Bulldog Nation struggles with after-effects of big loss
Let's keep the emotional connection between UGA fans and players a healthy one. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
As we’ve already discussed, the Bulldogs’ face plant on national television Saturday night was plenty embarrassing by itself, but that was nothing compared with the classless display of pique that transpired later that night at the Athens home of some team members.
As was first revealed in a Twitter posting by linebacker Christian Robinson, the house he shares with quarterback Aaron Murray and several other players was egged and rolled with toilet paper after the blowout loss to South Carolina.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for Murray, who learned the day after the game that his father would have to have cancer surgery, part of what he described as “probably the worst 12 hours of my life.”
While the idiots responsible for the vandalism no doubt were unaware of the situation with Murray’s father at the time they were engaged in their childish act, the two bits of news naturally got connected in national news mentions, including on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” — exacerbating the damage to the Georgia football program’s image and, probably, its recruiting efforts as well.
A disillusioned Robinson, after returning home to find the vandalism in Athens, tweeted, “Seems that people turn on you when you’re not perfect. Thought we were in this together.”
At least one tweeter, who may or may not have been involved in the vandalism, responded: “We didn’t turn on u cause u aren’t perfect we turned because u didn’t put up a fight … your play deserve egging.”
I find that response every bit as moronic as the act that was being discussed.
I agree with one caller to this week’s “Bulldog Hotline,” who said that anyone who would commit an act like that is not a fan. They’re a criminal.
But while I truly believe that only a tiny fraction of fandom thinks like that, I can’t deny it’s a part of the sports scene today. As I noted a few months back when I wrote about some of the positive aspects of extreme fandom in college football, UGA is not alone in that regard — whether it’s the poisoning of trees at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner, sexually humiliating a fan from an opposing team or even fatally shooting each other over the outcome of games.
I’ve seen plenty of disgusting behavior over the years by fans in red and black, and in this very forum I’ve experienced firsthand the depths to which the lunatic fringe of Bulldog fandom can sink. I recall a few years back having to ban one UGA fan because of language he’d used in the Blawg comments. This was shortly after my Dad had been hospitalized, and when I refused to reinstate the commenter, he sent me an email saying he looked forward to the day my father died.
And then had the gall to follow that up with another note asking if I’d changed my mind!
Obviously, we’re not talking about the sharpest knives on the rack here.
Fortunately, the Georgia players don’t appear to blame Bulldog fans in general. “It’s a small group,” Robinson said this week. “That’s what I’ve been hearing and that’s what people have been talking about. It’s a small group of people. Right when I sent out that tweet, I had probably 700 people tweeting me reminding me of that.”
When I put the question to Junkyard Blawg followers on Facebook and Twitter — Is this just a few isolated morons or is fandom getting out of control? — the majority seemed to agree with Robinson.
“They’re not real fans,” said Johnathan Tatman of the vandals. “I may have cussed [Murray] and the rest of the team for 4 quarters and wanted to puke, but a real fan will not do something so childish to their team.”
Some looked at the bigger picture. “I think it’s indicative of the way the world is now,” said Marcus P. Cannon. “Look at Kansas City’s fans applauding Matt Cassel’s injury on Sunday. Sick people. But you add alcohol to young dumb college kids and they throw eggs.”
Said Luke Jeffrey Mills VIII: “I think this is a sign of where our society is headed. Granted there will always be the core that will support through thick and thin, but it seems prevalent that the fringes are the ones with the loudest voices. Just look at fandom in pro sports and how it’s getting out of control, and compare that with politics. It’s getting to the point where it’s my team/affiliation is the best and you’re stupid for cheering/agreeing with the opposing side. Infantilism is running rampant in America.”
Alan Cason complained that “the lunatic fringe always gets the publicity. It’s the true fans who continue to support the guys who are representing Georgia on the field that should get some PR.”
Reggie Warren feels criticism of the team was deserved after the South Carolina game, “but retaliation, threats, and vandalism are criminal and despicable.”
