Welp. Here we are again.

On the precipice of (potentially) another championship.

If you're a big believer in synergy, it's hard to miss the kismet carry-over from last fall, through the winter and into the spring. If you're into the vibes, they are both immaculate and all-consuming across the entire athletic department and indeed the city. If you're a diehard fan of the results and nothing but the results, the ratio of booty's kicked compared to kickings received is trending toward an all-time high across the board right now.

It's good in Stacheville, is what I'm saying.

The two home ASUN Tournament games, along with the incredible showing every home Saturday last fall, confirms Clarksville isn't sitting at home when a championship is on the line.

(Although if you or someone you love isn't willing to trek to a snowbird retirement community in the central Florida hinterlands with 72 hours notice, you'll receive no blame or scolding in this space.)

Y'all brought that football energy from last fall into F&M Bank Arena. In case you were wondering what kind of difference it made, let's go to the evidence:

To that end: Clarksville, y'all were absolute beauties on Tuesday and Thursday night. Head coach Corey Gipson said he'd never experienced anything like that as a player—given that his playing career coincided with one of the greatest stretches of success in program history, he's a man who knows better than most of the history, pageantry and pride that comes with donning the red-and-white and putting on for Clarksville.

That din of delirium after each win? That's what this whole thing is about, y'all. It's easy to lose sight of it sometimes, in the daily pursuit of excellence and getting all the little details just right in pursuit of the next thing to elevate your program to new heights. But all we want—all anyone who cares about sports at all is really after—is to feel the sort of glee that causes a grown man in combat boots to hop on the scorer's table and shout to the heavens.

Wins happen. Titles happen if you're especially good, get a few bounces in your favor and capitalize on them when you do. But giving yourself over to unbridled joy in a way that has a head coach hugging strangers and vaulting tables is a rarity to be celebrated. It's an event that will remain part of Austin Peay lore long after the final buckets drop on this season. That transcends the scoreboard. That's a cornerstone visual now; it resides beside The Block, Bradshaw's putback being a split-second too late, the Oregon State tag that wasn't, Mike DiLiello walking off Eastern Kentucky in overtime and the other moments that came to represent triumph, perseverance and the fight that defines Austin Peay.

They feel the love across athletics, Clarksville. Cultivating that love and being sure it's both reciprocated and never taken for granted is a source of pride around the department; every program has felt the energy and love from the city and county. It's impossible not to; Clarksville's Hometown Team has shown up and shown out every time they've been asked the last few years.

This ain't some kind of "And now we need you ONE MORE TIME" exultation, either (although it would be cool if enough of Stacheville made it down to DeLand to turn the place into F&M Bank Arena South; again, everyone should spend their weekend as they see fit). It's just important, to acknowledge the relationship between community and school and athletics, how each lean on the other for support and how beautiful those relationships are when everything falls into place. When we've needed you, you've been there for us. From the bottom of everybody's heart over here: thank you. It's been amazing.

And it's not over yet. Not by a long shot.

"We want to do it for the 931," Gipson said after Thursday night's semifinal win against North Alabama. "These guys want to do it for something bigger than themselves."

That would be the city, this city, your city. All y'all. Let's keep this dance going deeper into March.