I know I’m old fashioned…

aeromech said:
I was at the game up until we got told to leave due to lightning in the area (actually told to seek cover in area that would likely hold about 1/10th of the people there). This game was first I have ever attended where to PA announcers were actively razing the refs, not just once; but repeatedly; that is how bad the officiating was. It was stuff like "This GT fan wins the Cunecuh Sausage giveway. This is one thing the refs can't take away from you." and "Come sign a card with Santa for our drive, Santa won't throw a flag at you". There were other comments over the PA that I'm sure the refs will make some sort of objection to; but it was that clear that the refs were blowing calls.

Personally I don't have any grudge against Vandy or their fans; but those calls ruined would could have been a good game. Those were some awful calls that really take away from the enjoyment of the game. My personal experience is that the B'nam Bowl game experience blew chunks. About a 2 hour drive in the rain, to a parking deck a mile from the stadium, to take a shuttle that drops you off about 1/4 of mile from the stadium, to miss kickoff with a few thousand other fans because of the line backed up to get into Protective Stadium which apparently only has 1 entrance, to watch that officiating S*** show only to be told to leave before the end, and then walk back to the car in the rain because the line for the shuttle is over 1000 yards long. I'll stay home if GT ever gets sent there again.
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You absolutely have to send this to J.
 
Refs broke the game with the no call on kick/catch. Then they broke it more. The team needs to be mentally stronger but they didn't recover with all the other crap happening, both no calls and bs calls.

With a stronger mentality, we win it. But with an even playing field we do too. I'd strongly prefer both next year. Key standing up for the team is something we've needed. More Bobby Cox, less clown shoes.
 
Tampa Jacket said:
I think it’s more of the “me” era of college football. Even the officials think the game is supposed to be about them. So they hijack games with bullshit calls to get attention.
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Well, they sure got plenty of attention tonight. The Tech fans' response reminded me of when I was a student in the 60s
 
Liberty said:
The problem with this game is the true outcome was denied & instead of exercising some restraint and calling the game evenly, the Refs exacerbated the situation by purposefully chucking flags punitively against us. Just very bad as a Ref to do that. We'll never know if we finally managed to find the endzone often enough to have pulled away or had to keep settling for FGs. We took a 13-14 game in which we had scored twice in a row & had stopped them twice, should have had great field position in order to score 3 or 7 & go ahead. Refs botched it, put us on our 2, leading to a punt instead with them having good field position. Then we stopped them a 3rd time. Nope, denied again by a phantom PI which was really OPI. Who knows the outcome if the Refs did not erroneously alter the chain of events. How many consecutive scores does our O get? How many consecutive stops does our D get? Do we get a lead and if so how big? 2 pts, 6-7 pts, 14 pts? Can they come back being down 2 scores? Call it whining if you will, but it was a rather strange sequence that even cursory video scrutiny will judge harshly. There's a reason it has gotten worse since 2019 & it's not coincidental.
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Don't forget the defensive holding on us when Vandy was blatantly holding us going after their QB on the same play.
 
aeromech said:
I was at the game up until we got told to leave due to lightning in the area (actually told to seek cover in area that would likely hold about 1/10th of the people there). This game was first I have ever attended where to PA announcers were actively razing the refs, not just once; but repeatedly; that is how bad the officiating was. It was stuff like "This GT fan wins the Cunecuh Sausage giveway. This is one thing the refs can't take away from you." and "Come sign a card with Santa for our drive, Santa won't throw a flag at you". There were other comments over the PA that I'm sure the refs will make some sort of objection to; but it was that clear that the refs were blowing calls.

Personally I don't have any grudge against Vandy or their fans; but those calls ruined would could have been a good game. Those were some awful calls that really take away from the enjoyment of the game. My personal experience is that the B'nam Bowl game experience blew chunks. About a 2 hour drive in the rain, to a parking deck a mile from the stadium, to take a shuttle that drops you off about 1/4 of mile from the stadium, to miss kickoff with a few thousand other fans because of the line backed up to get into Protective Stadium which apparently only has 1 entrance, to watch that officiating S*** show only to be told to leave before the end, and then walk back to the car in the rain because the line for the shuttle is over 1000 yards long. I'll stay home if GT ever gets sent there again.
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Everything you mentioned was spot on, but to add a few elements of the shitty experience:
- Bars and restaurants around the stadium could not handle the crowd pre-game. Got there at 11:30 local time (3 hours before kick), tried literally every restaurant and couldn’t get into a single one
- Concessions were running out of certain items by halftime
- Long lines everywhere you turned around/inside the stadium. Almost like the stadium that seats 40,000 does not have the operations to handle a crowd of 33,000.

