Dear Respected University Athletic Director/Franchise Owner/Do-It-Yourself Store Mogul:
Atlanta Falcons fans understand. So do Miami Dolphin enthusiasts. Now, West Virginia Mountaineers do as well. Keeping a Head Football Coach in this age of salary inflation is a difficult proposition. Heck, back in the good ole days all you needed to keep the big guy around was a 5 year deal, the keys to a new Cadillac and a membership out at the Firmwood Country Club. Now, keeping your most grossly overcompensated state employee from becoming some other state's most grossly overcompensated employee requires a team of shrewd legal assassins, two private investigators with telephoto lenses and a shady character known colloquially as "Rasputin". Don't ask what he does. It's best if you don't know.
Yes, even the most honest, forthright and lavishing of Athletic Directors are taking resumes these days, trying to replace that guy who was going to take the program to new heights. And then he did. And then he left. You were going to build a statue of him next to the library. But it turns out he was a lying, swindling cur of a man, the welp of a scaberous pit bull who you wish was still around to tear him bleeding and wailing from the steps of the shiny new Citation jet he's going to fly off on (after he steals your prize recruit, of course).
But that won't happen. His new employer has outfitted him with a team of private security guards. You've got no shot. So just wipe the rifle down and put it away. Instead, allow me to give you some advise on how to keep the next guy. The one who will keep your vaunted gridiron gang intact. The one who will weather the storm, take the punches of a fickle fanbase and eventually get you to a place old what's-his-name never could have.
First and most obviously, you need money. Lot's and lot's of money. You want that pie in the sky. Because the greenback is the currency of coaching. Remember your high school coach? The guy with the buzzcut who used to tell you about that time in Korea when he pulled some Chinaman's ears off with his bare hands and watched the commie SOB bleed to death while whistling the Star Spangled Banner? He was primarily concerned with molding young men. He wanted you to become a productive, tax-paying member of society. He wanted you to join the Rotary Club and maybe sit on the School Board, where you would greenlight the spending for a new leather desk chair for his office.
And why did Coach Gravelnutts spend the prime of his life shaping you into the supremely upright and wealthy citizen you are today? Because he had to. The guy's offensive scheme was to football what Mueslix is to breakfast cereal. He thought the wishbone was a passing fad. Had he been the innovator behind one of the tre sexy schemes of today, he would have had Jimmy Sexton on speed dial, too. Because it's all about the Benjamins, as they used to say. Coach Gravelnutts would have taken the offensive coordinator job at State U. faster than Noel Devine saying "Hey Deion, can I borrow the keys?", if only he had the chance. Maybe it would have been a good move for the old coach. Maybe not. But he would have been leaving on a jet plane if only someone would have bought him a ticket.
"But this is his alma mater" you say. "Mama called him home!" Yeah, but as thousands of West Virginians will tell you this morning, if Mama don't cough up some Gucci clipboards, the prodigal son will be leaving again. Money is the first step. It allows you to match the offers of other schools. Because believe me, if your coach doesn't screw up badly enough for you to fire him, the suitors will come a calling. It's what economists and diplomats refer to as a "zero sum tradeoff".
The second step is tradition. Cache. If you're the athletic director at South-Central Maine Tech, you can stop reading now. I can't help you. No one grew up dreaming of coaching at your school. You can't pay them enough to devote a lifetime to it if they have other options. You could comp your coach at L.L. Bean all winter long and it wouldn't matter. Because when he was a kid throwing the ball around in his backyard, he dreamed about Texas, Michigan and Notre Dame. Your program has no psychic hold. No mystique. I don't care if you went to the Mary Lousie Parker Bowl the last seven years, and smoked your competition each time. No sport outside of professional baseball is more beholden to the ghosts of its past than college football. That's why Alabama and Notre Dame still think they're relevant even though neither one has been a true national title contender since Joan Rivers had her original browline.
And that type of delusion works for them. Alabama and Notre Dame were willing to spend eight figures on marginal NFL coaching talent, and if those guys don't work out, they'll spend 8 figures on your coach. Because they're desperate like that. Desperate people with money make the world go 'round, compadre. That's why it's so hard to book a flight to Las Vegas at Christmas time. Thus, if your program is not one of the 8-15 traditional powers of the past half century, you need to keep a fresh stack of resumes on your desk. Because a 10-2 record simply means that your coach has more options come December.
You also cannot ever take your head coach at his word. "But we had a meeting this morning. He assured me that he's committed to our program", you say. Yeah. And I assure you I'm the Sultan of Zonereadistan. As The Dread Pirate Leach likes to say, take a look at your ham and eggs breakfast. The chicken was involved, but the pig was committed. You can assume from your coach no more loyalty than you provide him, and probably a good bit less. I think you know deep down in your heart that the "lifetime commitment" you made to him after the Yellow Pages Bowl isn't really that. Consecutive 5-7 seasons would be all you need to call the guy in and pronounce him legally dead. He knows this. Just as your commitment is not really that, neither is your coach's. You must be hypervigilant to avoid, say, finding out from a Grad Assistant that your coach has flown the coop and is hoping to take the nation's top prep quarterback with him. The world of college athletics is like The Departed, only with more swearing. Trust no one.
In addition, to money, tradition and Stalinesque paranoia, you also need low expectations. Because high expectations in college football are rarely met and never exceeded. Unmet expectations lead to pressure on the head ball coach. When the ball coach feels pressure, he's apt to jump before he's pushed. See the entry under "Nutt, Houston" in your AD's Desk Reference. While every coach wants to eventually be the leader of a program like Michigan, UCLA or Texas A&M, they all eventually learn that those places are a gilded cage filled with toxic expectations. They'll eventually learn that it's better to be paid handsomely to get to the Liberty Bowl, or even better, back to .500. Pull out the old Desk Reference again and look up "Cutcliffe, David".
So there you have it. All you need is Scrooge McDuck's money pool, a network of spies that would make Chairman Mao blush, a history of winning games that show up on ESPN Classic, and a fanbase that would be jubilant if you could just get over the hump and beat Wake and Tulsa in the same year. It's that simple. Oh, and here's that resume I promised. You may need it.
From: http://www.dawgsports.com/story/2007/12/17/112854/28
Tuesday, December 18
Wednesday, November 7
Sibling Rivalry
Playing Auburn is like playing your brother.
We've known each other for all our lives and grew up fighting with
each other. When one had a chance to do something good, the other
would come in and ruin everything, and that went both ways. While I
truly loathe Auburn, I do respect them for being the other participant
in this historical rivalry for so many years. It really is like
playing your own brother. I've heard several Auburn fans over the
years claim to have the exact same respect for Georgia, even though
they hate our guts just as much as we hate theirs. They respect us for
being one of the only "big" schools to consistently play them in
Auburn over the years without making a huge fuss over it and they also
recognize the history involved when our two teams meet on the football
field. It’s the South’s oldest rivalry…and you can bet there’s always
something riding on this game.
Not only is Georgia-Auburn a great, important rivalry, but it is one
of the closest rivalries anywhere in any sport. When two teams can
play 110 times and only be separated by a grand total of twenty points
scored in the series, it certainly takes the cake as far as being one
of the closest rivalries...as I mentioned, in any sport at any level.
Many things have been at stake when Georgia and Auburn have played
each other over the years. Some games have been more important than
others. In so many games, this particular rivalry has decided SEC
Championships, winning seasons, winning streak stoppers and even
sometimes it has even had national championship implications. There
may be seven older rivalries than Georgia-Auburn, but there is no
rivalry out there in college football played as many times with so
much being on the line. The Georgia-Auburn rivalry is what started our
lifeblood known as college football in Dixie, and it is strong as
ever, even here in 2007. As has been the case so many times before,
there will be a lot on the line come Saturday night.
For Auburn, this game is very important. They are still hanging around
in the SEC West division race, trying to keep pace with LSU and hoping
that they can get some help in an effort to make it back to the SEC
Championship game. They have had a couple of setbacks this season.
Early in the season, Auburn was written off by many. Losses to
Mississippi State and South Florida stung the Auburn fan base and
cause much of the nation to forget about the Tigers. However, like
all good programs, Auburn has adapted and other players have stepped
up. They have not quit and as the season has progressed, Auburn has
quietly regained its position among the best teams in the nation. As
always at Auburn, their defense is playing tough and not surrendering
easy points to the opponent. The Tigers have given up the fewest
points of any team in the SEC. Auburn still holds out hope for a
division title and a chance to get back to Atlanta for the first time
since 2004 when they won the conference championship with a win over
Tennessee. They not only have that to play for, but they once again
have a chance to ruin the championship dreams of their old, brotherly
rival Georgia. No team has ruined more dream seasons for Georgia than
Auburn. It is an integral part of this rivalry...and it does indeed
weigh heavily on the minds of Georgia fans everywhere. Auburn has
played the spoiler role more often than many Dawg fans care to think
about. Beyond that, Auburn has the impressive record against Georgia
in Sanford Stadium. Auburn is 8-2 in the last 10 games against Georgia
played in Athens. In recent history, the road team in this series has
definitely been victorious more often than not. So, Auburn comes into
this game with Georgia with a lot on the line. Their own championship
hopes are on the line as well as bragging rights for the next 365
days…and, we may as well mention that Auburn has a bit of a revenge
factor working in its favor this year after Georgia went into
Jordan-Hare Stadium last year and knocked the Tigers from the top
five. There is a lot on the line for Auburn on Saturday.
Georgia plays to stay alive in an SEC Eastern division race on
Saturday. It goes without saying that this game is, like a few before
it, one of the biggest games Georgia has been a part of since the
"Glory Days" of the early 80's. Georgia won the division title in 2002
for the first time since the SEC split in 1992. That win came against
these Auburn Tigers. In 2002, Georgia finally broke through the
barrier and once again established itself as a champion. The
following year, Georgia won the division with a win over the Auburn
Tigers. In 2004, the Dawgs faced a very good, undefeated Auburn team
and despite the fact the Georgia wasn’t in control of its own destiny
as far as the SEC race went, the loss to Auburn in 2004 eliminated
them from contention all together. In 2005, Georgia met Auburn with a
chance to clinch the SEC Eastern division title and just missed out as
Auburn won a thrilling 31-30 contest in Athens. This year, a new
challenge is before Georgia. Georgia scored a rare win over the
Florida Gators a couple of weeks back (yes, folks, Georgia and Florida
have split the last four games played between them) and with a win
over Auburn, it would mark the first time Georgia has defeated both
Auburn and Florida in the same season since 1982. Not only that, but
Georgia faces a near “must win” type of game with Auburn if they are
to win the division and get a shot at the eventual SEC West champ.
Two disappointing losses to South Carolina and Tennessee have put
Georgia in a position where it has to have some help…but the Dawgs
must also keep winning. A win over Auburn won't win the division for
Georgia, but it will certainly help in getting them back to the SEC
championship game; the game that is a nationally televised event. The
game that will determine the best team in this storied conference. The
game that could see Georgia win three conference titles in a span of
six years. It's in our own backyard, but for many years, it has
seemed like the Georgia Dome was a million miles away. The Dawgs
welcomed back that championship feeling in 2002. They returned in
2003, but came up short against LSU. They took out revenge on LSU in
2005…and the way things are shaping up in the SEC West right now,
there’s a good chance LSU will be in attendance in Atlanta again this
season. Georgia had, by all accounts, a poor season in 2006 despite
finishing with a 9-3 record. You can bet that the Dawgs are itching
to get back to the title game and take a shot at whoever the SEC West
sends to Atlanta.
Most of the time since 2002, the road to the Georgia Dome has gone
through Athens for the teams in the SEC East. However, even the team
that calls Athens "home" finds an obstacle on that road...and once
again, like so many times before, that obstacle is Auburn. In 1982,
Larry Munson begged and pleaded the Georgia Bulldogs to "Hunker down
one more time" and was drenched with a bourbon and Coke thrown by an
Auburn fan in the booth next to Georgia radio booth:
“Georgia leading 19-14, needing a play of some kind, a break of some
kind. Hunker Down you guys! Dawgs are in a 6... actually only 4
standing, they're in a 6-4. They pitch it to Bo Jackson, one man
knocked him off balance, and we came up and got him…Ball back on the
21, and it's 2nd down now and 17, with 2:05 to go, Auburn trying to
break our hearts. 19-14 and the Dawgs lead. Again you guys, Hunker
Down! Auburn up to the line... Carver got him from behind! Back on the
30! ... Oh man! 2 big plays, 84 seconds ... 3rd down and 21. Auburn
back on the 30. Watch this now. I hate to keep saying it, but Hunker
Down! You didn't hear me you guys. Hunker Down! ... Pass complete to
the 21... Timeout Auburn. Timeout 49 seconds left ... 4th and 17, I
know I'm asking alot you guys, but Hunker it down one more time! ...
