Bulldog pride

There are 365 days in a year, except leap years. Normally I’m proud to be a Georgia Bulldog fan (and alumnus) for at least 350 of them, I’m guessing on average. As for those other days, well, the problem isn’t my alma mater. Nor has it been the football team, the basketball team, swim team, or tennis team that embarrassed me. Instead, the problem tends to be a minority of others who also call themselves Bulldog fans, but fail to understand the concept of winning with integrity and losing with dignity.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I will confess that I haven’t actually watched the LSU game yet because my oldest nephew’s wedding was in California last Sunday. While Georgia was on the field in Baton Rouge, I was flying coast to coast from Atlanta to L.A. for the rehearsal dinner. Even so, I don’t need to watch the replay to know most of what happened: turnovers, mistakes, a couple of bad calls by the officials, perhaps a key injury or two, penalties, and missed opportunities. Of course, that also pretty much describes every agonizing Bulldog loss that I’ve watched over the course of my lifetime. By the time I’d landed in L.A., a friend of mine had killed the battery on my cell phone with text messages giving me score updates as I navigated my way from LAX to Malibu. So without watching the replay I already know we stopped LSU on fourth down but the home team got the call. But no matter how you try to spin the tale, that one bad call didn’t make the difference in a game lost by three touchdowns.

These days, it seems that without any rules or restrictions, any idiot believes he or she can self-validate as a Bulldog fan simply by saying, “Go Dawgs.” It’s almost enough to make me long for the days when we were perceived to only be slightly better-than-average, not an elite football team. Almost.

I’m starting to think perhaps some sort of litmus test for Dawg fans might not be a bad idea…

To be absolutely clear, I can’t recall ever being embarrassed by the efforts of our athletes on the playing field of Sanford Stadium, or the court in Stegeman Coliseum. Probably the closest that I’ve come to being embarrassed by an official representative of my alma mater was by the baseball player who yelled racist remarks directed toward one of our players from the stands during a football game, and he was expeditiously dismissed from the team after being identified by school officials. Handled appropriately. Let me also say that I’m proud to call myself a University of Georgia alumnus and the education I received. My degree from the Terry College of Business served me quite well in the business world over the course of my professional career. As a software developer, I was able to  visit exotic locales such as Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, and Paramus, New Jersey. I was given a corporate credit card, an expense account, and the opportunity to travel around the world. At my first major job interview I learned that some of my competition had come from places like Duke and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill to apply for the job in Atlanta. I got the job because my friend from UGA (thanks, Mike!) had helped me secure the interview and recommended me for the job.

Bulldogs look out for each other. That’s how we roll. I love the compassion and charitable nature of Bulldog fans, too. For example, the Mission Dawgs effort feeding the homeless is a wonderful cause. Also the generosity shown to Devon Gales and his family, a member of an opposing team paralyzed  during a game in Sanford Stadium, has been nothing short of inspiring.

There’s nothing I’d rather be than a Georgia Bulldog. Indeed, the Dawg Nation sticks together like glue–until we lose a football game. Then, for some bizarre reason, some of our “fair weather” fans lose their minds and begin acting like…well, spoiled brat Alabama fans after they lose a game.

Lost a game? Well, we need to fire one of the coaches. Missed an open receiver? “We” need to change quarterbacks. By noon on Sunday the angry Dawg thread was full with incoherent rants from raving lunatics who probably don’t even know much about football, but felt the need to share their opinion with an audience who doesn’t care. Speaking on behalf of the other Bulldog admins on Facebook, I’d sincerely like to know–have you people lost your damned minds? Whatever happened to realistic expectations? Yes, Georgia lost a football game to LSU in Baton Rouge last Saturday, 36-16.

And yes, it sucks. However, contrary to popular belief, the world didn’t end. Our season isn’t over. In fact, none of the goals for this season have been changed by the loss to LSU. The only thing that’s changed is Georgia’s margin for error. So why have so many Georgia fans suddenly turned into Chicken Littles and won’t stop clucking that the sky is falling? I can’t speak for everybody, but I do know that Denise would sincerely appreciate it if you would at least try to regain your composure and not act like a jackass. Please remember that the Dawgs still control their own destiny. Beat Florida, Auburn, and Kentucky, and repeat as SEC East Champions.

Win the SEC Championship Game for the second consecutive year, and the Dawgs will make the four team playoff and compete for the national championship. Only a second loss this season will probably end our chances to become national champions. Every goal for this season remains achievable. Who knows? The LSU loss might even help the team become better. They now know that anything short of a complete team effort may result in defeat.

