A message from Joe Irwin

71YellowJacket

71YellowJacket

Damn Good Rat
Joined
Jul 10, 2002
Messages
1,262
Hello everyone!
I want to talk about a subject today that is very important to all of us. That subject is the reputation of our institution and, ultimately, ourselves.
Being a Ramblin' Wreck has always meant something very special to me. It is a badge of honor earned from hard work, perseverance, learning and failure. It is proof to myself that I could succeed as long as I focused and worked hard. It continues to be a source of confidence and rock-solid pride.
Many of you may not realize what happened at the Boston College game Saturday night. Unfortunately, poor judgment on the part of a number of our fans - some were students, some were alumni, some were simply fans - resulted in Georgia Tech being represented on national television by spectators screaming obscenities en masse at referees, insulting the opposing team and its - fans and hurling debris on the playing field. The game had to be interrupted five times to deal with this misbehavior. Ultimately, 28 people were ejected from the stadium.
The excuse for all of this was some unpopular calls by the referees. But there can be no excuse for the lack of basic sportsmanship, common courtesy and decency. You should also be aware that alcohol consumption played a significant role.
The administration, the Athletic Association and our student leaders are working together to keep this situation from occurring again. Your help is needed as well.
By far and away, we have very gracious Georgia Tech fans, and we need your help in creating a family-friendly experience in our stadium for everyone who comes to see the game - no matter what team's colors they are wearing. We want to be able to bring our families, including our children, without them having to endure inappropriate language and boorish behavior.
Friends, when people think of Georgia Tech we want them to be proud of the reputation of this wonderful, classy school with a great tradition of strong academics and athletics.
Every now and then we have to step up and be who we really are. Now is that time. Thanks for your help!
Sincerely yours, Joe Irwin, IM 80
president, Georgia Tech Alumni Association
 
This is getting ridiculious in my opinion. I have heard about the cup throwing everyday this week. The refs made several bad calls and the fans let them know about it...get over it. Also, the story seems to get bigger everytime I hear it. It went from a few people throwing cups to thousands of fans throwing foreign objects with the intent to hit Refs, players, coaches, and cheerleaders. Enough is enough. Now, I for one was a little embarrased by the cup throwing last weekend, primarily because of the recruits that were attending the game. However, I was also completely frustrated with the referees and the fact that several bad calls ended Tech drives and gave new life to BC drives. Did it change the outcome of the game, I don't know. However, I do know that not one item would have been thrown had it not been for the officiating.
 
MustangGT said:
This is getting ridiculious in my opinion. I have heard about the cup throwing everyday this week. The refs made several bad calls and the fans let them know about it...get over it. Also, the story seems to get bigger everytime I hear it. It went from a few people throwing cups to thousands of fans throwing foreign objects with the intent to hit Refs, players, coaches, and cheerleaders. Enough is enough. Now, I for one was a little embarrased by the cup throwing last weekend, primarily because of the recruits that were attending the game. However, I was also completely frustrated with the referees and the fact that several bad calls ended Tech drives and gave new life to BC drives. Did it change the outcome of the game, I don't know. However, I do know that not one item would have been thrown had it not been for the officiating.
Click to expand...

What happens when we have a high profile, close, home night game, and there is a bad call late in the game, and someone tosses something at the qb during the game(like happened last week), we get penalized 15 yards, and we lose? It's not about consistently bad officiating; it happened against ND after just one call last year, even though the call was right according to the rulebook.

When fans throw things at players, especially during the play, it is never a good thing, regardless of the reason(see: Ron Artest).
 
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MustangGT said:
This is getting ridiculious in my opinion. I have heard about the cup throwing everyday this week. The refs made several bad calls and the fans let them know about it...get over it. Also, the story seems to get bigger everytime I hear it. It went from a few people throwing cups to thousands of fans throwing foreign objects with the intent to hit Refs, players, coaches, and cheerleaders. Enough is enough. Now, I for one was a little embarrased by the cup throwing last weekend, primarily because of the recruits that were attending the game. However, I was also completely frustrated with the referees and the fact that several bad calls ended Tech drives and gave new life to BC drives. Did it change the outcome of the game, I don't know. However, I do know that not one item would have been thrown had it not been for the officiating.
Click to expand...

I'm with you 100% mustang. The whole thing is rediculous and should have never happened. Now if we were uga dogs or bama tides, even ut vols, it would be more understandable, but not at BDS. I for one would rather see GT fans show more restraint no matter how sorry the officiating.
Case in Point:
Years ago a Ponce De Leon Park the ump made a bad call at a Crackers game we were attending. Folks got very verbal at first, then the officials, like idiots, got verbal back at them. Then some fans starting throwing their beer bottles on the field at the game officials, which was followed by the game officials throwing the bottles back up into the stands and hitting fans as they were trying to leave to go home. Yes, I remember seeing one official with a bleeding head and a few of the fans get injured due to the officials retaliation.
Yes, the fans were a bit overly medicated w/booze so it could all be blamed on that. I say bull crap, it should have never happened to start with from either side.
My point is this, throwing anything at all out on the field is totally out of line for whatever reason, and should be stopped. If this conduct is not stopped soon, I'd not be surprised to see some schools discontinue allowing alcohol at tailgate parties. Wouldn't that be a thing to contend with. Probably some riots would get cranked up then.
 
I agree that the showing of classlessness was unfortunate. However, so was the fact that I wasted my time, money, and emotional energy going to see a game that had no integrity in its competition. This is a problem that needs to be addressed on the same level as the throwing of debris.

Now, I feel that those that felt compelled to throw anything or get violent or whatever may be lower on the self control scale, but every crowd has these people. When the competition is unfair towards the team that any crowd is supporting, these people show up no matter what.

I am one of the opinion that you can stand, yell, high-five, question the refs, anything - so long as you don't curse, make useless obscene gestures, or be in any way negative. If you are always supporting the team, be loud, stand up, etc., be positive.

This being said, it was an unfortunate circumstance having a huge game, at night when everyone was buzzed, having horrible refs, and a home team that came out flat, showed some life, but then succumbed under the pressure of a good opponent and poor refs. I have news for DRad, Clough, Mr. Irwn (whom I support in all of their causes and understand their need to have politically correct responses) - if the competition isn't kept on a fair playing ground and it is a night game, this will happen again.

Blah Blah Blah - let's get back on our feet against UVA!
 
I'm with mustangGT. I didn't like the trash being thrown on the field, but I do not recall looking at anything as being thrown directly at anyone, and I certainly don't remember it getting intolerably bad.

The whole thing has been overblown.
 
Better that our fans be known for getting rowdy than for not showing up to the games.
 
Rad is gone after this year back to the bayous

Curry comes in.

HEADS UP! Coach don't play.
 
OK, I think I understand now.

If someone makes an ass of themselves at a night game on national TV, they are not responsible for their behavior.

If anyone is to blame it's the ACC. If the ACC had provided us refs who never made a bad call against Tech, then no one would have gotten s*** faced and acted like an ass for the entertainment of the fans lucky enough to sit around them and those fans watching on TV.
 
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