A public service announcement for Dawg fans

I feel like I owe an apology to my fellow Dawg fans. If something I wrote or said in the aftermath of the national championship game caused anyone to think that the Dawgs were cheated out of a victory they deserved, that was my mistake. When I wrote that it was statistically unlikely that the officials at the national championship game would miss several calls that all hurt UGA and helped Alabama, my comment might have created the false impression that the officiating was to blame for Georgia losing the game.

Without a doubt, there were clearly some bad officiating calls in the game, particularly in the 2nd half. However, I do not for a moment believe that the game was fixed or the officials had been bribed or Georgia was cheated out of victory, or any other such nonsense.

Georgia lost the game, fair and square. Alabama outplayed us in the 2nd half, and overtime. Georgia had our chances to win, and simply didn’t execute well enough on either side of the ball. Could the officials have done a better job? Of course they could have.

But surely the officials can’t be blamed for Alabama wide receiver Devonta Smith being wide open for a TD on 2nd-and-41 in overtime. The officials didn’t force our offense to call too many running plays in the 4th quarter. Georgia had plenty of chances to win. Alabama executed when it mattered most.

Our Dawgs didn’t. Game over.

After watching numerous replays of the “botched” calls, only one upsets me: the punch thrown by Mekhi Brown. The officials obviously saw the punch because they threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, but inexplicably failed to eject Brown for punching Walter Grant in the head. I still don’t get that. Targeting will get you ejected, but throwing a punch won’t?

On the other hand, I don’t fault the referee for throwing the flag on Tyler Simmons on the blocked punt because he clearly moved prior to the snap. Only by watching replay does it seem obvious that Simmons didn’t cross the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. Honesty compels me to admit that if I had been the official, I probably would have thrown that flag on Simmons myself, based on what I saw in live action.

There is a huge difference between missing a call and deliberately making the wrong call. We are talking about human beings, and human beings make plenty of honest mistakes. So unless you can produce clear and incontrovertible proof that those Big 10 officials were on Alabama’s payroll, continuing to whine about losing the national championship game just sounds like sour grapes, and you should strongly consider being quiet.

Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend.

Now is the time to remember what makes Georgia Bulldogs different than other teams: we win with integrity, and lose with dignity.

Hey, I understand, it’s tempting — when even Business Insider jumps on the bandwagon and blames the officiating for Georgia losing the championship, it becomes easier to blame others for our own failure. But that doesn’t make it right. We have an obligation as fans, a responsibility to the team, that we should follow the example of the players, representing our school and our state with pride.

Alabama won. We lost.  They didn’t cheat. It was a great game.

Sucks that we lost, but that’s exactly what happened. There’s no point in arguing otherwise.

We can always look on the bright side — and indeed, the future is incredibly bright. Kirby Smart and his coaching staff are putting the finishing touches on our first ever #1 ranked recruiting class. Elite talent, with depth at every position.

So I say it’s time to suck it up, buttercup. Don’t dwell in the past. Look ahead to the future. Let’s remember we’re adults, and act like it. There’s always a reason to laugh about something.

While no film critic in his or her right mind would ever describe The Gumball Rally as a great movie or a classic, even a bad movie can have a great line in it. I think my fellow Dawgs can take away something from the first rule of Italian driving: What’s behind (us) is not important.

Instead, just look ahead.

In two years or less, our average offensive lineman will be a former 4 or 5-star recruit about 6’5″ tall, who will weigh around 330 pounds, and most of that will be muscle. Zamir White and James Cook will be sharing carries with D’Andre Swift, Herrien and Holyfield.

Jake Fromm or Justin Fields will be taking snaps under center, with plenty of speed to burn at wide receiver, and a savage “Junkyard Dawg” defense on the other side of the ball.

The future’s so bright, I’ve gotta wear shades.