincreasing poverty rate? The games may bring in money, but does such a thing financially assist the colleges and their surrounding communities to create jobs, thereby lowering the state’s unemployment rate?

Does this game actually inspire kids to aspire more for themselves, not just on the field of play, but educationally?

We’ve already seen during the past few years where our government — right or wrong — leapt from its place on Capitol Hill and onto every sporting venue in the United States, all thanks to steroids. At least in that case, a valid argument was made in an effort to inform the next generation of athletes that cheating and steroid abuse are unacceptable in our culture.

But in this case, as innocent as it may be, lawmakers got it right. Their place is to create laws and procedures ensuring their constituents are safe and secure as they rest at night.

In an era where it seems the government likes to stick its nose into every issue, it is definitely nice to see lawmakers stand down on an issue in which they could have royally overstepped their jurisdiction.

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Joe L. Hughes II (joe@gaffneyledger.com) writes feature and enterprise stories for The Gaffney Ledger.