Georgia football: worrying about the wrong things as a fan
By Mike Stowe
The 2017 Georgia football season opener against Appalachian State is only three weeks away.
Georgia’s fan base has experienced pain the past few years. Real pain. I’m talking Steve Bartman catches the foul ball and the Cubs lose pain. Ball goes through Bill Buckner’s legs Red Sox pain. Warriors have a 3-1 lead in the Finals and still lose to the Cavs pain. Blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl pain.
We have been so close to monumental victories, and at times championships, just to have the ball pulled out from under us like we are the college football version of Charlie Brown.
I’ve felt it just like a lot of you have. I watched as we had Bama on the ropes and were driving down the field in 2012 only to have Coach Richt tell Aaron Murray to run the play instead of spiking the ball and watched as Conley fell giving Bama another SEC title and a trip to the national championship game against Notre Dame. We should have won.
I watched last season as Jacob Eason threw an absolute dime to Riley Ridley in the Tennessee game in what should have been an early career defining moment for Eason. And then I watched as Josh Dobbs threw a pass that looked like a punt with 4 seconds left in the game and watched in horror as Juan Jennings came down with it to win the game for the Vols.
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And I was sitting in the stands in Sanford after the Tech game with disgust as the enemy mutilated our beloved hedges in yet another game that we should have won but didn’t. So, what’s up? Are we cursed?
Short answer, no. Things haven’t went our way, but it has nothing to do with luck. If you have your favorite game day shirt or your favorite place to sit on while watching the game, by all means go ahead and wear it. Sit in your “lucky chair”. But don’t blame that stuff if Georgia loses. That’s not the mindset we should have if we want to be a championship program.
This has been something I’ve noticed a lot with our fan base lately. Focusing on the wrong things. I’ll give ya a few examples and I’ll tell ya how I feel about it. Some of our fans were upset over the way our annual fan day was changed, how the times were changed for autograph sessions. How do I feel about it? Not important to me. Win a championship.
I see fans argue over bathroom renovations. While I think we can all agree that we need clean facilities, it’s not at the top of my priority list. You know what is? Winning a championship.
Some seem to be concerned with how Kirby Smart interacts with the media. I’m more concerned with whether or not he can win a championship.
When I went to the 2013 Georgia/LSU game in Athens, I watched as some fans at College Gameday were legitimately worried that Lee Corso was going to pick us because they feared we would lose if he did. This isn’t a Harry Potter movie, people. It’s the SEC.
I thought about it then just like I do today. Don’t worry about hocus pocus…..worry about winning a championship. These last two I have seen discussed a lot lately. And I shake my head and wonder why anyone worries about either.
At SEC media days, the Dawgs were picked to win the SEC East. Some Dawg fans instantly went to Facebook and Twitter acting like that was the kiss of death for us because the media has been wrong lately with their pick. Dreamland BBQ, an Alabama based BBQ joint, will be serving food in Sanford Stadium this season. Some fans seemed really upset about this.
Not me. I personally don’t care if the concession stand serves Gatorade and ribs smoked by Steve Spurrier himself. What do I care about? You guessed it; winning a championship.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to discuss these things, especially in the off-season. But I hope that people can keep their eyes on the prize. The season is almost here, folks. Time to get serious.
Are you one of those who are irritated because Georgia got a DJ Booth for its players? Are you legitimately mad because some BBQ sandwiches out of Alabama are going to be sold in Sanford Stadium this fall?
Next: Observations of Kirby Smart
Worried about keeping the pre game song the same because of its’ storied, 10 year tradition? You’re focusing on the wrong thing. Let’s come together this season as Dawgs and worry about the same thing that I know Kirby Smart, the rest of the coaching staff, and our beloved Georgia football team are worrying about right now; winning a championship.