Pass into the endzone... and the Dawgs broke it up! They broke it up!
They broke it up! … The Dawgs with 42 seconds... I won't ask you to
do that again you guys…32 seconds, Lastinger up to the line...
Lastinger falls back on the 16 ... Georgia students and fans standing
and roaring 23, 22, 21 clock running, running… Oh, look at the sugar
falling out of the sky! Look at the sugar falling out of the sky! Here
comes a Georgia fan running out across the field. And now everybody
roars…3…2…1…and they're carrying Vince Dooley off the field. Dawgs
have won it. Somebody threw something on us. Dawgs have won it 19-14.
The defense hunkered this thing...we saved ourselves…we saved
ourselves…there won’t be many of us in Opelika tonight, but I’ll tell
you one thing, we’re going do something to Opelika. Dawgs a winner,
19-14.”
After the Dawgs had clinched that victory over Auburn 19-14 to win the
SEC and send them to the Sugar Bowl, Munson told the Dawgs that he
wouldn't ask them to do it again...but 23 long years have passed and
we find ourselves facing the same opponent with a championship
possibility on the line. We need one more thing and it's the exact
same thing we needed way back in 1982. Even though Larry said he
wouldn't ask them to do it again, we all need the Dawgs to "Hunker it
down one more time!" against the Auburn Tigers.
As has happened so often throughout the history of these two proud,
storied and elder southern colleges, one team stands in the way of the
other's hopes and dreams and goals. As a matter of fact, we stand in
each other's way.
Auburn needs to beat Georgia. Georgia needs to beat Auburn.
Somehow, that's the only way it should be in the south’s oldest rivalry.
GO DAWGS!
BEAT AUBURN!
We've known each other for all our lives and grew up fighting with
each other. When one had a chance to do something good, the other
would come in and ruin everything, and that went both ways. While I
truly loathe Auburn, I do respect them for being the other participant
in this historical rivalry for so many years. It really is like
playing your own brother. I've heard several Auburn fans over the
years claim to have the exact same respect for Georgia, even though
they hate our guts just as much as we hate theirs. They respect us for
being one of the only "big" schools to consistently play them in
Auburn over the years without making a huge fuss over it and they also
recognize the history involved when our two teams meet on the football
field. It’s the South’s oldest rivalry…and you can bet there’s always
something riding on this game.
Not only is Georgia-Auburn a great, important rivalry, but it is one
of the closest rivalries anywhere in any sport. When two teams can
play 110 times and only be separated by a grand total of twenty points
scored in the series, it certainly takes the cake as far as being one
of the closest rivalries...as I mentioned, in any sport at any level.
Many things have been at stake when Georgia and Auburn have played
each other over the years. Some games have been more important than
others. In so many games, this particular rivalry has decided SEC
Championships, winning seasons, winning streak stoppers and even
sometimes it has even had national championship implications. There
may be seven older rivalries than Georgia-Auburn, but there is no
rivalry out there in college football played as many times with so
much being on the line. The Georgia-Auburn rivalry is what started our
lifeblood known as college football in Dixie, and it is strong as
ever, even here in 2007. As has been the case so many times before,
there will be a lot on the line come Saturday night.
For Auburn, this game is very important. They are still hanging around
in the SEC West division race, trying to keep pace with LSU and hoping
that they can get some help in an effort to make it back to the SEC
Championship game. They have had a couple of setbacks this season.
Early in the season, Auburn was written off by many. Losses to
Mississippi State and South Florida stung the Auburn fan base and
cause much of the nation to forget about the Tigers. However, like
all good programs, Auburn has adapted and other players have stepped
up. They have not quit and as the season has progressed, Auburn has
quietly regained its position among the best teams in the nation. As
always at Auburn, their defense is playing tough and not surrendering
easy points to the opponent. The Tigers have given up the fewest
points of any team in the SEC. Auburn still holds out hope for a
division title and a chance to get back to Atlanta for the first time
since 2004 when they won the conference championship with a win over
Tennessee. They not only have that to play for, but they once again
have a chance to ruin the championship dreams of their old, brotherly
rival Georgia. No team has ruined more dream seasons for Georgia than
Auburn. It is an integral part of this rivalry...and it does indeed
weigh heavily on the minds of Georgia fans everywhere. Auburn has
played the spoiler role more often than many Dawg fans care to think
about. Beyond that, Auburn has the impressive record against Georgia
in Sanford Stadium. Auburn is 8-2 in the last 10 games against Georgia
played in Athens. In recent history, the road team in this series has
definitely been victorious more often than not. So, Auburn comes into
this game with Georgia with a lot on the line. Their own championship
hopes are on the line as well as bragging rights for the next 365
days…and, we may as well mention that Auburn has a bit of a revenge
factor working in its favor this year after Georgia went into
Jordan-Hare Stadium last year and knocked the Tigers from the top
five. There is a lot on the line for Auburn on Saturday.
Georgia plays to stay alive in an SEC Eastern division race on
Saturday. It goes without saying that this game is, like a few before
it, one of the biggest games Georgia has been a part of since the
"Glory Days" of the early 80's. Georgia won the division title in 2002
for the first time since the SEC split in 1992. That win came against
these Auburn Tigers. In 2002, Georgia finally broke through the
barrier and once again established itself as a champion. The
following year, Georgia won the division with a win over the Auburn
Tigers. In 2004, the Dawgs faced a very good, undefeated Auburn team
and despite the fact the Georgia wasn’t in control of its own destiny
as far as the SEC race went, the loss to Auburn in 2004 eliminated
them from contention all together. In 2005, Georgia met Auburn with a
chance to clinch the SEC Eastern division title and just missed out as
Auburn won a thrilling 31-30 contest in Athens. This year, a new
challenge is before Georgia. Georgia scored a rare win over the
Florida Gators a couple of weeks back (yes, folks, Georgia and Florida
have split the last four games played between them) and with a win
over Auburn, it would mark the first time Georgia has defeated both
Auburn and Florida in the same season since 1982. Not only that, but
Georgia faces a near “must win” type of game with Auburn if they are
to win the division and get a shot at the eventual SEC West champ.
Two disappointing losses to South Carolina and Tennessee have put
Georgia in a position where it has to have some help…but the Dawgs
must also keep winning. A win over Auburn won't win the division for
Georgia, but it will certainly help in getting them back to the SEC
championship game; the game that is a nationally televised event. The
game that will determine the best team in this storied conference. The
game that could see Georgia win three conference titles in a span of
six years. It's in our own backyard, but for many years, it has
seemed like the Georgia Dome was a million miles away. The Dawgs
welcomed back that championship feeling in 2002. They returned in
2003, but came up short against LSU. They took out revenge on LSU in
2005…and the way things are shaping up in the SEC West right now,
there’s a good chance LSU will be in attendance in Atlanta again this
season. Georgia had, by all accounts, a poor season in 2006 despite
finishing with a 9-3 record. You can bet that the Dawgs are itching
to get back to the title game and take a shot at whoever the SEC West
sends to Atlanta.
Most of the time since 2002, the road to the Georgia Dome has gone
through Athens for the teams in the SEC East. However, even the team
that calls Athens "home" finds an obstacle on that road...and once
again, like so many times before, that obstacle is Auburn. In 1982,
Larry Munson begged and pleaded the Georgia Bulldogs to "Hunker down
one more time" and was drenched with a bourbon and Coke thrown by an
Auburn fan in the booth next to Georgia radio booth:
“Georgia leading 19-14, needing a play of some kind, a break of some
kind. Hunker Down you guys! Dawgs are in a 6... actually only 4
standing, they're in a 6-4. They pitch it to Bo Jackson, one man
knocked him off balance, and we came up and got him…Ball back on the
21, and it's 2nd down now and 17, with 2:05 to go, Auburn trying to
break our hearts. 19-14 and the Dawgs lead. Again you guys, Hunker
Down! Auburn up to the line... Carver got him from behind! Back on the
30! ... Oh man! 2 big plays, 84 seconds ... 3rd down and 21. Auburn
back on the 30. Watch this now. I hate to keep saying it, but Hunker
Down! You didn't hear me you guys. Hunker Down! ... Pass complete to
the 21... Timeout Auburn. Timeout 49 seconds left ... 4th and 17, I
know I'm asking alot you guys, but Hunker it down one more time! ...
Pass into the endzone... and the Dawgs broke it up! They broke it up!
They broke it up! … The Dawgs with 42 seconds... I won't ask you to
do that again you guys…32 seconds, Lastinger up to the line...
Lastinger falls back on the 16 ... Georgia students and fans standing
and roaring 23, 22, 21 clock running, running… Oh, look at the sugar
falling out of the sky! Look at the sugar falling out of the sky! Here
comes a Georgia fan running out across the field. And now everybody
roars…3…2…1…and they're carrying Vince Dooley off the field. Dawgs
have won it. Somebody threw something on us. Dawgs have won it 19-14.
The defense hunkered this thing...we saved ourselves…we saved
ourselves…there won’t be many of us in Opelika tonight, but I’ll tell
you one thing, we’re going do something to Opelika. Dawgs a winner,
19-14.”
After the Dawgs had clinched that victory over Auburn 19-14 to win the
SEC and send them to the Sugar Bowl, Munson told the Dawgs that he
wouldn't ask them to do it again...but 23 long years have passed and
we find ourselves facing the same opponent with a championship
possibility on the line. We need one more thing and it's the exact
same thing we needed way back in 1982. Even though Larry said he
wouldn't ask them to do it again, we all need the Dawgs to "Hunker it
down one more time!" against the Auburn Tigers.
As has happened so often throughout the history of these two proud,
storied and elder southern colleges, one team stands in the way of the
other's hopes and dreams and goals. As a matter of fact, we stand in
each other's way.
Auburn needs to beat Georgia. Georgia needs to beat Auburn.
Somehow, that's the only way it should be in the south’s oldest rivalry.
GO DAWGS!
BEAT AUBURN!
Monday, November 5
On to Auburn
You knew it would be like that didn't you? I mean, come on. We were playing a good team in-between two of our three biggest rivals. No one, player, coach or fan, was fully focused on Troy. I mean, they had the scoreboard from the Florida game on the JumboTron four minutes before kicking-off for God’s sake. Auburn was just a week and 180 miles away. And it was homecoming.
Plus Troy's pretty darn good. But their coach is an egomaniac and a jackass. Really now. What's with all that standing up and looking at the bench before every single play? That's what they did you know. The whole team! And calling three time outs to score against the scrubs during garbage time is horse dung. But when you are a third-tier coach in a third-tier program in a third-tier league I guess you do that sort of thing. I wouldn’t be so upset (because I usually preach about playing a full 60 minutes) except for the fact that Quinton Banks got injured on that play. Ouch!
Quite frankly, my favorite game of the week didn't even take place between the hedges. It took place at historic Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium, on the Flats, near the projects, across the expressway from The Varsity on Thursday night because I enjoy seeing Tech get a beating about as much as I enjoy seeing Georgia win.
I think the favorite part of the evening was when Taylor Bennett called timeout before the first stinking play. That after a two-week layoff, understand. Of course each of the five interceptions were pretty sweet, too, as were the ESPN commentators berating the Yellow Jackets and their fans throughout the game including the now infamous TeleTubbies reference by Chri$ F0wler.
But we were talking about the Men from Georgia, not the Nerds from N.A.T.S.
For a guy that wasn't going to play the Troy quarterback had a pretty good day. I was encouraged by the way we contained him on the ground and, like our coaches, I was impressed that we held them to 3 points after spotting them such good field position after two early fumbles but dang! How did those receivers stay so wide open all day long? I hope it was just a passing fad, pun intended, because they lit us up a little bit through the air. Luckily, the Troy QB is way better than Brandon Cox. HA!
But how 'bout that Knowshon Moreno? Munson started calling him "New Jersey." Did he take off on that 80-yard sprint or what? He is putting up numbers like nobody's business. I just hope he can keep it up, and do you suppose we will see him and T. Brown in the same backfield at any point this season? I just hope “New Jersey” keeps getting 20-plus carries every game even after T.B. returns.
I don't want to jinx anybody but our receivers have certainly stepped up. Sean Bailey has been as steady as they come and Mo-Mass has turned into what we thought he would be all along. Tripp Chandler has turned to glue ever since his sister got on the radio and threatened the entire Bulldog Nation.
Matt Stafford continues to improve, however, I am not ready to anoint him as Saint Matthew just yet. His last two turnovers have really cost us and could have cost us games. He has got to know the fine line between a risky throw and a stupid one. His footwork has also got to improve further. But overall, for a second-year QB with a first-year O-line in front of him, he’s doing pretty well.
