EDIT: Blackout was planned for Louisiana Lafayette
The Georgia Bulldogs only have two more home games left in 2016, that means two more chances for Georgia to black out this season.
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The Bulldog Nation has been clamoring for another blackout since the anguish of the last one wore off. So there was much joy for fans through the summer as rumors of a blackout appeared to be confirmed.
Back in August on georgiadogs.com fans were encouraged to wear red for every home game except the Louisiana Lafayette game. For the game against the Ragin’ Canjuns, fans were encouraged to wear black. That info was found on the What’s New at Sanford Stadium in 2016 page.
Earlier that month, UGA athletic director Greg McGarity not only confirmed that Georgia would wear black in 2016, he also said that the team had the black jersey’s already. It would be up to Kirby Smart to decide when Georgia would wear black.
Considering McGarity’s statements and the fact that it georgiadogs.com says that fans are encouraged to where black this Saturday, we can assume that Smart at one point decided that Georgia would wear black against Louisiana Lafayette.
Possibly more exciting than a blackout in 2016 however, is that McGarity said that blackouts, would be happening for one game a year from here on out.
Is the blackout still on?
Now one question remains, is the blackout still on? For the fans, yes. Earlier today Georgia called for the blackout on Twitter and Facebook. So clearly fans are going to be dressed in black. But what about the players. We can assume that the players are wearing black, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Of course if Georgia decides against wearing black this Saturday, there’s always next week against in-state rival Georgia Tech. Georgia doesn’t need a blackout to generate excitement for that game, but it would add some energy.
Most people would probably prefer to blackout the Georgia Tech game because they are one of our biggest rivals. But I can understand blacking out Louisiana Lafayette. After the embarrassing losses to Alabama in 2008 and Florida in 2009, the Bulldogs might be hesitant to reintroduce them in a big game.
Louisiana Lafayette also isn’t an opponent that will draw many fans to Athens. So adding the blackout will give more fans a reason to come. Who wouldn’t want to say that they attended the first blackout since 2008?