“As a former player,” said Michael Kavouklis, “I was mad at the the outcome and I was embarrassed by our team’s poor performance, but they don’t deserve this type of treatment. It’s frustrating to all of us when we lose ALL of the really big, significant games for the last four years BUT HAVE SOME CLASS!!! It’s still a game and we will have our day. Show the recruits why they should come here, not why they should stay away from a bunch of stupid, ignorant fair weather fans who think that they are the only ones disappointed by the outcome. TRUST ME, the players are already hurting more than you can imagine. Fans can only share the credit if they support their team in the bad times as well as the good times. As embarrassing as the loss to SC was, these idiots are 1000 times more embarrassing to the UGA community!”
And that’s the bottom line we should all take away from this, I think. The team did not play well and the coaches did not do a good job. And it’s completely valid for fans to say so. But we should always keep in mind that the players are college students, not hardened professionals. Pouring salt in an open wound, as the Dogs’ Artie Lynch put it, isn’t going to help matters. Let’s keep the emotional connection between fans and players a healthy one that both can benefit from.
And while it’s perfectly OK to be concerned about and frustrated by the direction of the Georgia football program, we should keep it in perspective and not overreact to one loss.
As Michael Askins put it: “I love college football and I get emotional when the Dawgs lose a game. But I remember that it is just that … a game. There are a lot more important things in life than winning a football game.”
Got something you want to discuss concerning UGA athletics? Or maybe a question you want the Junkyard Blawg to tackle? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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— Bill King, Junkyard Blawg
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232 comments Add your comment
AndtheHITSjustkeepcomin
October 11th, 2012
12:13 pm
Where is DawginLEX – is he still here or has he finally switched over to BAMA?
sprouse27
October 11th, 2012
12:18 pm
UGA would be a true powerhouse with the right head coach. It’s just crazy that we’re not. I believe CMR has done his best, and he’s elevated the program. But he has no clue how to take it to the next level or he’d have done it by now. His best is mid-tier in the SEC. That’s it.
Jacket99
October 11th, 2012
12:26 pm
I don’t recall Bear Bryant showing much emotion on the sideline, either. Derek Dooley will be looking for a job after this season. He’s almost as animated as Dabo.
wreckmaniac
October 11th, 2012
12:38 pm
These comments about Gruden are funny. UGA fans act as if Lombardi would climb out of his grave to come to Georgia. The place to look is among up and comers. Example: Brian Kelly at Notre Dame who came from Cincinnati. UGA needs to look at that level. I am not saying Kelly will leave Notre Dame (who would?) but find a guy like Kelly currently at the Cincinnati level.
Tek
October 11th, 2012
12:39 pm
Look at the Nerds falling out of the sky. Look at Neeeerds falling out of the sky!
Head in the sand.
October 11th, 2012
1:17 pm
Since the 2008 season, Richt is 2-14 against teams that finished
the season nationally ranked. That includes an 0-10 mark against SEC
teams that finished the season in the Top 25 of the Associated Press
poll.
dwagdawg
October 11th, 2012
1:21 pm
Tek
October 11th, 2012
12:39 pm
Look at the Nerds falling out of the sky. Look at Neeeerds falling out of the sky!
__________________________________
superDawg, is that you? (notice how tek is spelled)
superDawg
September 26th, 2012
7:50 pm
ss you are a little man that likes to hide behind others.If sc beats UGA I will come down and tail gate with you and your brethren at tek.
____________________________
superDawg, are you gonna join us or not? Put your hate down for 1 day, man up and keep your word. Looking forward to seeing you on the Flats.
