The turnover of narratives and storylines and even emotions is so rapid these days that what happened a year ago often seems like a decade ago.
But what happened a year ago was present Sunday when Clemson's basketball team convened at Littlejohn Coliseum to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show.
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Even when there was no credible suspense, there was still mounting suspense as the bracket reveal dragged on with no mention of the Tigers.
That's how devastating the snub was last year. Its shadow is still there, still bringing a layer of torment even when Brad Brownell's 14th team earned its way well off the bubble.
You could argue that those bona fides, which resulted in a No. 6 seed, have successfully flushed the feeling of being on the outside looking in last year.
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And maybe from a distance, in the eyes of observers more regionally and nationally, that's the view.
But it's much more complicated here closer to the situation.
If you were told before the season that Clemson would resoundingly make good on last year's fatal flaw, tearing through a beefed-up non-conference schedule to earn a No. 6 seed, you would have probably approved.
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But it's March 22nd, and we inform our views in large part on what has happened most recently.
Clemson had a chance to secure a double bye in the ACC Tournament but lost at Wake Forest in the last game of the regular season.
Clemson then went to the ACC Tournament and laid a big, fat egg against Boston College in a 21-point loss.
Clemson won 11 ACC games and lost 10 this season.
And there's part of the complication, part of the nuance.
Another part: It's been a long time since this program performed well enough toward the end of a season to produce perceptibly favorable vibes heading into the offseason.
Last year's NIT was supposed to be a revenge tour but the team fell on its face at home against Morehead State in the first round.
The year before, they lost to Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament and that was it at 17-16 overall and 8-12 in the conference.
Three years ago, they won six of their last seven in the regular season to earn a No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament. But then they were bounced by No. 11 seed Miami, and then went one-and-one as a No. 7 seed against Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament.
Four years ago they beat Miami in the first round of the ACC Tournament and were preparing to play Florida State when the world shut down. That team finished 16-15 overall and 9-11 in the ACC.
Five years ago they went one-and-done in the ACC Tournament and were relegated to the NIT. They beat Wright State in the first round but then fell to Wichita State at home in Round 2.
So it's really been six years since this program closed a season producing vibes good enough and strong enough to carry a fan base through an offseason.
Not that a Sweet 16 trip, which they accomplished in 2018, is the minimum requirement for such a favorable spirit.
And not that there aren't a lot of teams out there that end the season on a sour note.
But at this precise juncture, with this team, it's time to punctuate a season in a way that satisfies and excites.
You can believe that while also believing this team probably isn't being sufficiently celebrated for what it accomplished to be in this position.
They earned this. They earned the luxury of knowing they were in.
But how this season is defined will also be earned, and that's yet to come.
It's all out in front of them, whereas so much of the recent past has been about what's behind them in the form of what-ifs.
On the big stage, it's on them to make a big statement.
To fully flush that feeling from a year ago -- and, for that matter, that feeling from a week ago.
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