And so here we are. Seven and two with those danged Auburn Tiger/War Eagle/Plainsmen invading Athens next weekend. When you were walking back to your car after the South Carolina game, did you ever for one moment dream that this week's game would have such lofty implications on the SEC standings and National rankings?
But Richt has coached his team up while the Genius formally known as Evil has coached his team into the toilet. So again I say, here we are.
I don't know who will win Saturday but I do know this. To quote the immortal Erk Russell from a 1972 Thursday night pep rally in the McWhorter Hall parking lot, "What we need Saturday is the damnedest bunch of Dawgs you have ever seen getting after their asses, and I mean in the stands and on the field." That’s really what we need. Dawgs young and old to come early and come loud. The whole season depends on it. There is a F@cebook group entitled noise-out Auburn. That’s right, not red-out, black-out, or white-out, just noise-out. That’s what we have got to do to beat Auburn and Florida in the same season for the first time since 1982, BE LOUD! We have 92,000 seats, 80,000-plus of those seats will have Georgia fans in them. Now, let’s sound like it. You can look for me. I'll be the loud Dawg wearing red and black! Won't you please join me?
Go Dawgs!
Plus Troy's pretty darn good. But their coach is an egomaniac and a jackass. Really now. What's with all that standing up and looking at the bench before every single play? That's what they did you know. The whole team! And calling three time outs to score against the scrubs during garbage time is horse dung. But when you are a third-tier coach in a third-tier program in a third-tier league I guess you do that sort of thing. I wouldn’t be so upset (because I usually preach about playing a full 60 minutes) except for the fact that Quinton Banks got injured on that play. Ouch!
Quite frankly, my favorite game of the week didn't even take place between the hedges. It took place at historic Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium, on the Flats, near the projects, across the expressway from The Varsity on Thursday night because I enjoy seeing Tech get a beating about as much as I enjoy seeing Georgia win.
I think the favorite part of the evening was when Taylor Bennett called timeout before the first stinking play. That after a two-week layoff, understand. Of course each of the five interceptions were pretty sweet, too, as were the ESPN commentators berating the Yellow Jackets and their fans throughout the game including the now infamous TeleTubbies reference by Chri$ F0wler.
But we were talking about the Men from Georgia, not the Nerds from N.A.T.S.
For a guy that wasn't going to play the Troy quarterback had a pretty good day. I was encouraged by the way we contained him on the ground and, like our coaches, I was impressed that we held them to 3 points after spotting them such good field position after two early fumbles but dang! How did those receivers stay so wide open all day long? I hope it was just a passing fad, pun intended, because they lit us up a little bit through the air. Luckily, the Troy QB is way better than Brandon Cox. HA!
But how 'bout that Knowshon Moreno? Munson started calling him "New Jersey." Did he take off on that 80-yard sprint or what? He is putting up numbers like nobody's business. I just hope he can keep it up, and do you suppose we will see him and T. Brown in the same backfield at any point this season? I just hope “New Jersey” keeps getting 20-plus carries every game even after T.B. returns.
I don't want to jinx anybody but our receivers have certainly stepped up. Sean Bailey has been as steady as they come and Mo-Mass has turned into what we thought he would be all along. Tripp Chandler has turned to glue ever since his sister got on the radio and threatened the entire Bulldog Nation.
Matt Stafford continues to improve, however, I am not ready to anoint him as Saint Matthew just yet. His last two turnovers have really cost us and could have cost us games. He has got to know the fine line between a risky throw and a stupid one. His footwork has also got to improve further. But overall, for a second-year QB with a first-year O-line in front of him, he’s doing pretty well.
And so here we are. Seven and two with those danged Auburn Tiger/War Eagle/Plainsmen invading Athens next weekend. When you were walking back to your car after the South Carolina game, did you ever for one moment dream that this week's game would have such lofty implications on the SEC standings and National rankings?
But Richt has coached his team up while the Genius formally known as Evil has coached his team into the toilet. So again I say, here we are.
I don't know who will win Saturday but I do know this. To quote the immortal Erk Russell from a 1972 Thursday night pep rally in the McWhorter Hall parking lot, "What we need Saturday is the damnedest bunch of Dawgs you have ever seen getting after their asses, and I mean in the stands and on the field." That’s really what we need. Dawgs young and old to come early and come loud. The whole season depends on it. There is a F@cebook group entitled noise-out Auburn. That’s right, not red-out, black-out, or white-out, just noise-out. That’s what we have got to do to beat Auburn and Florida in the same season for the first time since 1982, BE LOUD! We have 92,000 seats, 80,000-plus of those seats will have Georgia fans in them. Now, let’s sound like it. You can look for me. I'll be the loud Dawg wearing red and black! Won't you please join me?
Go Dawgs!
Friday, November 2
75 Years of SEC Football -- Top 10 Head Coaches
This list is my opinion; you are welcome to your own. If you have an argument, post it in a comment below. The record indicated is the coach’s total career record as a D-1 college coach. Steve Spurrier is the only coach on the list still active. In order for a national championship to be considered undisputed or unanimous, more than three polls must have selected the team in question as national champion for that season. In order for a coach to be considered for this list, he must have coached (at least one season) in the SEC. Frank Broyles was a fine coach for Arkansas, but Arkansas didn't join the SEC until 1992.
Without further ado, the list...
1. Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant – Kentucky/Alabama (323–85–17)
6 National Championships (4 unanimous); 14 SEC Championships
2. Steve Spurrier – Florida/South Carolina (163-53-2)
1996 National Championship (undisputed); 6 SEC Championships
3. Vince Dooley – Georgia (201-77-10)
3 National Championships (1980 undisputed); 6 SEC Championships
4. ‘General’ Robert Neyland – Tennessee (173-31-12)
4 National Championships (2 unanimous); 5 SEC championships
5. Johnny Vaught – Mississippi (190-61-12)
3 National Championships (zero unanimous); 6 SEC Championships
6. Ralph ‘Shug’ Jordan – Auburn (176-83-6)
1957 National & SEC Championship
7. Wally Butts – Georgia (140-86-9)
2 National Championships (1942 undisputed); 4 SEC Championships
8. Pat Dye – Auburn (153-62-5)
4 SEC championships
9. Gene Stallings – Alabama (89-70-1)
1992 National & SEC Championship
10. Bobby Dodd – Georgia Tech (165-64-8)
1952 National Championship (unanimous); 2 SEC Championships
Without further ado, the list...
1. Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant – Kentucky/Alabama (323–85–17)
6 National Championships (4 unanimous); 14 SEC Championships
2. Steve Spurrier – Florida/South Carolina (163-53-2)
1996 National Championship (undisputed); 6 SEC Championships
3. Vince Dooley – Georgia (201-77-10)
3 National Championships (1980 undisputed); 6 SEC Championships
4. ‘General’ Robert Neyland – Tennessee (173-31-12)
4 National Championships (2 unanimous); 5 SEC championships
5. Johnny Vaught – Mississippi (190-61-12)
3 National Championships (zero unanimous); 6 SEC Championships
6. Ralph ‘Shug’ Jordan – Auburn (176-83-6)
1957 National & SEC Championship
7. Wally Butts – Georgia (140-86-9)
2 National Championships (1942 undisputed); 4 SEC Championships
8. Pat Dye – Auburn (153-62-5)
4 SEC championships
9. Gene Stallings – Alabama (89-70-1)
1992 National & SEC Championship
10. Bobby Dodd – Georgia Tech (165-64-8)
1952 National Championship (unanimous); 2 SEC Championships
New face of terror for UF... MARK RICHT
By: Brandon Zimmerman, a sportswriter for the Gainesville (FL) Sun
Article can be found on this website
________________________________________________
The Gators needed a new villain.
After all, who was left for Florida football fans to truly hate?
Bobby Bowden? The Seminoles haven't beaten Florida since 2003. FSU is so far off the radar of Gator fans, the ridiculous Allstate commercial featuring Bowden's statue barely even draws their ire.
The Hurricanes? Please. It's hard to hate a rival that has lost 12 games the last three seasons, not to mention one that hasn't been on the schedule in that same span.
What about Phillip Fulmer? He hasn't beaten Florida since 2004.
Steve Spurrier? He was one moment from costing his former school a national title last year. But Jarvis Moss' finger tips twisted fate in Florida's favor.
Ohio State? Oh-for-two.
Florida fans entered this season in a very rare situation: They harbored no legitimate hatred toward anybody.
Then came Mark Richt.
Happy Halloween. The Gators have a new villain.
Richt didn't just upset the Gators Saturday in Jacksonville. He gave Florida fans a visual they will long remember: Seventy Bulldogs frolicking in the end zone as yellow flags rained down on them.
The amount of venom being spewed toward Richt from Florida fans has been overwhelming. Just click your mouse or turn on a radio talk show in Gainesville.
But that's just in Florida.
To gain a new perspective on Georgia's now infamous touchdown celebration Saturday, I turned to a close friend, Brian K.
Brian is a lifelong Tennessee Volunteer fan and spent eight years of his life attending school at UT (I know what you're thinking, but the eight years actually included grad school).
I figured Brian would have a non-biased viewpoint on what happened at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Florida fans called it classless. Georgia fans contend that Richt is a genius for finding a way to overcome the demons that have haunted the Georgia program in Jacksonville the last two decades.
Only Tennessee Brian could find the middle ground. So this is what Brian wrote me in an e-mail.
"As an objective bystander who legitimately hates both schools, I thought this was hilarious. I rose to my seat when I saw it happening. I also thought this would have been much worse by Georgia if Mark Richt had a reputation for being flamboyant or obnoxious, which he does not. If, say, Bruce Pearl tried to do this, I would think he was a total slime ball. But when Mr. Conservative himself has the (guts) to pull this trigger, you have to admire it."
I was still curious. So I asked Tennessee Brian how he would feel if this stunt was performed against Tennessee, and it led to a Georgia victory.
"I would be VERY angry."
This seems to be the final verdict on the situation. Richt's decision received praise nationally, but was met with ire in Gainesville.
When one of the most conservative coaches in America begins taunting the defending national champions " and then beats them " people take notice.
For one day, at least, the usually reserved Richt became Ralphie Parker from "A Christmas Story." In the movie, Ralphie unexpectedly rushes neighborhood bully Scott Farkus and pummels him to a bloody heap. This was an unexpected plot twist, and funny to everybody, except Scott Farkus.
On Saturday, the Gators were Scott Farkus.
Even the Florida players were upset. Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes called the move "classless." Safety Tony Joiner called it "fake juice."
Coach Urban Meyer told his team after the game to not forget what happened Saturday. Don't ever forget.
For the next 360 days, when the Gators reflect on the loss, they won't think about Tebow's six sacks, or Mohamed Massaquoi's 84-yard touchdown catch, or Mikey Henderson's 54-yard touchdown catch. The first visual will be the 70 Bulldogs dancing on the field.
And they'll be stewing for another shot at Georgia and Richt.
It's been a long time since Florida has suffered such a bitter loss to a rival, let alone one it had beaten 15 of the last 17 years.
So now they have a new villain... Mark Richt.
Article can be found on this website
________________________________________________
The Gators needed a new villain.
After all, who was left for Florida football fans to truly hate?
Bobby Bowden? The Seminoles haven't beaten Florida since 2003. FSU is so far off the radar of Gator fans, the ridiculous Allstate commercial featuring Bowden's statue barely even draws their ire.
The Hurricanes? Please. It's hard to hate a rival that has lost 12 games the last three seasons, not to mention one that hasn't been on the schedule in that same span.
What about Phillip Fulmer? He hasn't beaten Florida since 2004.
Steve Spurrier? He was one moment from costing his former school a national title last year. But Jarvis Moss' finger tips twisted fate in Florida's favor.
Ohio State? Oh-for-two.
Florida fans entered this season in a very rare situation: They harbored no legitimate hatred toward anybody.
Then came Mark Richt.
Happy Halloween. The Gators have a new villain.
Richt didn't just upset the Gators Saturday in Jacksonville. He gave Florida fans a visual they will long remember: Seventy Bulldogs frolicking in the end zone as yellow flags rained down on them.
The amount of venom being spewed toward Richt from Florida fans has been overwhelming. Just click your mouse or turn on a radio talk show in Gainesville.
But that's just in Florida.
To gain a new perspective on Georgia's now infamous touchdown celebration Saturday, I turned to a close friend, Brian K.
Brian is a lifelong Tennessee Volunteer fan and spent eight years of his life attending school at UT (I know what you're thinking, but the eight years actually included grad school).
I figured Brian would have a non-biased viewpoint on what happened at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Florida fans called it classless. Georgia fans contend that Richt is a genius for finding a way to overcome the demons that have haunted the Georgia program in Jacksonville the last two decades.
Only Tennessee Brian could find the middle ground. So this is what Brian wrote me in an e-mail.