Preacher Dawg
October 11th, 2012
1:34 pm
What Now? Total TEAM LOSS… Including fans…Yes I heard the Booing of Tennessee and other Teams’ players entering our Stadium. Our “D” not living up to the hype..lost themselves some major cred…and without some major improvement some major $$$ dinaro! O line all hyped up after the TN game…Probably lost KG a 1st round in this one..if things don’t get drastically better. Murray..Millions. Grantham, BOBO, CMR, probably do bear most of the blame for this one..affected the least of the major players monetarily, still questioned relentlessly………SOooo WHAT NOW? Well I’ll tell ya…Get up! Shake yourself! And Fight like each day will be your last! Each Day at this level requires you to put increasingly more into it. To compete with the best ALL self pitying emotion has to be set aside immediately…FANS INCLUDED. As you may remember even GOD ALMIGHTY has NO TOLERENCE for Whining and Complaining…Left the Children of Israel in the desert for 40 years and a generation because of it…So if you can’t say something good please just Say NOTHING.
The Old Coot
October 11th, 2012
1:58 pm
We got beat by a better team. Most teams do.
The only people I see overreacting are the media ladies of the night, the Tch haters. and some UGA “fans” who are spoiled immature children whose parents should not have bought them a computer.
I am sure the players and the coaching staff have reviewed the films. done their best to make adjustments, and are practicing for the second half of the season.
Do Dawgs. Lets go 11-1 and maybe make the SECCG and a great bowl.
LakeDawg
October 11th, 2012
2:04 pm
Its a shame that the egging occurred. The players should NEVER be blamed in college ball. However, lets keep things in perspective. A few dumb kids egged a house. While definitely reprehensible, its not like the Dawg nation is rioting in the streets. A lot of people are using this incident to label anyone that criticizes the state of the program as the lunatic fringe. POLITICS. Its obvious that Richt has plateaued. Its time for a change.
ken farrar
October 11th, 2012
2:58 pm
intensity of fandom needs to remember these are 18 to 22 year old guys. more disciplined than others for sure but not necessarily more mature. they’re gonna have bad days. let’s hope not many more. winning the rest is fine with me. but i’m not gonna let it affect my mood or self-worth for the weekend.
Come on
October 11th, 2012
3:17 pm
There comes a time to make a change, our dismal record vs ranked competition, and failure to win the big game is proof of this. This is not just a one game knee jerk reaction,LSU and Boise St last year, Bama in 08, Florida in 08 and 09 in our Grambling uniform.Bama fired Mike Shula and moved on,time for us to do the same.And no I don’t hate Mark Richt.
I would have no problem of him staying as a recruiter or QB COACH however I doubt he would consider it.
old dog
October 11th, 2012
3:29 pm
@ The Old Coot;
All teams get beat, true enough. But year after year when everybody under the sun KNOWS we are not bringing in top-notch linemen, and that you cannot win in the SEC without them, it should be obvious we need to do better. We bring in decent skill players, but we just KEEP lettin’ the top-notch linemen go; this is why we cannot compete at the top level….period. Our center (as previously stated) is point-guard size, and our o-line lacks fire, discipline, and ability to competete at the top level. If we had Alabama’s o-line we would be in national contention right now. People are giving Dooley a time in Tennessee…..watch him get the hosses up front and bring ‘em back. Muschamp has already showed he can do it. And, here we sit, not addressing the most obvious need……we are going to keep posting back and forth until that MOST GLARING AND OBVIOUS need is addressed.
MT
October 11th, 2012
3:29 pm
wreckmaniac,
How did SC land Holtz and then Spurrier? Or Bama Saban?
Man this is UGA,ranked 11th in all time football wins. 6th largest stadium.Got the resources to a pay top name coach.It can be done.
old dog
October 11th, 2012
3:30 pm
p.s.
While other points are arguable, o-line problems are not. They are non-debatable!
Dawg Fud
October 11th, 2012
3:39 pm
How does anyone justify that we should have played for the title in 2007?
In a playoff, yes, we could have had a shot.
Current format, no way.
We lost to South Carolina at home that year….did not even score a TD. You don’t deserve to play for a title if you cant score a TD at home. Lost to Tenn on the road but I will give them that. Losing at home to an inferior opponent, unacceptable.
Sunbury Ga dawg
October 11th, 2012
3:53 pm
Guys, in the words of bill Paxon…..Game over man, Game over,
We will always be where we are right now until we get a leader who can lead.