All of that to then watch our team play a little rusty, fight their asses off to stay in the game, yet have the refs CLEARLY throw the game in Vandy’s favor. Bad all around.

Something has been corrupt with officiating in SEC vs. out of conference games this year, and it needs to be investigated for fraud. Doubtful that the big wigs at the Walt Disney Company would let that happen though.
 
aeromech said:
I was at the game up until we got told to leave due to lightning in the area (actually told to seek cover in area that would likely hold about 1/10th of the people there). This game was first I have ever attended where to PA announcers were actively razing the refs, not just once; but repeatedly; that is how bad the officiating was. It was stuff like "This GT fan wins the Cunecuh Sausage giveway. This is one thing the refs can't take away from you." and "Come sign a card with Santa for our drive, Santa won't throw a flag at you". There were other comments over the PA that I'm sure the refs will make some sort of objection to; but it was that clear that the refs were blowing calls.

Personally I don't have any grudge against Vandy or their fans; but those calls ruined would could have been a good game. Those were some awful calls that really take away from the enjoyment of the game. My personal experience is that the B'nam Bowl game experience blew chunks. About a 2 hour drive in the rain, to a parking deck a mile from the stadium, to take a shuttle that drops you off about 1/4 of mile from the stadium, to miss kickoff with a few thousand other fans because of the line backed up to get into Protective Stadium which apparently only has 1 entrance, to watch that officiating S*** show only to be told to leave before the end, and then walk back to the car in the rain because the line for the shuttle is over 1000 yards long. I'll stay home if GT ever gets sent there again.
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Like I said in the game thread - I’m rarely glad to have not gone to a game. This was one of those times. I couldn’t get anyone to go with me - everyone I asked had no interest in going to Birmingham. The refs, weather, and fan reports of the bowl experience made those folks right.
 
aeromech said:
I was at the game up until we got told to leave due to lightning in the area (actually told to seek cover in area that would likely hold about 1/10th of the people there). This game was first I have ever attended where to PA announcers were actively razing the refs, not just once; but repeatedly; that is how bad the officiating was. It was stuff like "This GT fan wins the Cunecuh Sausage giveway. This is one thing the refs can't take away from you." and "Come sign a card with Santa for our drive, Santa won't throw a flag at you". There were other comments over the PA that I'm sure the refs will make some sort of objection to; but it was that clear that the refs were blowing calls.

Personally I don't have any grudge against Vandy or their fans; but those calls ruined would could have been a good game. Those were some awful calls that really take away from the enjoyment of the game. My personal experience is that the B'nam Bowl game experience blew chunks. About a 2 hour drive in the rain, to a parking deck a mile from the stadium, to take a shuttle that drops you off about 1/4 of mile from the stadium, to miss kickoff with a few thousand other fans because of the line backed up to get into Protective Stadium which apparently only has 1 entrance, to watch that officiating S*** show only to be told to leave before the end, and then walk back to the car in the rain because the line for the shuttle is over 1000 yards long. I'll stay home if GT ever gets sent there again.
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My game experience was fine. We arrived at the orange lot at about 1:15 and had about a 10 minute walk to the stadium (maybe half a mile). Went in the Northwest gate (there were at least three stadium entrances) right by our seat and got some pregame concessions with minimal wait.

Our seats weren’t fantastic, but probably among the best for an away game that I’ve gotten from GTAA. The stadium was nice and new - only big downsides I saw were lack of shelter on the west side because of the club building, and not enough bathrooms too far away, again because of the club building.

We got a comfortable, sheltered spot sitting on a closed concession stand to wait out the rain, and the cell service was great, so it wasn’t a bad delay.

