Rivalry weekend has come and gone in college football, and what an intense weekend it was. Georgia football started things off with a thrilling 8OT victory over their rival Georgia Tech, and after that game it seemed impossible that any other rivalry would top the excitement seen in this game.
But that couldn’t be more wrong.
No other game went to as many overtimes as Georgia’s did with the Yellow Jackets, but for some reason an epidemic took over the college football world on Saturday. And that was two teams fighting after the game.
Flag planting leads to postgame brawls
A whopping four games on Saturday ended in a brawl because the visiting team was planting their flag in the ground of their rivals field. Michigan and Ohio State kicked off the festivities which resulted in Michigan players getting pepper sprayed by police to break the fight up. Then three other games followed suit, including North Carolina-NC State, Arizona-Arizona State and Florida-Florida State.
Most football fans love to see these brawls break out as long as nobody gets injured, but four in one day seems excessive. But all of this postgame drama should make Georgia fans appreciate the rivalry that they have with Georgia Tech.
Hateful respect
Georgia and Georgia Tech’s rivalry literally has the word hate in it, and the teams and fanbases definitely don’t like each other. But it’s also a rivalry full of respect, which was put on full display when Kirby Smart and Brent Key embraced each other in an emotional moment after the game.
So while fights are fun to watch in sports, it’s something that Georgia fans should not want to see their team partake in. The obvious reason being that we don’t want players getting injured ever, but especially when the game is already over. But it’s also nice to have rivalries that are respectful, where both teams want to beat each other on the field instead of with their fists.
So hopefully Georgia fans can get their fill of fights from other games, that way UGA can focus all of their attention on beating their rivals on the field when it matters most.