Golden years

When I think about the current run of the Georgia Bulldogs, the lyrics to a great song by David Bowie pops into my head: Golden Years.

“Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere…”

Indeed. This team has taken “us” (meaning the fan base) to the very top, as reigning national champions. Some of us have jumped on the bandwagon rather recently, while others have been loyal fans since the last national championship, won 41 years earlier.

The song’s lyrics also reflect the fickle nature of fans: “Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings…”

Of course, many of these same “new” fans will be the first ones to curse the current leadership and demand heads to roll should another game be lost anytime soon. The idea of “winning with integrity and losing with dignity” has been replaced in the minds of some with “win at all costs.”

Life doesn’t work that way. Losses will come — perhaps not this season, but in seasons to come. We don’t have to like them, but we should learn to accept them.

Otherwise, we’ll become no better than Alabama fans.

In 2008, Georgia played Alabama in Athens. The previous year, Georgia had defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa in an overtime win and began the preseason ranked #1. The Dawgs dropped a few spots by the time they met the Crimson Tide in Sanford Stadium, and the team led by Mark Richt came out to play wearing black jerseys for inspiration. Instead of an inspired effort, a Crimson Tide defense led by first year coordinator Kirby Smart absolutely embarrassed the Bulldogs, leading 31-0 at halftime before cruising to a 41-30 victory.

I remember that game as if it had been played yesterday. I remember how bad losing made me feel, especially with the preseason expectations of competing for national championships but in reality we were humiliated at home by a much better team. Even so, I supported Coach Richt and a few years later still held my head high with pride after a narrow but very competitive loss to Alabama in the 2012 SEC Championship game.

Back then, we were a very good team that always seemed to come close, but never could quite get over the top. I supported Coach Richt until the day he was fired and beyond, wanting him to replace Greg McGarity as athletic director. But to quote another song, this time by The Rolling Stones, “You can’t always get what you want.”

Instead, you get what you need. We needed Kirby Smart to become our football coach to reach the Promised Land of national championships, and now we’ve gotten there. Not one, but TWO undefeated seasons in SEC play. Back-to-back conference wins on the road, against Mississippi State and Kentucky, neither of whom were cupcake teams.

One national championship under the belt, and another only three games away, against teams that on paper Georgia should defeat. However, football games are played on grass, not paper, and anything can happen in any game. Heck, look at what just happened…South Carolina beat Clemson in Death Valley. The week before the Gamecocks upset Tennessee. Texas A&M came back from the dead and shocked LSU, the SEC West champions we will play next week. Oregon was leading by three touchdowns late in the third quarter and inexplicably managed to lose to Oregon State.

Yesterday, Georgia Tech systematically drove down the field on their first possession and scored a touchdown. Conversely, Georgia’s first possession was three-and-out. The score was only 10-7 at halftime. It was a game that Georgia could have lost in years past. Instead, the Dawgs led by 30 before giving up a second touchdown and winning by only 23 points.

Like I said, these are Georgia’s golden years, and they have been delivered to you courtesy of the Mailman himself, Stetson Bennett IV. Talent-wise, Bennett plays like a smarter version of Baker Mayfield, which makes it a mystery why Mayfield was a Heisman Trophy winner and Bennett can’t seem to find anything resembling support for his candidacy. The betting money seems to be on USC quarterback Caleb Williams to win this year’s Heisman, but my guess is the smart money will be on Bennett should those two teams meet in the playoff.

In 2018, Alabama broke my heart and beat Georgia with a 2nd down-and-26 yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovialoa to Devonta Smith, but for the 2021 national championship game, it was Bennett to Mitchell on 2nd down-and-17 for a 40-yard touchdown pass that put Georgia ahead to stay. Then he threw another TD pass to Brock Bowers to add icing on the cake. Not so much a gunslinger like Mayfield but a clever opportunist with a knack for throwing a football only as far as it needs to be thrown most of the time.

This season, the Mailman has changed his nickname to the Milkman to honor an NIL commitment, to which I say let the man get paid. At this point in his career, Bennett has earned the right to be called anything he wants.

However, the apex of Georgia football will almost certainly not be reached with the Mailman’s graduation. These golden years will last as long as Kirby Smart remains the head coach. He can coach the Xs and Os and recruit the Jimmys and Joes at an elite level. Saban remains the measuring stick for the coaching profession but this was supposed to be the year for his team, and as it stands today, Alabama is on the outside looking in toward playoff consideration. Barring another miracle or two, we may have seen Bryce Young’s final game as QB for the Crimson Tide. Georgia has a decent chance of repeating as national champions without even having to play Alabama.

You never say never until the playoff teams have been announced, though.

Football isn’t a game played by transitive equations. Just because Alabama lost to LSU and Tennessee doesn’t guarantee they would lose to Georgia this year, but I like our chances. A lot. Georgia was “a little off” against Missouri and against Georgia Tech, but won both games by executing in the clutch. Against teams like Michigan last year and Tennessee this year, both anticipated to be quality opponents prior to kickoff, Georgia brought its “A” game to the field and competed at the highest level. I would expect nothing less for these next three games.

But one game at a time. First LSU in the SEC Championship game. Then USC/Ohio State/Alabama in the Peach Bowl. Now I can talk about a potential rematch with Michigan for the national championship, but I can guarantee you that Kirby Smart isn’t talking about or thinking about anybody except his Georgia Bulldogs, and the next opponent, which is LSU.

You and I might care more about repeating as national champions than becoming SEC champions, but you and I are not Kirby Smart. He cares about winning the SEC championship. A lot. He cares about his team improving, every game. If the Dawgs get better every game, the results will take care of themselves. After all, you can’t improve a perfect record.

He might like to hear us singing another famous song by Queen (probably off-key) twice over in the next month: We are the champions.

We should be singing next week after beating LSU for the SEC championship, and again once more in California next January. But if for some reason we should fall short of meeting both of those goals due to turnovers, injuries, or an act of God, don’t despair. It’s okay to be disappointed if there is a sad end to a great season, but please don’t act like a jackass. It won’t change the final results of the game, and it could make the rest of the fan base look bad.

This won’t be our last chance. For these are our golden years.