Perspective

I’m a big believer in the “24 hour rule.” By that I mean that I think it usually takes a day to fairly evaluate any football game when you are emotionally involved. In general, I tend to be a rather objective football fan, both during the game and afterward- I take every win with a grain of salt and can even find redeeming value in most losses. I also realize that in the end it’s only a game, being played by 18-22 year old students who really aren’t that much different than me. When the Dawgs lose, a rare occasion in this era of Georgia football, many Dawg fans make far too big of a deal out of it, in my humble opinion. But today, when 24 hours had passed, as I drove through Wrightsville, GA (home of Herschel Walker) on my way back to Athens, this loss still hurt. Bad.

It’s hard to understate how big this win could have been for the program. Despite the fact that the Gators won a National Title two years ago, a win could have made Georgia the indisputable premier program of the SEC East, arguably college football’s toughest division. This year’s Cocktail Party would have been the first back-to-back wins over the UF since the 80s. More importantly though, it would have propelled us toward the SEC championship and left a National Championship as a possibility. What transpired, however, had quite the opposite effect. A close loss would have been discouraging and would have left many fans wondering what might have been in 2008. But a 49-10 loss solidified Georgia as the perpetual little brother to Florida. It made the 2007 game a blip on the 20 years of domination Florida has had over the Dawgs. And it further established Florida as the power to be dethroned if Georgia wants to continue winning SEC titles and make a run at a national title.

It was really a game of two halves. In the first half the story was one of barely missed opportunities. At worst the score should have been 14-9 at the half. But two field goals missed by a total of a few feet put the Dawgs in a 14-3 hole. If we get to keep Prince Miller’s interception and we can convert one more first down in the red zone we could have even entered the second half with a lead. Regardless, 11 points was not an insurmountable lead. On the Gators’ first possession of the third quarter the Dawgs got a stop and took over on offense from their own 1-yard line. The Dawgs marched down the field, looking more competitive than they had been all day. But then the game changed in one play. Stafford was picked off and the ball was returned almost all the way to the Georgia end zone. Once the score stood at 21-3 the Dawgs were just too far back against a team like Florida. The meltdown that ensued from there was truly heartbreaking. I know a lot of people responded in anger, but what we witnessed was a team watching all it’s lofty hopes and dreams slip away. It was so saddening that the players and coaches seemed almost numb to the horrific display taking place. Any Georgia fan had the right to be disappointed in the effort and execution on Saturday. But watching the body language on the Georgia sideline communicated that no one was more crushed than the boys in silver britches and their coaches.

One rather bitter fan behind me proclaimed the 2008 team “the most underachieving team in Georgia history” at one point in the third quarter. I’m sure his sentiments are shared by many. On the flip side though, I think many fans could use some perspective about how difficult it is to win championships. Many hopeful Dawg fans took the preseason predictions and decided before a down was ever played that anything short of a national title would be a disappointment this year. Do you, Dawg fans, realize just how hard it is to win SEC and national titles? The number of ingredients that must fall perfectly into place are astounding. This team was certainly loaded with talent, but by the time August 30 rolled around, if you looked at the injuries and schedule you had to realize it was a long shot of sorts. I’m not trying to make excuses, but keep in mind that our two losses are to the teams currently ranked #1 and #4 in the nation. After losing foundational players on offense and defense (Sturdivant and Owens) and having other key players miss lots of time (Sutherland and Ellerbe), the odds were continuing to be stacked against us. Historically, if you look at the teams that win championships, everything goes right for them: They get talented senior leadership, their key players stay healthy, their conference/schedule are weaker than normal and they just plain get lucky a time or two. That hasn’t been the case for the 2008 Dawgs.

The encouraging thing, which many Dawg fans refuse to believe right now, is that our best years under Richt may still be ahead. The recruiting has only gotten stronger and stronger since Richt arrived. If Stafford and Knowshon stay next year (which the loss to Florida may have helped) almost all of the key talent will be returning. The schedule eases up a bit and the team leaders would have another year of experience under their belt. But even if it isn’t next year the pieces are in place for fate to favor the Dawgs in the near future. Sometimes people forget that only one team out of about 120 can win the national title every year. It’s not something that just happens for you every once in a while.

Win or lose, perspective is important in the world of sports. You have to be honest and admit flaws that exist. But you also can’t get caught crying and lose future opportunities. That humiliating loss on Saturday was certainly detrimental, but it’s not the end of the the program. We might still have great things to come.