Understanding Shammaiian Logic

There's a disagreement between Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel about lighting the Menora. Shammai says to start with 8 candles and work down to one, and Hillel says to start with one and go up to 8. There's a lot of explanation about the reasoning behind each view, but as I lit that first candle, in accordance with Bet Hillel, I finally truly understood what Bet Shammai was talking about.
For two months, since Sukkot, we havent had a holiday. We've been focusing everything on Chanuka. All the month of Cheshvan, nothing. Kislev, nothing, til the 25th. Now Chanuka begins. So I took it my Menorah, set it up by the window, took out the candles, and.....put one in? What a letdown! As I lit that first candle, I thought, how wimpy. this whole big 8 branched Menorah, and all it gets is one candle. Til you get to that th candle, you're already sick of sufganiyot and latkes, dreidel is already lost, and you dont have any money left to gamble with. That first day should start with a big bang of 8 candles!! Thats what Shammai was talking about.