"As an objective bystander who legitimately hates both schools, I thought this was hilarious. I rose to my seat when I saw it happening. I also thought this would have been much worse by Georgia if Mark Richt had a reputation for being flamboyant or obnoxious, which he does not. If, say, Bruce Pearl tried to do this, I would think he was a total slime ball. But when Mr. Conservative himself has the (guts) to pull this trigger, you have to admire it."
I was still curious. So I asked Tennessee Brian how he would feel if this stunt was performed against Tennessee, and it led to a Georgia victory.
"I would be VERY angry."
This seems to be the final verdict on the situation. Richt's decision received praise nationally, but was met with ire in Gainesville.
When one of the most conservative coaches in America begins taunting the defending national champions " and then beats them " people take notice.
For one day, at least, the usually reserved Richt became Ralphie Parker from "A Christmas Story." In the movie, Ralphie unexpectedly rushes neighborhood bully Scott Farkus and pummels him to a bloody heap. This was an unexpected plot twist, and funny to everybody, except Scott Farkus.
On Saturday, the Gators were Scott Farkus.
Even the Florida players were upset. Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes called the move "classless." Safety Tony Joiner called it "fake juice."
Coach Urban Meyer told his team after the game to not forget what happened Saturday. Don't ever forget.
For the next 360 days, when the Gators reflect on the loss, they won't think about Tebow's six sacks, or Mohamed Massaquoi's 84-yard touchdown catch, or Mikey Henderson's 54-yard touchdown catch. The first visual will be the 70 Bulldogs dancing on the field.
And they'll be stewing for another shot at Georgia and Richt.
It's been a long time since Florida has suffered such a bitter loss to a rival, let alone one it had beaten 15 of the last 17 years.
So now they have a new villain... Mark Richt.
LSU @ Alabama Preview
Don’t miss it... be there!
Les "Mad Hatter" Miles vs. Nick “Satan” Saban in a no-holds barred grudge match.
Red Stick vs. Red Elephants.
“Coon A$%! Cajuns vs. “Bleeping Alabama.”
Matt "Mission Impossible" Flynn vs. John "Sarah Jessica" Parker Wilson.
Winner gets a trip to Atlanta and the SEC West heavyweight title belt.
Loser leaves the SEC West race.
The buildup to this game started in January when Saban agreed to coach Alabama for $32 million, a percentage of a future state lottery, and the stipulation that every third male child born in Alabama be named Nick. Not that the last one needed to be put in writing.
Saban immediately fired a double-barreled salvo toward Baton Rouge.
First, he noted that many of the players on LSU’s Sugar Bowl winning squad had been recruited by... him. He was right, but maybe not so tactful.
Not content to be merely pompous, St. Nick also tried to be funny. His off-color joke recounting certain Cajuns complaining about his taking the Alabama job resulted in Saban issuing a typical modern celebrity apology ... which basically said he was sorry if anybody was so stupid as to be offended by his comments. His attempts to be humble and apologetic were a lot funnier than the joke.
The Mad Hatter struck back in February.
At a gathering of roughly 5000 LSU faithful at the Bayou Recruiting Bash, an audience that included children (I mean age-wise), Miles used two profanities including one about having a new rival in “blanking Alabama.” (You can fill in the blank). Smooth coach.
At least you get the sense Miles is having some fun.
I think the last time Saban smiled was after winning the national title in 2003 and that was only when he got to holler at his players to “get off the blankety-blank field before all these blankety-blank Cajuns crush us.”
Although he might not have actually smiled.
Heading into this game, LSU stands in great shape to play for another national title.
If the Tigers roll past the Tide, they will be heavily favored in remaining games against Ole Miss, Arkansas, and an SEC title game with (most likely) Tennessee or Georgia. With only one-loss LSU would be almost a lock for the BCS title game.
For the Tide, the game also presents a great opportunity.
A win would reinforce what everybody already knows … the Tide is rising. While Bama would probably still need to win tough road games at Mississippi State and Auburn to reach the title game, a win over LSU would mark Alabama as the league’s new power in the West and Saban as king of the ring.
I don’t expect that coronation to happen this week.
The Bengal Tigers, while lackadaisical at times, play loose (yes, too loose on occasion), have all that talent, and can see a national championship opening straight in front of them.
The Tide is rising, but will have to wait another year.
______________________________________________
LSU at Alabama
October 29, 2007
By Bob Epling
From: http://thecampusgame.blogspot.com/2007/11/armageddon-in-alabama.html
Les "Mad Hatter" Miles vs. Nick “Satan” Saban in a no-holds barred grudge match.
Red Stick vs. Red Elephants.
“Coon A$%! Cajuns vs. “Bleeping Alabama.”
Matt "Mission Impossible" Flynn vs. John "Sarah Jessica" Parker Wilson.
Winner gets a trip to Atlanta and the SEC West heavyweight title belt.
Loser leaves the SEC West race.
The buildup to this game started in January when Saban agreed to coach Alabama for $32 million, a percentage of a future state lottery, and the stipulation that every third male child born in Alabama be named Nick. Not that the last one needed to be put in writing.
Saban immediately fired a double-barreled salvo toward Baton Rouge.
First, he noted that many of the players on LSU’s Sugar Bowl winning squad had been recruited by... him. He was right, but maybe not so tactful.
Not content to be merely pompous, St. Nick also tried to be funny. His off-color joke recounting certain Cajuns complaining about his taking the Alabama job resulted in Saban issuing a typical modern celebrity apology ... which basically said he was sorry if anybody was so stupid as to be offended by his comments. His attempts to be humble and apologetic were a lot funnier than the joke.
The Mad Hatter struck back in February.
At a gathering of roughly 5000 LSU faithful at the Bayou Recruiting Bash, an audience that included children (I mean age-wise), Miles used two profanities including one about having a new rival in “blanking Alabama.” (You can fill in the blank). Smooth coach.
At least you get the sense Miles is having some fun.
I think the last time Saban smiled was after winning the national title in 2003 and that was only when he got to holler at his players to “get off the blankety-blank field before all these blankety-blank Cajuns crush us.”
Although he might not have actually smiled.
Heading into this game, LSU stands in great shape to play for another national title.
If the Tigers roll past the Tide, they will be heavily favored in remaining games against Ole Miss, Arkansas, and an SEC title game with (most likely) Tennessee or Georgia. With only one-loss LSU would be almost a lock for the BCS title game.
For the Tide, the game also presents a great opportunity.
A win would reinforce what everybody already knows … the Tide is rising. While Bama would probably still need to win tough road games at Mississippi State and Auburn to reach the title game, a win over LSU would mark Alabama as the league’s new power in the West and Saban as king of the ring.
I don’t expect that coronation to happen this week.
The Bengal Tigers, while lackadaisical at times, play loose (yes, too loose on occasion), have all that talent, and can see a national championship opening straight in front of them.
The Tide is rising, but will have to wait another year.
______________________________________________
LSU at Alabama
October 29, 2007
By Bob Epling
From: http://thecampusgame.blogspot.com/2007/11/armageddon-in-alabama.html
Sunday, October 28
Wednesday, October 17
This Ain't Your Daddy's SEC
By: Darrell Huckaby
OK. I know I am late with this week's comments, but I got lost on my way home from Nashville. Trust me. That's the last time I will try to see Rock City.
It was a heck of a second half and a much needed win and I don't want to hear anything about it was "just Vanderbilt."
It was "just Kentucky" that brought LSU's house down on the same Saturday night. It was "just Mississippi State" that beat Auburn a few weeks ago. It was "just Ole Miss" that almost beat Florida. This ain't your daddy's Southeatern Conference, y'all.
And if you want to extend the comparisons to the nation, it was "just Stanford that beat USC" and "just Appalachian State" and on and on and on. This year any win is a big win. Especially in the conference.
Especially on the road. Especially when you are behind at half-time. Especially when you are tied and the other team is in field goal range with two minutes and change to play.
Especially when . . .well, you know all the particulars.
And having said that, let me say this. I love Georgia football and I love being a Georgia fan. Most of the time.
I go way back with the Bulldogs. I go back to Wally Butts. I started listening to games when Ed Thelineus was still asking us to "imagine the radio dial as the football field as we look at it." I cried when Theron Sapp scored the touchdown that broke the drought.
Nobody is a bigger Bulldog than me.
Oh, there are people who can afford to give more money. There are people who paint themselves up for the games. There are people who memorize more statistics and can tell you the underwear size of every high school junior that this or that scouting service hints might play on Saturdays sometime. But they aren't bigger Bulldog fans than me.
My energy and my good humor rises and falls with the Bulldogs' fortunes every week. I live for Saturday. Two of my children and all of my money go to Georgia. I have graduated from there two or three times myself, so far. Get the picture? Nobody wants Georgia to do good more than me, and I am way disappointed when they don't. Sometimes I complain and once in a great while I catch myself being critical.
But too many of our so-called fans have lost touch with reality and the garbage that has been floating around in the past couple of weeks is absolutely ridiculous and somebody needs to say something about it. I guess I am as good a somebody as any.
The people who are calling for Richt's scalp are morons. They don't know anything about the reality of college football and they don't know anything about history.
What has Richt won since arriving at Georgia? I think it is 69 games. We have won two conference championships since he got here and they are our only two since Herschel left, twenty-five years ago. We usually crack the Top Ten and even in an off year like 2006 finish in the Top 25. He is a quality person who runs a quality program and we are lucky to have him.
And he has a much better record at the same stage of his career than any of our previous coaches.
Every year is not going to be a banner year and at Georgia it never has been. Only four schools have won more games than we have in the past seven years and with all our youth, the next couple of seasons should be special. And although it won't keep the morons among us who have never been more than a spectator at any athletic event from spewing their garbage it needed saying.
Now, back to Vandy. I have finally gotten to be like a lot of the rest of you. I think if Matthew Stafford develops a little touch on some of his passes a lot of those drops and overthrows will become catches and touchdowns. But wasn't he grand in the last two minutes?
And how 'bout that Tripp Chandler?
If Knowshon Moreno avoids the injury bug he may be our best running back since you-know-you. I will be glad when our linemen on both sides of the ball are full grown. I am happy for Brandon Coutu and I really and truly don't believe for a minute that our players lowered themselves to jumping up and down on Vandy's stupid Star-V. That just happened to be where we wound up.
But I'll tell you one thing. If we can find a way to upset Florida in the Gator Bowl in two weeks, I'm going on the field. Y'all follow me down there. I'll be the good-looking guy in the red shirt with his bail money in his hip pocket.
OK. I know I am late with this week's comments, but I got lost on my way home from Nashville. Trust me. That's the last time I will try to see Rock City.
It was a heck of a second half and a much needed win and I don't want to hear anything about it was "just Vanderbilt."
It was "just Kentucky" that brought LSU's house down on the same Saturday night. It was "just Mississippi State" that beat Auburn a few weeks ago. It was "just Ole Miss" that almost beat Florida. This ain't your daddy's Southeatern Conference, y'all.
And if you want to extend the comparisons to the nation, it was "just Stanford that beat USC" and "just Appalachian State" and on and on and on. This year any win is a big win. Especially in the conference.
Especially on the road. Especially when you are behind at half-time. Especially when you are tied and the other team is in field goal range with two minutes and change to play.
Especially when . . .well, you know all the particulars.
And having said that, let me say this. I love Georgia football and I love being a Georgia fan. Most of the time.
I go way back with the Bulldogs. I go back to Wally Butts. I started listening to games when Ed Thelineus was still asking us to "imagine the radio dial as the football field as we look at it." I cried when Theron Sapp scored the touchdown that broke the drought.
Nobody is a bigger Bulldog than me.
Oh, there are people who can afford to give more money. There are people who paint themselves up for the games. There are people who memorize more statistics and can tell you the underwear size of every high school junior that this or that scouting service hints might play on Saturdays sometime. But they aren't bigger Bulldog fans than me.
My energy and my good humor rises and falls with the Bulldogs' fortunes every week. I live for Saturday. Two of my children and all of my money go to Georgia. I have graduated from there two or three times myself, so far. Get the picture? Nobody wants Georgia to do good more than me, and I am way disappointed when they don't. Sometimes I complain and once in a great while I catch myself being critical.
But too many of our so-called fans have lost touch with reality and the garbage that has been floating around in the past couple of weeks is absolutely ridiculous and somebody needs to say something about it. I guess I am as good a somebody as any.
The people who are calling for Richt's scalp are morons. They don't know anything about the reality of college football and they don't know anything about history.
What has Richt won since arriving at Georgia? I think it is 69 games. We have won two conference championships since he got here and they are our only two since Herschel left, twenty-five years ago. We usually crack the Top Ten and even in an off year like 2006 finish in the Top 25. He is a quality person who runs a quality program and we are lucky to have him.