I did think the Tech crowd was going to riot. Some of the most unified, sustained booing and chanting against the refs I’ve ever seen, especially for a non-home game. At one point, the scoreboard showed a split-screen of the ref and the Grinch.

The music guy made good choices, unlike our home nonsense - the rain delay kicked off with “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Purple Rain.” The PA announcer seemed pretty good.

It’s a bummer that the restaurants and fan stuff weren’t set up for the crowd, but I thought the bowl itself was pretty OK. I wouldn’t mind going again on a sunny day.

JRjr
 
Kind of embarrassing when our fans at the game were booing the ref's call on an obvious facemask against us. Maybe they didn't show it on the jumbotron. Make sure it was actually a bad call before you boo.

The kick-catch interference was a bad call and deserved the boos
 
Buzzkill1974 said:
We were down 22 until garbage time. Every loser team blames the refs. 8/79 v 10/100. Yes, bad calls, but they were calling shit all game. We bitched about the officials after ND, VT, UGA and Vandy. Repratedly losing games isn’t because of the zebras.
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yep--they were 5-5 in red zone.Gotta get tough there.
 
justafan said:
Kind of embarrassing when our fans at the game were booing the ref's call on an obvious facemask against us. Maybe they didn't show it on the jumbotron. Make sure it was actually a bad call before you boo.

The kick-catch interference was a bad call and deserved the boos
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The jumbotron did not show a face mask against GT, it did show a face mask from the Vandy receiver.

If we did it then it should have been offsetting penalties. But that was not the ref's agenda
 
vapspwi said:
My game experience was fine. We arrived at the orange lot at about 1:15 and had about a 10 minute walk to the stadium (maybe half a mile). Went in the Northwest gate (there were at least three stadium entrances) right by our seat and got some pregame concessions with minimal wait.

Our seats weren’t fantastic, but probably among the best for an away game that I’ve gotten from GTAA. The stadium was nice and new - only big downsides I saw were lack of shelter on the west side because of the club building, and not enough bathrooms too far away, again because of the club building.

We got a comfortable, sheltered spot sitting on a closed concession stand to wait out the rain, and the cell service was great, so it wasn’t a bad delay.

I did think the Tech crowd was going to riot. Some of the most unified, sustained booing and chanting against the refs I’ve ever seen, especially for a non-home game. At one point, the scoreboard showed a split-screen of the ref and the Grinch.

The music guy made good choices, unlike our home nonsense - the rain delay kicked off with “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Purple Rain.” The PA announcer seemed pretty good.

It’s a bummer that the restaurants and fan stuff weren’t set up for the crowd, but I thought the bowl itself was pretty OK. I wouldn’t mind going again on a sunny day.

JRjr
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I am glad the experience went well for you; but I think there are maybe a few thousand of us that feel differently and that is something the ACC and college football needs to consider. College football is an entertainment venue, and yesterday my entertainment dollars were wasted on a college bowl game (heck my whole day was wasted). College football has to compete with other entertainment options and putting up crapfests like they did last night is not going to win them any fans. On the bright side, I got the best seats I think I've gotten through the GTAA, between the 25-30 yard line about 30 rows up. The downsides of the experience for many of us simply overwhelmed the positives. I would rather play TopGolf or go watch the Huntsville Symphony than go to the B'ham bowl again, and like Savbandjacket, I will have a tough time talking my family into going to another bowl game. I may be watching our next bowl game from a beach or a cruise ship.
 
aeromech said:
I am glad the experience went well for you; but I think there are maybe a few thousand of us that feel differently and that is something the ACC and college football needs to consider. College football is an entertainment venue, and yesterday my entertainment dollars were wasted on a college bowl game (heck my whole day was wasted). College football has to compete with other entertainment options and putting up crapfests like they did last night is not going to win them any fans. On the bright side, I got the best seats I think I've gotten through the GTAA, between the 25-30 yard line about 30 rows up. The downsides of the experience for many of us simply overwhelmed the positives. I would rather play TopGolf or go watch the Huntsville Symphony than go to the B'ham bowl again, and like Savbandjacket, I will have a tough time talking my family into going to another bowl game. I may be watching our next bowl game from a beach or a cruise ship.
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It’s not as though they didn’t send out multiple emails telling people to arrive early due to crowds, though. And there were plenty of walkable parking options available a couple of weeks before the game.

