Listen you Punk
And you are a punk. I did not write that because we lost to Georgia. That same post has been written many times before, this was the first time after a UGA game (some times it was written back when we were beating UGA too).
For the rest of you, here's the post. Disagree as you see fit, but the argument is valid and not based on any emotion from a loss to UGA: (and by the way Vandy doesn't play UT the last game of the season)
I stated it and I'm standing by it:
We should drop UGA on an annual basis and/or move them to the first game of the year. Here's why again:
1) With everything going on at Tech (academics and progress toward degree), it is going to be very very difficult to compete annually at a highest level and have huge seasons. Everyone wants us to play the toughest schedule in the country (and we've got it coming for about the next ten years). The only feasible way to do both is to diminish the UGA game.
2) Everyone also seems to want us to play our old southern rivals on some revolving basis. I do too. Growing up, Auburn was just as big a game as UGA. But the fans and the enjoyment factor always made it a more fun game. If we played Tenn, Ala, UGA, and Auburn once every four years then that'd be just as much fun as only UGA annually. Then we can also schedule USC, ND, Louisville if we want to. But the way it is now, we can't. And if we played them all every four years the fan bases that attended would not be so "stupid". The excitement, big crowd would all be there without the over the top nonsense.
3) It is totally crazy for us to be playing a top ten schedule every season and to be more reasonable, something has to give somewhere. Well it isn't going to give in the ACC. See how we'll cruise through the bowls again this year, except if FSU screws us all and gets a "real" bowl. Like it or not, the ACC is the toughest conference in the country now and that's our first priority. If we allow ourselves to drop in status (something is going to give somewhere in the ACC and two more teams are likely to drop into the cellars, see the SEC, Big 12), then we won't recover. I don't want to become Duke or Stanford or Vanderbilt or Tulane.
4) And remember these top schedules don't allow us to get in any playing time for "next year's teams". We always are in a tight game. Please look around you. PLease look at the polls. Please look at the top teams. Virtually none of them play a schedule as tough as ours (annually) and all of them blow out teams often enough to get their younguns some playing time. They know that the secret is to get to the top (9 win records) and stay there, NOT play the toughest schedule. That's how you build a fan base and get those pollsters to respect you and NOT if you are actually any good or not.
Playing time is crucial for a team like ours. We do not recruit the stud players across the board that are ready to play as freshman. They need the development time and they are not getting it. This issue is hurting us.
5) If we dropped UGA annually, then we'd actually have a chance to compete in the state for fans, players, positive media attention, etc. I have been around the country a lot and our situation is unbelievable in the state. No other state has such unbalanced reporting, unbalanced support for one university over another. The incentive for downplaying Tech would just not be there anymore. (Of course, I believe we should go private and solve this problem on our own)
6) Or if we moved the UGA game to the beginning of the year, then it would become more important again nationally and we'd win more often anyway. There are plenty of rivalry games that are at the beginning instead of the end. Personally, I'd like to see us play Miami as the last game of the year. The local support would be greater, the game far more important (UNC play Duke, VPI play UVA the same weekend). Playing Miami last would give us MORE national coverage than UGA. And we'd get to play them in cold weather here OR go to their beaches when it'd be more fun. Holiday weekends in Miami would be okay with me.
Playing UGA first would make it a bigger game nationally too. There are just not enough big games at the beginning of the season. Hence why ND-Michigan and FSU-Miami are so big. Like it or not, but nationally our game doesn't rank anymore (this is where the local UGA politicians, etc. are blowing it IMO).
I also admit that we'd win more often BUT more importantly, the game wouldn't diminish either of our season's so much. Accordingly, it'd become Clean again.
The UGA faithful put on a good show that the game didn't mean anything to them anymore. Of course, they were playing for nothing and really had nothing to lose. Their season comes and goes on next Saturday and that's understandable. When both teams are good and I do believe that both teams are Top 15 quality, neither team should have that hanging over them. Putting the game early would make it even bigger.
Having said that, I laughed out loud when UGA walked on to the field. Their team sure didn't act like the game didn't matter.
I also laughed inside with the comments I heard by the drunk red and black around me in the stands (just about everyone was too drunk). It is of course a complete joke that the game didn't matter to them. They were scared to death by this game and it showed in their comments. But we need to get the state behind us more and by playing early we'd do a better job of it.
Okay flame away.