And he has a much better record at the same stage of his career than any of our previous coaches.
Every year is not going to be a banner year and at Georgia it never has been. Only four schools have won more games than we have in the past seven years and with all our youth, the next couple of seasons should be special. And although it won't keep the morons among us who have never been more than a spectator at any athletic event from spewing their garbage it needed saying.
Now, back to Vandy. I have finally gotten to be like a lot of the rest of you. I think if Matthew Stafford develops a little touch on some of his passes a lot of those drops and overthrows will become catches and touchdowns. But wasn't he grand in the last two minutes?
And how 'bout that Tripp Chandler?
If Knowshon Moreno avoids the injury bug he may be our best running back since you-know-you. I will be glad when our linemen on both sides of the ball are full grown. I am happy for Brandon Coutu and I really and truly don't believe for a minute that our players lowered themselves to jumping up and down on Vandy's stupid Star-V. That just happened to be where we wound up.
But I'll tell you one thing. If we can find a way to upset Florida in the Gator Bowl in two weeks, I'm going on the field. Y'all follow me down there. I'll be the good-looking guy in the red shirt with his bail money in his hip pocket.
Monday, October 15
NashVegas
Well, I guess there is no turning back now. We made our first trip together with my family, shared a hotel room and all. Not as awkward as it could have been, but I’m glad we can put this “milestone” behind us and move forward. NashVegas was great. I really love that town. It is safe to say that (along with Beale Street in Memphis) Nashville is the only good thing from Tennessee.
More importantly, the Dawgs won. Not at all pretty, but a win nonetheless. Our offense is so pedestrian that they can ill afford to make any mistakes less they stall out like they did pretty much the entire first half. Matt Stafford is well on his way to becoming nothing more than over-hyped. He has not really done anything, yet. I’m not giving up on him, but I do think that all those people wearing the red #7 jerseys with “Heisman” written on the back should put them away for a little while.
Our defense is (at this moment) as frightening as I have ever seen. I would not trust them to stop the French Army. I am seeing some improvements. We got very close to blowing up some of Vandy’s offensive schemes, but at the last second, they would break away for a long run or throw. The fact that they had a running QB and we showed an utter inability to stop him makes me very nervous as we head into TWLOCP in two weeks. You see, FU also has a QB who likes to run. Maybe you have heard of him. Well, if you have turned on E$PN for even ten seconds over the last six months, then you have surely heard his entire life story and found out that he might be the second coming of the Messiah. I don’t care if you are watching bowling coverage, somehow this guy is given props. Ridiculous! As a good friend from the Classic City says... T.T. is a swamp b@stard! I only wish we had the defense to stop him.
More importantly, the Dawgs won. Not at all pretty, but a win nonetheless. Our offense is so pedestrian that they can ill afford to make any mistakes less they stall out like they did pretty much the entire first half. Matt Stafford is well on his way to becoming nothing more than over-hyped. He has not really done anything, yet. I’m not giving up on him, but I do think that all those people wearing the red #7 jerseys with “Heisman” written on the back should put them away for a little while.
Our defense is (at this moment) as frightening as I have ever seen. I would not trust them to stop the French Army. I am seeing some improvements. We got very close to blowing up some of Vandy’s offensive schemes, but at the last second, they would break away for a long run or throw. The fact that they had a running QB and we showed an utter inability to stop him makes me very nervous as we head into TWLOCP in two weeks. You see, FU also has a QB who likes to run. Maybe you have heard of him. Well, if you have turned on E$PN for even ten seconds over the last six months, then you have surely heard his entire life story and found out that he might be the second coming of the Messiah. I don’t care if you are watching bowling coverage, somehow this guy is given props. Ridiculous! As a good friend from the Classic City says... T.T. is a swamp b@stard! I only wish we had the defense to stop him.
Thursday, October 4
The War
I have spent every evening for the past week and a half taking in the somber pageantry of Ken Burns’ “The War” on PBS. If you are not watching this, then you are really missing something. As a self-proclaimed history buff and huge dork, this documentary has been right up my alley. But this is not a collection of the same stories told in your history textbooks or John Wayne movies. This work shows WWII through the eyes of those who fought it. Not planned it, but fought it. Roosevelt, Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton, & McArthur are just footnotes. This documentary follows the privates and other low-ranking soldiers through the events of the war. I have read many books on this time period, yet the stories told by the veterans themselves has given me more insight into this crucial period in American history than any text or novel or movie ever could. As I sit listening to these aging people shed tears as they tell how the war affected them, their platoons, their families, and their lives, I too tear up thinking about how both of my grandfathers fought along side these men. The stories are so similar. I think about how fortunate I am to be here. As Burns shows some of the brutality of “The War”, I am reminded, again, that one of my grandfathers could have been a victim laid out in a trench or river. Granted, the whole nation was a victim of this event. However, when you think about how one-third of our standing army lost their lives in Europe or in the south Pacific, you begin to understand what these people that banded together to fight off advances on two fronts from worthy adversaries and then came home to help turn a depression-ridden nation into the world’s last great superpower really did for all of us today. You begin to understand that these people really are The Greatest Generation. We should honor them. 1,000 a day are leaving us. It makes me want to seek the testimony of any individual still living. Like these heroes and heroines, their stories are dying — 1,000 a day.
Thursday, September 27
My Rant of the Week...
Why can’t politicians stop pointing fingers at each other and actually accomplish something? WTF? The current Congress has forgotten that their roll is to dictate the funding or lack of funding that the President may use in times of conflict. It is not their roll to vote on strategy or threaten funding cuts to get the strategy that they want. Yet, that is what they have done over the last year… threaten to cut the funds if the President doesn’t follow their orders for how to use our troops overseas. This has been their main strategy in leu of striving to actually change anything that is within their roll as specified by the Constitution.
Well, our current Congress has finally accomplished something. As of today, this Congress has the lowest approval rating of any Congressional session in the history of the United States of America. 11%!!! That’s right, 11%!!! That is as shocking as it is sad. That means that 89% of Americans think the same thing that I think: In recent years, Congress has accomplished nothing. They are good for little more than pointing their fingers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and calling on everyone to blame the President. For the record, his approval rating continues to hover around 35%. Way better than 11%. Now that’s funny.
Congress has lost sight of what exactly their role is. The newly elected Democrat-heavy session was supposed to turn over a new leaf in American politics. After all, the Democrats have not had control of the White House since 2000 or Capitol Hill since 1996. It was time for a change and Democratic leaders like Kennedy and Pelosi claimed that their party was ready and had a plan of action to enact change. Instead of sweeping changes and the aforementioned “new leaf”, we have seen nothing but new censures and accusations directed towards the White House.
As many of you know, I am not the biggest supporter of the current President, so for me to choose him over the current Congress should tell you a little something about how terrible I believe their efforts of late have been. This is not a Democrats problem. This is not a Republicans problem. This problem crosses the dividing aisle more than any sort of alleged “bipartisan cooperation” has since the days of Reagan. I think I speak for at least 89% of America when I say, “stop blaming and start acting for God’s sake!”
We, as citizens who are (hopefully) registered to vote are not without fault. A great change is coming in our lifetime. “A revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough - but a revolution is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability” (JFK). It is time that we start being more responsible when it comes to whom we send to Washington. Then, do much better at holding them accountable after they are there. If we are too unintelligent or uniformed to differentiate between the same old crap that politicians force upon us, then we deserve our fate. Please VOTE, and then follow up on your vote and stop letting these people dictate what you think. America is advanced citizenship and we, as citizens are failing.
Let me conclude by saying that you will be hard pressed to find someone who loves this country more than I do, but that love causes me to become frustrated when the great legacy of our nation, that was built by so many, is tarnished by a few. On the Great Seal of the United States, the Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum is emblazoned at the bottom. Translated, it says, “out of many, one”. It is a national mantra or motto of sorts. And yet, it seams that because of our nation’s aforementioned poor leadership and the unabashed selfishness of its people, we have too must Pluribus and not enough Unum.
Well, our current Congress has finally accomplished something. As of today, this Congress has the lowest approval rating of any Congressional session in the history of the United States of America. 11%!!! That’s right, 11%!!! That is as shocking as it is sad. That means that 89% of Americans think the same thing that I think: In recent years, Congress has accomplished nothing. They are good for little more than pointing their fingers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and calling on everyone to blame the President. For the record, his approval rating continues to hover around 35%. Way better than 11%. Now that’s funny.
Congress has lost sight of what exactly their role is. The newly elected Democrat-heavy session was supposed to turn over a new leaf in American politics. After all, the Democrats have not had control of the White House since 2000 or Capitol Hill since 1996. It was time for a change and Democratic leaders like Kennedy and Pelosi claimed that their party was ready and had a plan of action to enact change. Instead of sweeping changes and the aforementioned “new leaf”, we have seen nothing but new censures and accusations directed towards the White House.
As many of you know, I am not the biggest supporter of the current President, so for me to choose him over the current Congress should tell you a little something about how terrible I believe their efforts of late have been. This is not a Democrats problem. This is not a Republicans problem. This problem crosses the dividing aisle more than any sort of alleged “bipartisan cooperation” has since the days of Reagan. I think I speak for at least 89% of America when I say, “stop blaming and start acting for God’s sake!”
We, as citizens who are (hopefully) registered to vote are not without fault. A great change is coming in our lifetime. “A revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough - but a revolution is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability” (JFK). It is time that we start being more responsible when it comes to whom we send to Washington. Then, do much better at holding them accountable after they are there. If we are too unintelligent or uniformed to differentiate between the same old crap that politicians force upon us, then we deserve our fate. Please VOTE, and then follow up on your vote and stop letting these people dictate what you think. America is advanced citizenship and we, as citizens are failing.
Let me conclude by saying that you will be hard pressed to find someone who loves this country more than I do, but that love causes me to become frustrated when the great legacy of our nation, that was built by so many, is tarnished by a few. On the Great Seal of the United States, the Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum is emblazoned at the bottom. Translated, it says, “out of many, one”. It is a national mantra or motto of sorts. And yet, it seams that because of our nation’s aforementioned poor leadership and the unabashed selfishness of its people, we have too must Pluribus and not enough Unum.
Monday, September 24
My day in Tuscaloosa
Dawgs win!
That’s the most important news. We have beaten a good, albeit overrated, Alabama team on the road and have now put ourselves in position to make this season more than the rebuilding campaign that I feared it had become.
RRB and I spent 22 hours in transit on Saturday. That's hard work to cross off my tenth (of twelve) SEC stadium. We left Columbus at 7:30 EST and made good time as we traveled up 280, through Auburn, into Montgomery, and towards Birmingham. We stopped for the ceremonial Chik-fil-a breakfast just north of Montgomery. As we embarked from the establishment, I phoned ahead to the KFC to find out what time they began serving chicken. 10:00? Perfect! It was 9:25 and we were 45 minutes from Birmingham.
We arrived at the KFC and ordered our chicken. The young lady working the counter gave us a puzzled look and then informed us that they don’t serve chicken until 10:00. “It is 10:20”, I replied. “No, It is 9:20”, she responded back. Dang you Central Time Zone!
We amended our plans and forged ahead towards Tuscaloosa. We stopped for chicken at a very ghetto KFC on University Blvd. near campus. I ordered 16 pieces of chicken. We departed and headed towards our tailgating spot. Upon being thoroughly blocked in, we realized that the fine, upstanding Alabama citizens at the ghetto KFC had given us 10 pieces of chicken and 6 biscuits. Very funny! But I would have the last laugh this day.
Our tailgating spot was fine. No tree-cover, so it was as hot as the proverbial fat lady’s thighs wearing corduroy. We got word from our tailgating partners that their flight out of Gwinnett was delayed. No worries. We had nothing but Georgia fans all the way around us.
We could hear this band across the street. So, as life-long band geeks, we ventured to take a listen. I thought the Bammer Band was good. Big sound, having a good time. All the things an SEC band should be. BUT… as a tuba player, it really pisses me off when a band has a mic-ed bass in the front ensemble. Come on! Lame! If there was any question, this band is way better than the one in crimson and white.
Hanson, Jones, Williams, Frey, White, & Guisasola arrived in Tuscaloosa much later than anticipated, but still in enough time to grab some tailgate necessities and then head towards the stadium.
The Dawgs were consistently inconsistent as usual. But, at the end of the day, that was enough to beat an overrated and overmatched Alabama team. Just a reminder to everyone in the Alabama community... Bear Bryant and Jesus Christ are not the same person. Also, I double checked... Bear Bryant is dead. Yep, dead!
After the game, the celebrating began. We partied in the stadium, on the ramp on the way down, and on the set of ESPN's College Gameday near the “Walk of Champions” (very pretentious if you ask me). I specifically enjoyed taunting Lee Corso for his continued lack of love for all things Georgia.
