Georgia Football: The black jerseys should become a seasonal tradition

Everyone loves Georgia football’s black jerseys and wishes that they would wear them more often. The black jerseys should become a seasonal tradition.

Georgia football has always been known for wearing red jerseys, but black is just as much of a school color as red and needs to be celebrated as such. Georgia even already has black jerseys to do just that. This gave the Bulldogs a jersey for each one of their colors; red, black and white. Yet they only wear two of those during the regular football season.

Under Mark Richt, Georgia donned the black jerseys three times and amassed a 2-1 record. The first time was against Auburn in a blowout victory, the second was in a blowout win against Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, and the last was a loss to Alabama. That loss caused Georgia to put away the black jerseys for eight years.

The last time they brought them out was against Lousiana-Lafayette in 2016, under current head coach Kirby Smart. However, Smart seems to think there is a stigma around Georgia football’s black jerseys. This keeps him from wearing them outside of the annual G-Day game. In fact, in his 56 games as head coach at Georgia, he has only brought the team out in black that one time.

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Not even when the team made it to the College Football Playoffs in 2017 did coach Smart’s team wear black jerseys. Some would say not wearing them in the Rose Bowl or in the National Championship Game were two big opportunities lost.

Georgia football is 2-1 while donning black at Sanford Stadium. There is really no reason to think the jersey is some kind of bad omen for the Bulldogs. You wouldn’t think that is the case based on how the coaching staff treats them. You’d think that record is flipped or that the Bulldogs had never won a game while wearing their alternative jerseys.

There is also this idea that the black jerseys are a gimmick. Something to get under the skin of the opposing team, or to be used to psych out Georgia’s opponent. That is not the case. The black jersey has nothing to do with Georgia’s opponent. The black jerseys and blackouts are about creating an environment for the players and fans.

What better time to create this environment than on homecoming? While celebrating the founding of the school, why not stir up even more excitement for the football game by having a blackout game. Homecoming is a huge event in and of itself, a blackout at the annual football game could take that to the next level. Just imagine how good a sea of black would look under the red lights.

It is also a perfect time to do a full blackout because the opponent on the schedule is usually a pushover. This being the case, the coaches wouldn’t have to overthink an event like this taking focus off the task at hand. Blackouts and wearing the black jersey should be something fun for the players and fans alike and they should be worn by Georgia football every year.

There is another idea to have the black jerseys worn on Senior Day. That doesn’t seem appropriate. Senior Day is the last game that the senior class gets to dress in Sanford Stadium. They should go out in the classic red jerseys. Also, the color black may not be the best color to wear when thinking about the seniors going into their next chapter in life.

It is time to take the black jersey from being a recruiting tool and a practice jersey and bring them in the full-time rotation for Georgia game days. The players deserve to wear them once a year and the fans deserve to enjoy them once a year. There is no reason why this shouldn’t be a yearly tradition. Its time to stop being scared of these beautiful jerseys and show them off as proudly as we do the others.