Georgia Football: Kirby Smart is Wrong about One thing

Kirby Smart is right about a lot of things. I never doubt his brilliance either. But he is wrong about one thing and that’s Jacksonville.

Ever since Kirby has taken over he has complained about Georgia and Florida playing at the neutral site of Jacksonville. SEC Media Days was no different. Smart was asked what is the game’s future in Jacksonville. Kirby corrected the reporter on the order you say the name of the game but then went on about the relocation of the game.

"“But for us, I really don’t care where the game is played. I want what’s best for the student-athletes and I want what’s best for our program. Unfortunately, if you consider that to be the premier matchup and a national game, there was no recruit to whoever take an official visit or get to visit the campus while the game is in Jacksonville. That’s just physically impossible. So both universities, not just Georgia, lose out on an opportunity to showcase their campus in the greatest light there is. And to me, that’s really important. Every university I’ve been at you had that feature game that everybody in the country wanted to come watch”"

Smart has said this time and time again when it comes to the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville. Smart always brings up recruiting as the trump card on why the game should be moved to on-campus venues.

Kirby, has your recruiting been affected all that much by the game being in Jacksonville? No! Georgia has at least had the top 5 recruiting classes ever since Smart has taken over. The game being played down there has not hurt the program all that much.

To be fair, Smart did go on to say the recruiting timetable has changed:

"“Now, with that said in the ever-changing landscape and the speeding up of recruiting more kids are getting recruited in June for official visits and they’re finishing like right now…. so the less effect The season has on coming to games”."

The game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933. It’s tradition. It needs to stay that way. Last year, I went to the game. Everyone, including Florida fans, knew what the outcome of the game would be. The pageantry and the passion of the game, however, were not toned down because of the ensuing murder Georgia was about to commit against Florida.

Now, does the city of Jacksonville need to do more with the game? Yes! Downtown Jacksonville is a dump. After the game, I wanted a bite to eat and had to walk forever to find a place that was open at 8 pm and not boarded up with homeless people surrounding it and using the place to live in.  Also, they could do better with venues around the stadium area.

If you do not have a tailgate to go to you literally have nothing to do until you go into the stadium. The stadium, for an NFL stadium, is embarrassing. The seats I had were sinking into the concert below and to get from one end of the stadium to another is impossible to get to. You have to exit the stadium to get to the other end of the stadium. It stinks.

I think the city and the Jaguars’ ownership are trying to fix it, however. The city is paying both schools over a million dollars to keep the game there through 2025. Both schools split the money from tickets. Who knows how much they make on booze?

The owners of the Jaguars are going to renovate the stadium, that’s long overdue. So there is some momentum to get Jacksonville to become a better fan experience. With the stadium being renovated, Kirby will most likely get his wish, and the game for at least two years will be in Athens and Gainesville. Which Smart alluded to

"“With the renovation of the stadium, we’re probably going to get to see how it is playing at a different location in the next few years”."

We will. But Georgia-Florida will lose its meaning if it does not come back to Jacksonville. One person is not bigger than the two schools and should not be able to dictate tradition because it is a minor inconvenience.

It is and will always be “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” and it can only happen in Jacksonville.