After a meal at a Tuscaloosa establishment with our tailgating companions, RRB and I tried to get out of town. For the record, the traffic in Tuscaloos is the worst I have ever experienced. This was almost three hours after the game ended and we still had to sit in gridlock. I guess Alabama people are still amazed at the invention of the automobile! RRB and I rolled back into Columbus abound 5:30! Boooo Alabama, roll over tide!
All in all though, a great day, a great game, and a great win! Go Dawgs!
That’s the most important news. We have beaten a good, albeit overrated, Alabama team on the road and have now put ourselves in position to make this season more than the rebuilding campaign that I feared it had become.
RRB and I spent 22 hours in transit on Saturday. That's hard work to cross off my tenth (of twelve) SEC stadium. We left Columbus at 7:30 EST and made good time as we traveled up 280, through Auburn, into Montgomery, and towards Birmingham. We stopped for the ceremonial Chik-fil-a breakfast just north of Montgomery. As we embarked from the establishment, I phoned ahead to the KFC to find out what time they began serving chicken. 10:00? Perfect! It was 9:25 and we were 45 minutes from Birmingham.
We arrived at the KFC and ordered our chicken. The young lady working the counter gave us a puzzled look and then informed us that they don’t serve chicken until 10:00. “It is 10:20”, I replied. “No, It is 9:20”, she responded back. Dang you Central Time Zone!
We amended our plans and forged ahead towards Tuscaloosa. We stopped for chicken at a very ghetto KFC on University Blvd. near campus. I ordered 16 pieces of chicken. We departed and headed towards our tailgating spot. Upon being thoroughly blocked in, we realized that the fine, upstanding Alabama citizens at the ghetto KFC had given us 10 pieces of chicken and 6 biscuits. Very funny! But I would have the last laugh this day.
Our tailgating spot was fine. No tree-cover, so it was as hot as the proverbial fat lady’s thighs wearing corduroy. We got word from our tailgating partners that their flight out of Gwinnett was delayed. No worries. We had nothing but Georgia fans all the way around us.
We could hear this band across the street. So, as life-long band geeks, we ventured to take a listen. I thought the Bammer Band was good. Big sound, having a good time. All the things an SEC band should be. BUT… as a tuba player, it really pisses me off when a band has a mic-ed bass in the front ensemble. Come on! Lame! If there was any question, this band is way better than the one in crimson and white.
Hanson, Jones, Williams, Frey, White, & Guisasola arrived in Tuscaloosa much later than anticipated, but still in enough time to grab some tailgate necessities and then head towards the stadium.
The Dawgs were consistently inconsistent as usual. But, at the end of the day, that was enough to beat an overrated and overmatched Alabama team. Just a reminder to everyone in the Alabama community... Bear Bryant and Jesus Christ are not the same person. Also, I double checked... Bear Bryant is dead. Yep, dead!
After the game, the celebrating began. We partied in the stadium, on the ramp on the way down, and on the set of ESPN's College Gameday near the “Walk of Champions” (very pretentious if you ask me). I specifically enjoyed taunting Lee Corso for his continued lack of love for all things Georgia.
After a meal at a Tuscaloosa establishment with our tailgating companions, RRB and I tried to get out of town. For the record, the traffic in Tuscaloos is the worst I have ever experienced. This was almost three hours after the game ended and we still had to sit in gridlock. I guess Alabama people are still amazed at the invention of the automobile! RRB and I rolled back into Columbus abound 5:30! Boooo Alabama, roll over tide!
All in all though, a great day, a great game, and a great win! Go Dawgs!
Monday, September 17
College Football -- Week 3 Update
THUD!
In case you are wondering, that was the sound of a mass exodus from the Georgia Tech bandwagon. That’s what you get from Chan Gailey: you might win a game or two you aren’t supposed to, but you are also going to lose a game of two that you should have won. That’s the way it is… Be prepared for it.
USC has reasserted themselves as the best team in the nation until future reference. I hope that four major-conference teams go undefeated so that the BCS will be exposed as the fraud that it is. I think that the USC/Cal winner, the Oklahoma/Texas winner, Florida or LSU, and West Virginia all have a great chance of running the table. I hope it works out so that all the BCS supporters will go back into the hole from which they came.
FLORIDA! My God! What a statement. I’m not talking about the way they thumped a once equal rival, but how Urban Crier showed his total lack of class by running up the score at home like he did. Maybe it isn’t the individual; maybe it is the institution.
As for Tennessee… Ouch! I don’t think that Tennessee has a bad team, but I do think they are securely in the second tier of teams. They haven proven such by getting shalacked by top ten teams Cal and FU. I read on a UT message board this morning that Fat Phil needs to win 8 of his last nine games to save his job. I do not think that Fat Phil is a great coach or the right fit for UT, but I do know that if you fire a national champion with a solid record that you will have trouble finding any suitable replacement that actually wants to come to Knoxville. UT fans claim to want to find the Bruce Pearl of football. Good luck!
HOT SEAT UPDATE… WEEK 3
--Rich Brooks… just saved his job by beating archrival and perennially over-rated Louisville.
--Lloyd Carr… must win the Big 10/11 and beat Ohio State to save his job.
--Sylvester Croom… took a big step towards securing himself a new contract. Now needs to pick up one more win in the SEC. I smell an Egg Bowl upset!
--Phil Fulmer… needs to beat rivals Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky to ensure he gets another season in KnoxVegas. Things are so bleak in Piss Orange country that the message boards are actually calling for a push to bring Steve Spurrier to Neyland. I think with South Carolina pushing towards the top of the SEC East, it is UT, not UGA, who should worry about dropping to the lower half.
--Chan Gailey… needs to win all games against ACC cellar dwellers and beat Clemson or Virginia Tech at home –OR– just beat Georgia.
--Al Groh… should go ahead and put his Charlottesville home on the market. He makes $1.8 million annually and has only gone 44-34 in his seven seasons at UVA
--Mike Gundy… the promised son in cowboy country needs to win a big game or two this season.
--Houston Nutt… needs to win close games like the one he just lost on Saturday.
--Ed Orgeron… must win a big game this year to show the Rebel faithful that the program is headed in the right direction.
--Greg Robinson… might as well just go ahead and send out his résumé. He is 5-21 in three seasons at a once proud football school.
--Tommy Tuberville… needs to win some SEC games… and quickly. The shadow of Saban is looming large in the redneck state.
--Charlie Weis… is pretty secure because it would cost Notre Dame too much to fire him. How do you sign a man with no head coaching experience to a ten-year contract? Reminds me of the UGA/Ray Goff (Goof?) fiasco.
Needless to say, I don't think the SEC will go a third season without any coaching changes.
As for my alma mater…
They did exactly what they needed to do against a lesser opponent like Western Carolina. We played a lot of guys and got some much-needed reps against live ammunition. Nobody got injured. The offense seemed to work out some of the kinks. All in all, it was a good day betwixt the hedges. Our team is still very young and doesn’t have much of an identity. They will get a chance to develop that identity (or roll over and croak) in front of a raucous crowd in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Because of the 7:45 kick time, the whole nation will be watching and the presence of College GameDay will only add to the carnival atmosphere. I hope our young linemen take their ‘roids this week.
In case you are wondering, that was the sound of a mass exodus from the Georgia Tech bandwagon. That’s what you get from Chan Gailey: you might win a game or two you aren’t supposed to, but you are also going to lose a game of two that you should have won. That’s the way it is… Be prepared for it.
USC has reasserted themselves as the best team in the nation until future reference. I hope that four major-conference teams go undefeated so that the BCS will be exposed as the fraud that it is. I think that the USC/Cal winner, the Oklahoma/Texas winner, Florida or LSU, and West Virginia all have a great chance of running the table. I hope it works out so that all the BCS supporters will go back into the hole from which they came.
FLORIDA! My God! What a statement. I’m not talking about the way they thumped a once equal rival, but how Urban Crier showed his total lack of class by running up the score at home like he did. Maybe it isn’t the individual; maybe it is the institution.
As for Tennessee… Ouch! I don’t think that Tennessee has a bad team, but I do think they are securely in the second tier of teams. They haven proven such by getting shalacked by top ten teams Cal and FU. I read on a UT message board this morning that Fat Phil needs to win 8 of his last nine games to save his job. I do not think that Fat Phil is a great coach or the right fit for UT, but I do know that if you fire a national champion with a solid record that you will have trouble finding any suitable replacement that actually wants to come to Knoxville. UT fans claim to want to find the Bruce Pearl of football. Good luck!
HOT SEAT UPDATE… WEEK 3
--Rich Brooks… just saved his job by beating archrival and perennially over-rated Louisville.
--Lloyd Carr… must win the Big 10/11 and beat Ohio State to save his job.
--Sylvester Croom… took a big step towards securing himself a new contract. Now needs to pick up one more win in the SEC. I smell an Egg Bowl upset!
--Phil Fulmer… needs to beat rivals Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky to ensure he gets another season in KnoxVegas. Things are so bleak in Piss Orange country that the message boards are actually calling for a push to bring Steve Spurrier to Neyland. I think with South Carolina pushing towards the top of the SEC East, it is UT, not UGA, who should worry about dropping to the lower half.
--Chan Gailey… needs to win all games against ACC cellar dwellers and beat Clemson or Virginia Tech at home –OR– just beat Georgia.
--Al Groh… should go ahead and put his Charlottesville home on the market. He makes $1.8 million annually and has only gone 44-34 in his seven seasons at UVA
--Mike Gundy… the promised son in cowboy country needs to win a big game or two this season.
--Houston Nutt… needs to win close games like the one he just lost on Saturday.
--Ed Orgeron… must win a big game this year to show the Rebel faithful that the program is headed in the right direction.
--Greg Robinson… might as well just go ahead and send out his résumé. He is 5-21 in three seasons at a once proud football school.
--Tommy Tuberville… needs to win some SEC games… and quickly. The shadow of Saban is looming large in the redneck state.
--Charlie Weis… is pretty secure because it would cost Notre Dame too much to fire him. How do you sign a man with no head coaching experience to a ten-year contract? Reminds me of the UGA/Ray Goff (Goof?) fiasco.
Needless to say, I don't think the SEC will go a third season without any coaching changes.
As for my alma mater…
They did exactly what they needed to do against a lesser opponent like Western Carolina. We played a lot of guys and got some much-needed reps against live ammunition. Nobody got injured. The offense seemed to work out some of the kinks. All in all, it was a good day betwixt the hedges. Our team is still very young and doesn’t have much of an identity. They will get a chance to develop that identity (or roll over and croak) in front of a raucous crowd in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Because of the 7:45 kick time, the whole nation will be watching and the presence of College GameDay will only add to the carnival atmosphere. I hope our young linemen take their ‘roids this week.
Wednesday, September 12
When Does the Charlie Weis Free Ride End?
Lloyd Carr and Michigan have been the college football story through the first two weeks, but what about Notre Dame?
Editor’s note: I hate Notre Dame and I am sick of the school getting free passes within the media over and over again simply on the bases of their tradition. The Irish have not won a significant game in fifteen years. They now have nothing but tradition, because they are certainly not building on it.
Charlie Weis, the Teflon coach of the Irish, has largely escaped scrutiny and criticism, even though Notre Dame has lost four straight games, all by more than 20 points. It’s the kind of streak that … can get a coach fired (cough, Ty Willingham, cough).
At what point does someone besides ESPN’s Pat Forde mention that Weis won with Willingham’s players two years ago? Who will point out that last year, the Irish beat just one team that was ranked at the time of the game, and got smoked by everyone else? And assuming the Irish get bitch slapped by Chad Henne-less Michigan this weekend, and go on to end the season with a losing record (yikes, looking at this schedule, it’s totally possible), when do the Irish faithful call for the head of Weis?
Sadly, never. They can’t do him like they did Willingham – duh, ND shelled out millions to keep a guy because he lost a close, memorable game against USC, and because the NFL (specifically, the Giants) may or may not have had interest in his services.
The only funny part is that barring some serious infusion of transfer talent, we can’t see these guys improving enough to reach a bowl game next season. How much of a hit does Weis take on this? He seemed to be a lock for a lucrative head coaching gig in the NFL after one season with the Irish … now, not so much.
Those of you who know me know that I really hate it when people try to make a race issue where there is not one. But I can’t help but think that the Ty Willingham vs. Charlie Weis coaching change was nothing but a racial issue. I know all the apologists will tell you it has to do with recruiting classes, and just wait, and blah blah blah. Whatever. Almost identical numbers and the only difference is skin color? This looks bad for all you high and mighty Domers.
Editor’s note: I hate Notre Dame and I am sick of the school getting free passes within the media over and over again simply on the bases of their tradition. The Irish have not won a significant game in fifteen years. They now have nothing but tradition, because they are certainly not building on it.
