Denial is not a River in Egypt
Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press
As many of you know, I was raised a fan of the Florida State Seminoles (we know, we know). You may have read those last sentence aand wonder, where is he going with this and why does it relate to Georgia State. I promise it will get there, just hang with me.
I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends.
The folks over at ChuckOliver.net (he's a former colleague of mine and I'd encourage you to read his work, he has a ton of original content) targeted the demise of the University of Georgia's football program as the 2008 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide (complete article found here).
Like I said, I've seen this before. It started in 2006 for Florida State in their loss to Penn State in the Orange Bowl after beating Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Since that game, FSU was proceed to go 30-22 under Bobby Bowden. A decent run for a MAC team but this is Florida State!
I can certainly identify with the Georgia fans plight. The tracks are almost the exact same: highly rated recruits who didn’t do anything, poor player development, lack of discipline on and off the field, a souring fan base and eventually a coach who was forced to move on.
I keep reminding people that Richt learned Bobby’s way of doing things and that worked in the 90s, that doesn’t work right now and if he doesn’t seize control back, he’ll be pushed out as well by 2012.
How this helps Georgia State (ah, the payoff!): When Georgia (and Tech, for that matter) struggle, we have the opportunity to benefit. No, we are not competing for the same recruits. We are competing for attention. We are the 3rd prettiest girl at the party and will not feel bad if the other two get drinks spilled on their dresses. When Georgia struggles, it allows us to grab their fans and season ticket holders attention. The die hards will go to the games regardless but we are not after Georgia's die hard fans. We are after the college football fans who want to see college football and the Falcons fans who may not be able to afford NFL ticket prices. We have a tremendous opportunity in the next 12 months and the ground under the UGA football program is not exactly firm for Coach Mark Richt and staff. Have you invited a Georgia or Georgia Tech fan to a game yet? I've got one coming with me tomorrow. Another convert perhaps? That's my goal.
How about that! Ben is a college football evangelist! You may want to talk to them about Jesus while you have their attention at the game. Good stuff brother!
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