Things I've been wanting to get off my chest...

[BerryGT]

Things I\'ve been wanting to get off my chest...

So 2 weeks ago I'm sitting at a Jiffy Lube here in Vegas waiting on my truck and an NFL game is on in the lobby so a woman from Texas, a man Philadelphia, and me starting chatting about football and where we're from and the woman asks me, "So are you a Georgia fan?" and I immediately laugh a little and say, "No, I'm a Georgia Tech fan.", and both of them immediately perked up and smiled said something like, "That's great." and you could just tell that they respected GT and respected me for being a GT fan.

Now, I was a runner in high school and college. Nothing spectacular but I was on one of the better teams in GA late 90's in h.s. and went on to run at Berry College, one of the best small college programs in the country. Once in high school my coach got on to one of the guys for leaving his jersey laying on the ground after a race and told him to have pride in that jersey and the school represented by it. I never forgot that and always from then on tried to take a minute before every race, wether I was racing some class A high school or the best D-1 program in the nation, to slip on my jersey with a little pride almost like I was showing off where I go school. It wasn't like I was Rudy seeing my ND game jersey for the first time but just that when I put it on I wanted to do it well. I still do it everyday when I get ready for work when I put on my flight suit(it's even stronger when your "team" is your country).

Do you think the team as a whole feels pride when they put on the White and Gold before games? (Not just guys like PJ, Reis, & Gerris but up and down the roster) Do you think Chan and the coaches have that pride in the school and try to relay that to the team regularly, the way PH did with the BB program or like Weis did with ND this year? And lastly, do you think they REALLY understand how much we, the fans, care about the school, the program, and their reputations?

I would submit that teams who have pride in the greater whole, be it a team or a school, would not put forth the type efforts we saw yesterday or any of the other ridiculous losses or close wins the past few years and that the great wins over the same time frame seem more and more like occasions where alot of selfish people just happened to all try to make their personal statements on the same day.

Sorry for all the ramblin' on, but one final thought...
Ya know how fans of most teams, after a big win(say against a #3 on the road) or a pretty good effort in a tough loss(say against an in-state rival), get all excited, start feeling good about their team, and feel like they can build on it and improve, and they'll say stuff like, "______ better watch out for us next week" or "Just wait til next year".
I WONDER WHAT THAT'S LIKE???

 

[romegajacket]

Re: Things I\'ve been wanting to get off my chest...

Berry,
I don't know what kind of pride any college coach has in his school anymore. Not flaming any coach at all, but I wonder the same thing as you at times. I would really like for someone who is not biased on our coaches to give some input to this factor. I would imagine that Bill Curry and Pepper Rogers would/should have had the most pride since they are direct products of the school.
Re Jersey:
Funny thing came to mind when reading that. I only did the shotput and discuss in HS, I thought. One day at a meet on the road the coach approached me as asked if I thought I could run in the mile relay, since one of our runners was down. Since he presented the question as if I had an option, I replied that I wasn't a good runner. (true statement too). The next track meet we had on the road, I noticed my name wasn't even listed at all on the traveling squad. I thought I was the hottest thing in shotput and discuss anywhere around back then. I asked my coach why I wasn't travelling and he answered that if I couldn't help out where I was needed, he didn't need me at all.......... I stayed on campus while the T&F team hit the road, at which time I had plenty of time to pout about getting left behind and thinking about how much I hated the coach. Then I began to rethink my attitude toward my team and how I had let them down by not jumping at the opportunity to serve when I was asked. This turned out to be one of the best lessons I ever got from a coach, and also turned out to be a GREAT attitude adjustment.

 

[pocket_watch]

Re: Things I\'ve been wanting to get off my chest...

Berry,

No, I don't think that there exists the type of pride you are talking about, and it starts at the top.
To Dave Braine, I believe he sees Ga. Tech as his employer and he considers his job no different than other ADs, except that his is harder because of recruiting.

One of if not the biggest problems we have is that we don't have an inspirational or motivating leader as AD or Head football coach.
For comparison, if you have never heard Homer Rice speak, pick up and read one of his books on Leadership. Dr. Rice is one of those few men that inspires people to jump over buildings.

Ga. Tech is a place where things like Desire and Pride mean something. Without those two elements, Ga. Tech is just a difficult place. With desire and Pride instilled by a passionate leader, Tech football can be special.

We need someone like General George Patton, but with less of his foot in mouth disease. His enemies feared him. His own troops feared him but they also loved him (save the coward Patton slapped)
Without him, the invasion of Africa and Bastogne could have turned out much differently. No, I have never served. Just a military history buff. If this offends anyone, I apologize. (Please PM me if my asessment is off)

The time for change at the top is long past due. Putting the correct leader in place at AD will be the first step in restoring pride. Sorry for the rambling.