Charlie Weis, the Teflon coach of the Irish, has largely escaped scrutiny and criticism, even though Notre Dame has lost four straight games, all by more than 20 points. It’s the kind of streak that … can get a coach fired (cough, Ty Willingham, cough).
At what point does someone besides ESPN’s Pat Forde mention that Weis won with Willingham’s players two years ago? Who will point out that last year, the Irish beat just one team that was ranked at the time of the game, and got smoked by everyone else? And assuming the Irish get bitch slapped by Chad Henne-less Michigan this weekend, and go on to end the season with a losing record (yikes, looking at this schedule, it’s totally possible), when do the Irish faithful call for the head of Weis?
Sadly, never. They can’t do him like they did Willingham – duh, ND shelled out millions to keep a guy because he lost a close, memorable game against USC, and because the NFL (specifically, the Giants) may or may not have had interest in his services.
The only funny part is that barring some serious infusion of transfer talent, we can’t see these guys improving enough to reach a bowl game next season. How much of a hit does Weis take on this? He seemed to be a lock for a lucrative head coaching gig in the NFL after one season with the Irish … now, not so much.
Those of you who know me know that I really hate it when people try to make a race issue where there is not one. But I can’t help but think that the Ty Willingham vs. Charlie Weis coaching change was nothing but a racial issue. I know all the apologists will tell you it has to do with recruiting classes, and just wait, and blah blah blah. Whatever. Almost identical numbers and the only difference is skin color? This looks bad for all you high and mighty Domers.
Sunday, September 9
Once a Dawg...
I like to wait a little while before voicing any opinions after a loss. I hope that enough time has elapsed.
First of all, I am a huge Georgia homer. They are my team. They always have been and always will be. But I am pragmatic and realistic.
That being said, we got beat. They had a great game plan and they beat us. We had some shots to pillage a victory from a certain defeat, but we did not grasp those opportunities. Now… we must move on. Georgia fans are typically very pragmatic until the season actually starts, then they are emotional, unrealistic, passionate, and frankly a little bit crazy. This season is adding additional evidence to this assumption. Most who don the red and black tried to be realistic about this season before it commenced. We were looking at a very young offensive line, a very inexperienced front seven on defense, and a play-caller who had never really called-plays before. That adds up to some growing pains. We are now in the midst of those pains. We knew that we could be vulnerable at the beginning until our O and D lines figured everything out. Yesterday, a brilliant coach and a minion of the Anti-Christ figured out how to exploit that vulnerability in a way that a lesser coach from a lesser program in a lesser conference could not figure out last week. These are not Georgia’s darkest hours. Those hours have already past. The upside is huge; we have tons of talent and depth. We are very young at most positions and we are going to be a pre-season top ten team next season. However, I will not take the standard South Carolina route and say, “wait till next year”. But do! Just wait, it is going to be special.
Attention Georgia fans: I too, am not happy with every coaching decision that occurred yesterday. But this is my pet peeve: Fans that say I love _________ one day and say I hate __________ when times get tough. You can plug “Georgia” in the blank. Or “Mark Rich+” or “Matt St@fford” or “Mike Bob0” or “Willie M@rtinez”. The bottom line is this: A Fair-weathered Fan is a Fair-weathered Fan. It doesn’t matter if it is of an individual or the whole team. If you have ever uttered the phrase, “I love Coach Richt and all that he has done with this program”, then you are committed to him and this program until it is time to make a change. Do you think that time is now? I do not. I was a Dawg during the dark ages of Ray G0ff (Goof?) and Jim Donn@n. I have seen a once proud institution reduced to insignificance. I lived it. We are now in the best shape that we have been in as a program in twenty years. If you want a new coach, then stand up proud and declare it today and stand by that statement the next time we are headed to the Georgia Dome and raising another banner high above Sanford. If not, then be supportive. If you want the team to be consistent, then be a consistent fan (or anti-fan). If you choose to complain about the coaches when we lose, then you don’t get to praise them when we win.
It is time for Georgia’s fans to be fans when it isn’t easy. Don’t be delusional like our opponent yesterday and make up a history that never happened. But do take an example from them and learn to support your team when times are difficult. They have but one conference championship in the history of their school. They have won fewer than ten bowl games… EVER! They have one former Heisman winner and another as their head coach. They have a terrible stadium in the middle of a parking lot. No history… no tradition… very little success. That is the plight of Carolina Football. Yet, their fans (although in denial about said lack of tradition) are some of the best in the nation because they love every little bit of success. They have simply lived through so little. Georgia fans are spoiled and we have simply not won enough to be spoiled. We, as fans, should learn from the Cocks. Let our football team continue to build on so much great tradition. We have a 100-year head start on USC. We have actually accomplished something. They haven’t. Hold your heads high in good times and in bad and think about all those Cocks who have held their heads high and filled their God-awful stadium even during the worst times (which have been plentiful) in Columbia.
We are better, now we need to act like it. Go Dawgs!
First of all, I am a huge Georgia homer. They are my team. They always have been and always will be. But I am pragmatic and realistic.
That being said, we got beat. They had a great game plan and they beat us. We had some shots to pillage a victory from a certain defeat, but we did not grasp those opportunities. Now… we must move on. Georgia fans are typically very pragmatic until the season actually starts, then they are emotional, unrealistic, passionate, and frankly a little bit crazy. This season is adding additional evidence to this assumption. Most who don the red and black tried to be realistic about this season before it commenced. We were looking at a very young offensive line, a very inexperienced front seven on defense, and a play-caller who had never really called-plays before. That adds up to some growing pains. We are now in the midst of those pains. We knew that we could be vulnerable at the beginning until our O and D lines figured everything out. Yesterday, a brilliant coach and a minion of the Anti-Christ figured out how to exploit that vulnerability in a way that a lesser coach from a lesser program in a lesser conference could not figure out last week. These are not Georgia’s darkest hours. Those hours have already past. The upside is huge; we have tons of talent and depth. We are very young at most positions and we are going to be a pre-season top ten team next season. However, I will not take the standard South Carolina route and say, “wait till next year”. But do! Just wait, it is going to be special.
Attention Georgia fans: I too, am not happy with every coaching decision that occurred yesterday. But this is my pet peeve: Fans that say I love _________ one day and say I hate __________ when times get tough. You can plug “Georgia” in the blank. Or “Mark Rich+” or “Matt St@fford” or “Mike Bob0” or “Willie M@rtinez”. The bottom line is this: A Fair-weathered Fan is a Fair-weathered Fan. It doesn’t matter if it is of an individual or the whole team. If you have ever uttered the phrase, “I love Coach Richt and all that he has done with this program”, then you are committed to him and this program until it is time to make a change. Do you think that time is now? I do not. I was a Dawg during the dark ages of Ray G0ff (Goof?) and Jim Donn@n. I have seen a once proud institution reduced to insignificance. I lived it. We are now in the best shape that we have been in as a program in twenty years. If you want a new coach, then stand up proud and declare it today and stand by that statement the next time we are headed to the Georgia Dome and raising another banner high above Sanford. If not, then be supportive. If you want the team to be consistent, then be a consistent fan (or anti-fan). If you choose to complain about the coaches when we lose, then you don’t get to praise them when we win.
It is time for Georgia’s fans to be fans when it isn’t easy. Don’t be delusional like our opponent yesterday and make up a history that never happened. But do take an example from them and learn to support your team when times are difficult. They have but one conference championship in the history of their school. They have won fewer than ten bowl games… EVER! They have one former Heisman winner and another as their head coach. They have a terrible stadium in the middle of a parking lot. No history… no tradition… very little success. That is the plight of Carolina Football. Yet, their fans (although in denial about said lack of tradition) are some of the best in the nation because they love every little bit of success. They have simply lived through so little. Georgia fans are spoiled and we have simply not won enough to be spoiled. We, as fans, should learn from the Cocks. Let our football team continue to build on so much great tradition. We have a 100-year head start on USC. We have actually accomplished something. They haven’t. Hold your heads high in good times and in bad and think about all those Cocks who have held their heads high and filled their God-awful stadium even during the worst times (which have been plentiful) in Columbia.
We are better, now we need to act like it. Go Dawgs!
Wednesday, September 5
Try it, you'll like it...
For those of you who don’t know me very well, I am pretty interested in politics. I find the whole process to be amazing. I think it is amazing that this nation has survived as long as it has with the system that we use. I am not saying it is a bad system or suggesting an alternate system, I am just looking at all the flaws the system has and wondering how one of those has not come up to bite us in the butt over the last two-hundred thirty-one years.
For starters, we vote emotionally. WTF? John F. Kennedy was elected president because he looked good on TV. FDR was a great president, but would have had no chance if he came along thirty years later because he couldn’t walk. We vote based on religion, when religion should have nothing to do with how qualified an individual is. We vote based on our heritage. I.E: “I’m a Democrat because my Diddy was a Democrat”. We vote for many different reasons, but very few of those reasons have anything to do with whether or not a candidate is qualified for the office or if they are the most qualified for that office. That is whom we should vote for… the best candidate. Not the best looking, not the one who happens to be from that party that you consider yourself apart of, and not the one who is a fan of the same baseball team that you are.
I am not a Republican; I am not a Democrat; I am not even a conservative or a liberal. I am an issues man. I vote for candidates, not parties. I vote for issues, not candidates. It is my belief that the end of our system of government as we know it lies in our fellow citizens lack of effort and action. The best way to strangle a democracy is to not take advantage of the benefits that a democracy brings. The biggest benefit is the right to vote for who you would like to lead you over the next two, four, or six years. Voting is about being an individual. About exerting your miniscule amount of control over the government of the nation that you hopefully love. People complain all the time about the government having too much control, and then they choose not to vote. WTF? Anyone who does not get off their over-weight, lazy American butt and go to the poll on Election Day deserves whatever terrible government they get stuck with.
Getting people to vote (and to be informed voters) has been a passion of mine for quite sometime. So for the three of you that read this Blog, please get yourself registered to vote before the upcoming elections and then do the research so that you can vote for the best candidates who have the best plans to attack the issues that are important to you. If the war in Iraq is an important issue to you, then don’t vote for any candidate that does not lay out a specific plan for dealing with that issue. Simply saying, “Iraq is a huge mess and it is all _____’s fault” is not going to gain the support of intelligent people. Give me a reason to support you. Tell me what your plan is. What are your action steps? Candidates will not take a stand on controversial issues until we, the public, stand up and force them to make those stands. They believe that by not taking a stand, they are avoiding pissing off half the electorate. We need to let them know that by not taking a stand, they ARE pissing off intelligent, well-informed voters! Voting is the most patriotic thing that we can do. Get out there, take a stand, get informed, and VOTE!
For starters, we vote emotionally. WTF? John F. Kennedy was elected president because he looked good on TV. FDR was a great president, but would have had no chance if he came along thirty years later because he couldn’t walk. We vote based on religion, when religion should have nothing to do with how qualified an individual is. We vote based on our heritage. I.E: “I’m a Democrat because my Diddy was a Democrat”. We vote for many different reasons, but very few of those reasons have anything to do with whether or not a candidate is qualified for the office or if they are the most qualified for that office. That is whom we should vote for… the best candidate. Not the best looking, not the one who happens to be from that party that you consider yourself apart of, and not the one who is a fan of the same baseball team that you are.
I am not a Republican; I am not a Democrat; I am not even a conservative or a liberal. I am an issues man. I vote for candidates, not parties. I vote for issues, not candidates. It is my belief that the end of our system of government as we know it lies in our fellow citizens lack of effort and action. The best way to strangle a democracy is to not take advantage of the benefits that a democracy brings. The biggest benefit is the right to vote for who you would like to lead you over the next two, four, or six years. Voting is about being an individual. About exerting your miniscule amount of control over the government of the nation that you hopefully love. People complain all the time about the government having too much control, and then they choose not to vote. WTF? Anyone who does not get off their over-weight, lazy American butt and go to the poll on Election Day deserves whatever terrible government they get stuck with.
Getting people to vote (and to be informed voters) has been a passion of mine for quite sometime. So for the three of you that read this Blog, please get yourself registered to vote before the upcoming elections and then do the research so that you can vote for the best candidates who have the best plans to attack the issues that are important to you. If the war in Iraq is an important issue to you, then don’t vote for any candidate that does not lay out a specific plan for dealing with that issue. Simply saying, “Iraq is a huge mess and it is all _____’s fault” is not going to gain the support of intelligent people. Give me a reason to support you. Tell me what your plan is. What are your action steps? Candidates will not take a stand on controversial issues until we, the public, stand up and force them to make those stands. They believe that by not taking a stand, they are avoiding pissing off half the electorate. We need to let them know that by not taking a stand, they ARE pissing off intelligent, well-informed voters! Voting is the most patriotic thing that we can do. Get out there, take a stand, get informed, and VOTE!