Certainly things could be improved by the bowl (and the rain didn’t make things any easier). But maybe plan ahead a little more, or just go to the symphony where there aren’t any lines.

JRjr
 
vapspwi said:
It’s not as though they didn’t send out multiple emails telling people to arrive early due to crowds, though. And there were plenty of walkable parking options available a couple of weeks before the game.

Certainly things could be improved by the bowl (and the rain didn’t make things any easier). But maybe plan ahead a little more, or just go to the symphony where there aren’t any lines.

JRjr
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There are lines at the Symphony bonehead, it usually sells out, they are just much better at handling the expected crowd. And I did plan ahead and prepaid parking which is why I was able to park a mile from the stadium. All the prepaid parking sold out too; so I have no idea what people did who didn't "plan ahead".

This wasn't my first bowl game, and it wasn't my second either. I've gone to GT bowl blowout losses like the Peach Bowl against LSU before too; but this was easily my worst overall bowl experience. At least the team showed up and played with effort.
 
ClydeBrick said:
The jumbotron did not show a face mask against GT, it did show a face mask from the Vandy receiver.
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OK, I didn't see an offensive facemask on the TV replay, but believe you that there was one, so maybe the call came down to what angle the ref was at. Our fans were right to boo if they saw that.

Looking back on the game, I don't think we can be too mad about getting a facemask call when our guy did grab the facemask. A ref only has one angle on a play and can't use slow-motion replays unless it's reviewable.

I like Dirty Jacket's idea that a team should get one challenge of ANY call or non-call in a game. (Except I would want two.) Because ANY penalty can be very consequential depending on the circumstance. Usually kick-catch interference is not a big deal, but for us it was being pinned at the 2 yard line in a close game versus being in good field position. A problem with the idea though is every team would burn their challenge on the last play of the game out of desperation.
 
justafan said:
OK, I didn't see an offensive facemask on the TV replay, but believe you that there was one, so maybe the call came down to what angle the ref was at. Our fans were right to boo if they saw that.

Looking back on the game, I don't think we can be too mad about getting a facemask call when our guy did grab the facemask. A ref only has one angle on a play and can't use slow-motion replays unless it's reviewable.

I like Dirty Jacket's idea that a team should get one challenge of ANY call or non-call in a game. (Except I would want two.) Because ANY penalty can be very consequential depending on the circumstance. Usually kick-catch interference is not a big deal, but for us it was being pinned at the 2 yard line in a close game versus being in good field position.
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The ref that threw the flag had the play coming right at him so he saw it very well. We grabbed theirs (presumably) and they grabbed ours (shown on the Jumbotron repeatedly). If the guy saw the first one, no way he didn’t see the second one.
 
justafan said:
Kind of embarrassing when our fans at the game were booing the ref's call on an obvious facemask against us. Maybe they didn't show it on the jumbotron. Make sure it was actually a bad call before you boo.

The kick-catch interference was a bad call and deserved the boos
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Compounded by a bogus PI on subsequent Vandy drive and a bogus additional unsportsmanlike on Key, essentially handing Vandy 30 yards on what should have been a stopped drive and punt.
 
justafan said:
OK, I didn't see an offensive facemask on the TV replay, but believe you that there was one, so maybe the call came down to what angle the ref was at. Our fans were right to boo if they saw that.

Looking back on the game, I don't think we can be too mad about getting a facemask call when our guy did grab the facemask. A ref only has one angle on a play and can't use slow-motion replays unless it's reviewable.

I like Dirty Jacket's idea that a team should get one challenge of ANY call or non-call in a game. (Except I would want two.) Because ANY penalty can be very consequential depending on the circumstance. Usually kick-catch interference is not a big deal, but for us it was being pinned at the 2 yard line in a close game versus being in good field position. A problem with the idea though is every team would burn their challenge on the last play of the game out of desperation.
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Most upsetting to me was how their interior OL was allowed to just wrap up Biggers play after play with no call. They could not block him. They could hold him though and the refs allowed it.
 
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