I was a big supporter of Richt, that’s over now!
we never start with our full team on deck. We never come out ready to play and win the games that matter.
Game over, please wake up and put the kool aid down!
Being better than tech isnt good enough anymore!
UGA cannot beat the good teams !
October 11th, 2012
3:56 pm
Some of you are calling it “fan over-reaction”, but fact remains our boys (and COACHES) fell flat on a national stage, once again. Maybe we have to accept being a 2nd tier team in SEC, but I don’t think so. And as for egging and rolling a house, that is really nothing new ! And hardly a “criminal” act. More just like an annoyance for the homeowner! Life goes on,a nd UGA needs to win the big ones!.
Dog4Life
October 11th, 2012
4:09 pm
Let’s see, 32 yrs w/o a shot at the national title–so Preacher dawg you are saying God has relegated us to the proverbial desert of college football–interesting comparison–considering God, does not give a rat’s A#$ about college football. John Wooden said it best i don’t pray for victory, i prepare and coach for victory–maybe we should start preparing and coaching and quit all this praying for victory–pray everyone remains healthy during the game–but one prepares for victory during the week before the game.
The Gator
October 11th, 2012
4:12 pm
Bill, as a Gator fan I’ve always had fun with these comments. It’s entertainment. But all your points are right on the money.
And while I do belong to the camp that believes Mark Richt is a great guy but not a great coach, it may be time now, with the benefit of five days’ reflection, to consider for a moment that maybe… just maybe… South Carolina is scary good.
This isn’t meant to suggest that they are 35-7 better than UGA. It is meant to suggest that they are so good that the UGA team was shell-shocked by the talent. I could see LSU and the Gators beating South Carolina, not because they’re that much better than UGA, but because the UGA-SC game properly set their expectations. At a bare minimum, they’ll run right at Clowny for several downs in the first half to wear him down.
UGA cannot beat the good teams !
October 11th, 2012
4:49 pm
No matter how you look at it, something is not as should be in Athens, GA ! Getting embarrassed on national TV every time UGA plays a top- ranked team ( Boise State, Alabama, South Carolina) is not the sign of a championship team. Is that what UGA has come to be? A 2nd tier school? Not acceptable…
LogicalUS
October 11th, 2012
5:20 pm
“bare minimum, they’ll run right at Clowny for several downs in the first half to wear him down”
Then you didn’t LEARN anything from the UGA-SC game at all.
Geez…You get the ball away from that guy as fast as possible.
Preacher Dawg
October 11th, 2012
6:01 pm
D4L..Go back and read it again..never mentioned praying, although I do believe in it…the point is whining and complaining are the enemy to progress/maturity/faith/growth and therefore victory not just in but including sports. I didn’t know John Wooden, sounds like a sucessful fellow, doubt you’d hear him sittin aroung whining…my point.
The One After 909
October 11th, 2012
6:57 pm
Football is a game. You win some and you lose some.
We had won 15 straight regular season games and it was out time against a better team.
Hope the team concentrates on winning the next 6 and going to a great bowl.
Maybe SC drops two and we go to the SECCG. The ultimate revenge.
Bill
October 11th, 2012
8:22 pm
Are Bill King and Flat Tire cousins?
1984 grad
October 11th, 2012
8:25 pm
where gonna win out; beat bama in the dome and beat Uregon in the natl champ game. Bank on it.