Friday, August 24
Jean Shorts, Pabst, & Matt Walsh, Oh my!
WTF?!? If you don’t think the Gators are bad for the SEC, bad for fashion, bad for the future of music, and simply bad for America, then you clearly haven't seen this video. Before you watch, have a trash can and a bottle of PediaLyte ready. It is a truly horrible combination of portions of Grease and the B-52's', bred with the worst imaginable subject matter.
Go (Away) Gator Nation!
The wise man once said that if you want to look like an idiot, do the ‘Gator Chomp’. He truelly was full of wisdom (whoever he was) because from the two-year-old Gator in the stoned-washed jean shorts and aged shane Matthews jersey to the old New York transplant Gator, they all look absolutely ridiculous. They have the arrogance of Notre Dame and the tradition of Wake Forrest. My God, I hate them so much!
7 Days!
Go Gators? Go F Yourself!
Go (Away) Gator Nation!
The wise man once said that if you want to look like an idiot, do the ‘Gator Chomp’. He truelly was full of wisdom (whoever he was) because from the two-year-old Gator in the stoned-washed jean shorts and aged shane Matthews jersey to the old New York transplant Gator, they all look absolutely ridiculous. They have the arrogance of Notre Dame and the tradition of Wake Forrest. My God, I hate them so much!
7 Days!
Go Gators? Go F Yourself!
Tuesday, August 21
A Little Fun @ 10 Days Out
Ah, yes… stereotypes!
Cutting out the middle man.
Just trying to get a leg up.
The arrogance of Notre Dame, the tradition of Wake Forrest, and the “classiest” fans of all.
And they call themselves the "smart" school.
Spelling 1001 at the Pat Dye School of Remedial Sociology.
Monday, August 13
Going back... not anymore :-(
I made a last minute trip back to the Classic City yesterday with RRB. The purpose of the trip was to help ‘The Diver’ get moved into his dorm. But, it turned out to be much more.
----The “new” dorms at the East Campus complex are not dorms at all, so don’t consider yourself dorming if you live there.----
It occurred to RRB and I that this is going to be the hardest part of moving on with our lives. We have always left Athens for the summer to pursue some various employment or travel opportunity. However, when the summer concluded, we always made it back to Athens and into our comfort zone. This summer has been no different. I have worked, traveled, made money, etc. However, now that the summer is concluding, I do not have the option of going back to my comfort zone. Instead, I am trying to figure out what is next. It is time to grow up. But, I don’t wanna.
As I left town last night, the site of ‘the group I used to be apart of’ rehearsing out on the IM fields was very appropriate. Without me.
I miss those guys (and gals). I miss watching them get into trouble and try to dig there way out and save face. I don’t really miss the activity (yet), but I do miss the people and the camaraderie. The site of that group moving on without me was a needed reminder that the world will move on now that I have moved on to something new – Something better? – Something different! – SOMETHING!
----The “new” dorms at the East Campus complex are not dorms at all, so don’t consider yourself dorming if you live there.----
It occurred to RRB and I that this is going to be the hardest part of moving on with our lives. We have always left Athens for the summer to pursue some various employment or travel opportunity. However, when the summer concluded, we always made it back to Athens and into our comfort zone. This summer has been no different. I have worked, traveled, made money, etc. However, now that the summer is concluding, I do not have the option of going back to my comfort zone. Instead, I am trying to figure out what is next. It is time to grow up. But, I don’t wanna.
As I left town last night, the site of ‘the group I used to be apart of’ rehearsing out on the IM fields was very appropriate. Without me.
I miss those guys (and gals). I miss watching them get into trouble and try to dig there way out and save face. I don’t really miss the activity (yet), but I do miss the people and the camaraderie. The site of that group moving on without me was a needed reminder that the world will move on now that I have moved on to something new – Something better? – Something different! – SOMETHING!
Tuesday, July 24
Death = New Life???
Three weekends ago, RRB and I traveled to North carolina to visit her grandfather in the hospital. What we thought was a routine (?) visit turned out to be a tearful goodbye. He had told her that he wanted to meet me before he “kicked off”. Little did he know that just a few short hours after we did meet… he did “kick off”. What an interesting way to meet an extended family: during one of the most intimate of times. I think I held up ok.
I really like her family. I have so much respect for them all after seeing the way that they handled the passing of a loved one. I was especially taken aback by the courage and strength of her grandmother and oldest uncle. After going through loss myself, I can assure you all that haven’t that it is not an easy undertaking. But to see the grace, dignity, and faith of this family just confirms in me what I have known for a long time.
Going back on subsequent trips and eventually to the funeral, I was able to meet and even get to know many members of her extended family. It was not the ideal circumstances in which to meet them all, but—all in all—it was OK. I felt so welcomed and loved, even as I was the outsider during a very private and personal time for them all. It made me very excited about the things that are yet to come!
I really like her family. I have so much respect for them all after seeing the way that they handled the passing of a loved one. I was especially taken aback by the courage and strength of her grandmother and oldest uncle. After going through loss myself, I can assure you all that haven’t that it is not an easy undertaking. But to see the grace, dignity, and faith of this family just confirms in me what I have known for a long time.
Going back on subsequent trips and eventually to the funeral, I was able to meet and even get to know many members of her extended family. It was not the ideal circumstances in which to meet them all, but—all in all—it was OK. I felt so welcomed and loved, even as I was the outsider during a very private and personal time for them all. It made me very excited about the things that are yet to come!
Monday, July 23
Worker’s-Compensation
I am in the midst or recovering from an on-the-job accident that I received performing a job I don’t even like. That eats it! I tried my best to slice my thumb off on a piece of sheet medal. After being stitched up, I discovered what it is like to live in pain, and it is truly miserable.
The only plus from this whole thing has been the worker’s-comp. Sure I have been in unbearable pain, but at least I am being fully compensated for it.
Worker’s-Compensation: Reason 132 why I love being an American!
The only plus from this whole thing has been the worker’s-comp. Sure I have been in unbearable pain, but at least I am being fully compensated for it.
Worker’s-Compensation: Reason 132 why I love being an American!
Vick is Slick? Vick is Quick? Nope, just a D%$&!
I live near the sleepy little town of Flowery Branch, which over the last few days (and, no doubt, many more to come) has become a media thoroughfare. We have none other than Michael Vick to blame for this. I could use this Blog to write about sports only (because I love it), but I try to give my opinions on many different topics to keep the Blog interesting. However, I believe this case transcends just sports.Mike Vick has been a polarizing figure since his arrival in Atlanta six years ago. He is the first African American quarterback in the mediocre history of the Falcon franchise. On the field, he has led the team to a conference championship game, broken the NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback, and (yet) consistently under achieved considering the amount of money that he makes. However, those individuals in Atlanta and around the nation that have claimed to “hate” Vick have been classified as bigots and/or racists. I will agree that Vick has not been as good as I had hoped on the field, but this has hardly justified hate. I would tend to agree that most people that have claimed to hate Vick are most likely doing so because of his race. This is wrong and is confirming the stereotype that many people have of the South. However, those that would assert now, that Vick appears to be in legitimate trouble, that those who are coming out against him are doing so solely because he is black are no less guilty or bigotry. How ridiculous to assert a conspiracy theory because he’s black! People are not out for his blood because he’s black. They are out for blood because of the brutal accusations that have been made against him. If he turns out to be totally innocent, then I will be the first one to apologize. But, I have always tried to defend Vick to the naysayers and haters. And now, frankly, I’m feeling a little betrayed. If he is guilty, then they should fry him!
Monday, July 16
Catch up...
Over the last year, I thought that I didn’t have time to properly update this Blog. I was right. According to my old standards for what it means to keep a Blog up-to-date (read: write at least every other day), I couldn’t. So I abandoned it all together. I have missed having an outlet to write some of my thoughts and share them with anyone who will read. More than that, it is nice to have a written record of my thoughts about a variety of things that I can look back at later.
I’m not sure where I’m supposed to start when it comes to getting you all up-to-date on my life over the last year, so I’ll just hit the high spots.
I am now (hopefully) a graduate of the University of Georgia
I am currently working a temp job at the Kia Motors Southeastern Parts Distribution center in Lawrenceville, Ga. I am an inventory control specialist, even though I am not a specialist at anything there.
I have very little idea what the next step in my life is. I have options, but nothing is IT. I always thought that when the right play came along that it would just hit me upside of the head and I would know it. That has not been the case. I would rather go hungry than be defined by a job that I hate.
I have been in three weddings this summer. I had been in zero prior to this summer. Three of my five best friends are now married. WEIRD! Another one is engaged and getting married next April. This leaves me and Dip as the only ones holding our ground. I am genuinely happy for my friends, but I am totally and completely sick of having to talk about all things wedding/marriage every time we get together. For some reason, me holding out on the whole anti-bachelor movement is not the cool thing to do. I don’t want to alienate anyone, but I really want to grab them by the shoulders, shake them , and tell them how tool-ish and chick-ish they sound talking about wedding stuff ALL THE TIME!!!
On the romance note, I am in a committed relationship (which could explain my lack of blogging in recent months). I’m not jumping the gun, especially on the web, but I know this is the most significant relationship I have been in to date. I am really starting to figure out what it means to love someone. But don’t worry… I am not falling into the trap spoken of in the previous paragraph.
I am back in Oakwood living with my parents. I keep telling myself that this is just for a little while until I know what my next play is, but in my heart, I know that I am too cheap to find other living arrangements until they either throw me out, I get sick of them, or the opportunity presents itself to move in with someone else.
The poet once said that you can’t go back home again… and he (or she) was right. You can go back to the same location, but it will never be the same place. I had so much fun and learned so much about myself over the last four years. However, upon returning back to the place that I spent the first 18 years of my life, I have realized that nothing is the same. I’m not the same. My friends are in a rush to grow up. I know they would never say anything, but I can’t help but think that they are looking down upon me because I am not in a rush to settle down. But that means that I have got to get some new friends. Some that are in the same place that I am. That is truly frightening. It makes me think that maybe I am in the wrong location. Maybe if the time has come to start from scratch, then I need to find a new place to do it?
I guess I thought that the laid-back life of college was just the way life is. Why can’t it be? Why do we need to create unnecessary stress? Some things are worth worrying about, but most are not.
I’m not sure where I’m supposed to start when it comes to getting you all up-to-date on my life over the last year, so I’ll just hit the high spots.
I am now (hopefully) a graduate of the University of Georgia
I am currently working a temp job at the Kia Motors Southeastern Parts Distribution center in Lawrenceville, Ga. I am an inventory control specialist, even though I am not a specialist at anything there.
I have very little idea what the next step in my life is. I have options, but nothing is IT. I always thought that when the right play came along that it would just hit me upside of the head and I would know it. That has not been the case. I would rather go hungry than be defined by a job that I hate.
I have been in three weddings this summer. I had been in zero prior to this summer. Three of my five best friends are now married. WEIRD! Another one is engaged and getting married next April. This leaves me and Dip as the only ones holding our ground. I am genuinely happy for my friends, but I am totally and completely sick of having to talk about all things wedding/marriage every time we get together. For some reason, me holding out on the whole anti-bachelor movement is not the cool thing to do. I don’t want to alienate anyone, but I really want to grab them by the shoulders, shake them , and tell them how tool-ish and chick-ish they sound talking about wedding stuff ALL THE TIME!!!
On the romance note, I am in a committed relationship (which could explain my lack of blogging in recent months). I’m not jumping the gun, especially on the web, but I know this is the most significant relationship I have been in to date. I am really starting to figure out what it means to love someone. But don’t worry… I am not falling into the trap spoken of in the previous paragraph.
I am back in Oakwood living with my parents. I keep telling myself that this is just for a little while until I know what my next play is, but in my heart, I know that I am too cheap to find other living arrangements until they either throw me out, I get sick of them, or the opportunity presents itself to move in with someone else.
The poet once said that you can’t go back home again… and he (or she) was right. You can go back to the same location, but it will never be the same place. I had so much fun and learned so much about myself over the last four years. However, upon returning back to the place that I spent the first 18 years of my life, I have realized that nothing is the same. I’m not the same. My friends are in a rush to grow up. I know they would never say anything, but I can’t help but think that they are looking down upon me because I am not in a rush to settle down. But that means that I have got to get some new friends. Some that are in the same place that I am. That is truly frightening. It makes me think that maybe I am in the wrong location. Maybe if the time has come to start from scratch, then I need to find a new place to do it?
I guess I thought that the laid-back life of college was just the way life is. Why can’t it be? Why do we need to create unnecessary stress? Some things are worth worrying about, but most are not.
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