I’m certainly not happy or celebrating that Georgia lost, but I confess I wasn’t terribly surprised because Tiger Stadium is a tough place to play. We have to remind ourselves this is still only Kirby’s third year leading the program. Was I surprised we lost? Not really. I was more confident about the game before LSU lost at Florida the previous week. Their whole season was on the line. I still haven’t forgotten what we lost on defense from last year, like Roquan Smith and our most effective pass rushers.

Furthermore, I suspected that we might have trouble with LSU because I pay attention to little details that an average fan may not, such as the pre-game injury report. For example, I knew before the game that we would be missing three defensive linemen and both of our starting offensive guards. Football games are usually won or lost in the trenches, and we were at a considerable disadvantage due to having that many linemen out for the game. Not making excuses, just an observation. LSU won by twenty points, so it would be difficult to argue that they didn’t deserve to win. They may even be good enough to beat us when the Dawgs are at full strength. We won’t know for sure unless we get another opportunity to play them again. The bottom line is that LSU was able to execute their game plan, but we weren’t. The only thing that matters now is how we finish the season.

I love our fans, not only for how the Dawg Nation supports our team, but also for our charitable nature, such as the Mission Dawgs effort to feed and clothe homeless people, and the effort to build a handicapped-friendly house for Devon Gales. Yet some of these same people completely lose their minds when overgrown children screw up or achieve anything less than perfection. How many of us could withstand an audience of thousands and sometimes even millions of people scrutinizing every mistake under a microscope, with instant replays and a dozen camera angles?

Probably my favorite “armchair analysis” of the LSU game broke down a comparison of Mark Richt’s tenure as the UGA head coach to Kirby Smart’s third year at roughly the same point in time, noting that both coaches won the SEC Championship in their second season, and lost at LSU during their third year. Obviously, the conclusion we’re supposed to draw from this comparison is that Kirby Smart is destined to become a failure just like Mark Richt. To be fair, I don’t remember the original source of this “analysis” and I don’t want to take too many liberties with whatever point this person thought he or she was making, but people, this is just a silly argument and an unfair comparison to be making.

There are plenty of Bulldog fans like me who still love and admire Mark Richt as a human being, so comparing Coach Smart to Coach Richt is a mistake because we don’t have negative memories or opinions of Mark Richt. I was one of his most passionate defenders, as posts such as this, this, and this should demonstrate. I’ll be the first person to explain why the comparison isn’t fair or smart (pun intended) and I only need one word to explain the difference between the two coaches: recruiting.

As good a field general as Mark Richt could be, the one place he lacked a killer instinct was on the recruiting trail. He recruited well, but Kirby Smart recruits relentlessly. If you want to more fairly compare the efforts and results of these two coaches head-to-head, check out the recruiting rankings from 2002-2004 from the Dawgs 24/7 website. Mark Richt did a good job as a recruiter, with his classes consistently ranked in the top ten nationally, and the top three within the SEC. But do you know who consistently beat Richt at recruiting during those same years? Urban Meyer and Nick Saban.

And who was consistently Nick Saban’s #1 recruiter? Kirby Smart. Consider this fact: between the years 2002 and 2004, Mark Richt signed five players who were rated five-star athletes by recruiting services. In 2018 alone Kirby Smart signed seven five-star players. This year he already have four five-star commitments, and more will surely come by signing day because Kirby Smart is relentless. All we need to do is give him time and let him do his job.

While we’re still on the subject of recruiting, I’d also like to see “our” fans resist the temptation to criticize a teenager for “de-committing” from the scholarship offer prior to signing day. These are kids trying to make an important decision and not wanting to screw up their big opportunity at success. Besides, a teenager is much more likely to be inspired to commit to the “G” by a sea of red and black in the stands in South Bend or on Bourbon Street in New Orleans than by a negative comment by some anonymous jackass on the internet. You’re wasting your time and energy while managing to annoy me.

I know the cretins who call themselves Bulldog fans stopped reading a long time ago, but I’m confident the real fans hung with me until the bitter end. I’m gonna ask you all a favor–when you come across one of these fair-weather snowflakes who start melting if we lose a game, do what I do: offer to buy them an orange-and-blue pom pom and a bus ticket to Auburn. Loser teams deserve loser fans.

After all, they say misery loves company, right? Always remember, no matter how bad the situation may seem to be, things could always get worse. Trust me.

Or just ask an Auburn Tiger or Tennessee Volunteer fan about how their season is going.