Dee Nile
October 11th, 2012
8:30 pm
We still have a chance to win the National Championship, right?
joe jenkins
October 11th, 2012
9:08 pm
The problem with defense and if yall dont believe me yall are blind….our DE’s are not making play i think the front three should be jenkins…garrison smith and abry jones or try getting more playing time for ray drew…whatever happened to sterling bailey…yall guys can put all the blame on coaches if you want to…but i’m putting a lot of the blame on the players as well…they are simply not steping up and making plays…for god’s sake corn is the most overated player on defense…I think we should use murrays running abilty more…he is a duel threat qb…he is not a pocket passer like david greene!!! I guess richt is scared he will get hurt and he has no confidence in lemay…cant say i blame him on that…lemay is god awful…btw fire rodney garner
angry mangy mutt
October 11th, 2012
10:47 pm
Programs who build there foundations on discipline and aggression are often time the most successful. A disciplined team is foundamentally sound, mentally tough, and unshakable. An aggressive team is relentless, punishing, and relatively simple by design. Our offense has long had issues up front. This is largely bc it is a finesse offense. We look like a Big 12 team trying to move the ball in a big game. In the SEC, it leads to what happened Sat night. With our dawgs, it happens in bowl games and season openers against teams much smaller and less athletic. This is a second DC who seems to put 11 guys on the field who seem to be lost – or just thinking too much. The Dawgs can throw out 11 guys who are superior athletes and instead of keeping it simple and attacking, they hesitate, move slow, miss tackles, and blow assignments. This is not a strength and conditioning issue. It is not that CMR is calm and maybe collected on the sideline. It is not that the DC is that clueless. It goes for the same on the Oside of the ball. We have seen it numerous times on STs. There is a weakness at the foundation of this program. Not all on CMR, before him there were different problems that resulted from trying to build on different spots but on the same crumbling foundation. Heck, if the Falcons’ organization was able to get to where it is now from what many of us can remember it once being, then I must hold onto the hope that someone can come in and clean this mess up.
Archie
October 11th, 2012
11:22 pm
Gee willikers, folks! Get a grip! There are six more games left or there were the last time I checked! “It ain’t over ’til it’s over!” -Yogi Berra
DAWGMAN
October 12th, 2012
2:22 am
Someone please offer CMR a job that is more suited to his coaching ability. Some place like Davidson, Wofford, or Presbyterian College.
I think CMR is listening to elevator music on his headset on the sidelines. His players just about trip over him as they come and go. He ignores them. He ignores everybody. That’s not serenity;that’s not SEC Football Coaching either. I don’t recognize whatever it might be. I am frustrated and disappointed with it.
Is this the Dream Team we heard about? Right now it feels like a nightmare with elevator music…
Let’s pension him off and find a good coach. Please, please, oh please. No mas!
Nash
October 15th, 2012
12:30 pm
I’m not saying the egging was justified, or that I support the vandalism, but I do think it is indicative. Not of the state of the world, but of the state of Bulldawg fans. The difference between the prior examples you gave and this instance is that those fans were doing it to OPPOSING teams! Their rivals! What I saw last week made me nauseous. The week before I busted my ass, and wallet, to get to the Tennessee game and I got to watch our offense make some great plays but what I saw was an overall lack of greatness, and an even greater lack of focus/discipline. It seems the culture of the Georgia Bulldawgs has become about what’s good enough. Well we didn’t get to the NC but hey the Sugar Bowl was good enough! Hey we didn’t win the SEC but at least we made it to the Capitol One Bowl Game! That’s good enough! Our players have gotten so full of it that it wears on you as a fan. You want to know why that house got egged? Because while the entire Bulldawg Nation watched their hopes of having a National Championship caliber team get crushed AGAIN, the players were tweeting pictures and jokes etc. You can say it matters more to the players, and maybe it does. But it doesn’t come across that way. To see our recruiting and talent and where we end up every year is pathetic and frustrating and in some way I’m glad the house got egged because MAYBE this will get the Dawgs to fight back for once! We’ve gotten soft, and this program has become more of a stepping stone for the players to get rich in the NFL than it is about the school or the team. Don’t patronize me with this “thought we were in this together” BS. Players get treated with special treatment and are showered with compliments and praise and we allow them to be arrogant and generally pretty rude. All the fans want is something to take pride in, and that performance was disgusting. I miss the old Georgia. The Georgia that when ESPN was talking about upsets, it was talking about UGA beating a ranked team. I miss having pride in a program that respected itself and left it on the field, not this, not what we have now.