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ThomastonJacket

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Hey guys, I don't post often, but this coaching change obviously has alot of people coming out of the wood work and throwing in their 2 cents. Right now while we have this many fans interested again, Drad must hire some one that will keep the excitement for GT football at the level it is right now. Whether the people that post on the message boards want to believe it or not, most of the time there is a silent majority that feels differently than the GT alums that post regularly. I myself am a regular guy from a small town in central GA and I didn't go to Tech(grad Columbus State). I am the kind of guy that GT needs to reach out to, the kind of guy that will tell UGA fans where they can go, the kind of guy that will put the GT flag on his house, the kind of guy that drinks his beer from a GT coozie and wants nothing more than to feel like his choice of college football team is recognized by the entire southeast as a team that will be tough year in an year out, and for it to be "cool" for lack of a better term to be a Tech fan again!

I don't wish to step on any toes but hiring a guy like Neuheisel will do nothing to reach out to people like myself.

Hatcher and Muschamp are the definition of southern football, and they are the 2 coaches on our short list that will have the best chance of firing up the fan base again, winning, and bringing new fans to GT.

Each of these things should be guiding Drad's decision, he's not going to find his great fan base in downtown Atl, or by catering to the Gt alums. His great fan base is already here in small towns across GA and with a young, fiery, southern head football coach our job of spreading the "Good Word" will be made much easier and he will find alot more of us in Atl on Saturdays in the Fall.
 
ThomastonJacket said:
Hey guys, I don't post often, but this coaching change obviously has alot of people coming out of the wood work and throwing in their 2 cents. Right now while we have this many fans interested again, Drad must hire some one that will keep the excitement for GT football at the level it is right now. Whether the people that post on the message boards want to believe it or not, most of the time there is a silent majority that feels differently than the GT alums that post regularly. I myself am a regular guy from a small town in central GA and I didn't go to Tech(grad Columbus State). I am the kind of guy that GT needs to reach out to, the kind of guy that will tell UGA fans where they can go, the kind of guy that will put the GT flag on his house, the kind of guy that drinks his beer from a GT coozie and wants nothing more than to feel like his choice of college football team is recognized by the entire southeast as a team that will be tough year in an year out, and for it to be "cool" for lack of a better term to be a Tech fan again!

I don't wish to step on any toes but hiring a guy like Neuheisel will do nothing to reach out to people like myself.

Hatcher and Muschamp are the definition of southern football, and they are the 2 coaches on our short list that will have the best chance of firing up the fan base again, winning, and bringing new fans to GT.

Each of these things should be guiding Drad's decision, he's not going to find his great fan base in downtown Atl, or by catering to the Gt alums. His great fan base is already here in small towns across GA and with a young, fiery, southern head football coach our job of spreading the "Good Word" will be made much easier and he will find alot more of us in Atl on Saturdays in the Fall.
Click to expand...

From your keyboard to DRad's ears...
 
Thomaston,

Just curious -- do you not like Neuheisel because he's not a Southerner, and because he's perceived as a slick Yankee big city type?
 
If GT doesn't beat Georgia though, no one is going to care where the coach is from.
 
I'm educated enough to not judge some one based on where they are from. But let's face it, it easier to sell a southerner to southerners whether its right or wrong is another topic. Does that answer?
 
Well, put yourself in the shoes of a top notch recruit from S. Georgia...who are you and your family more likely to snuggle up to...a southern guy that seems to share your values too or a pacific nw guy known as "slick rick"?
 
MaconGTfan said:
Well, put yourself in the shoes of a top notch recruit from S. Georgia...who are you and your family more likely to snuggle up to...a southern guy that seems to share your values too or a pacific nw guy known as "slick rick"?
Click to expand...

Good point. They will snuggle up to Paul Johnson from South Georgia.
 
A lot of Georgia Southern fans are also big Paul Johnson fans. Hiring him could very well tap into those people. I'm not against Johnson at all.
 
Okay you got me on that one TJ. I still don't think Hatcher has enough D1 experience. But who knows? I just hope Drad does not get a DC or a coach from the pros. We need offensive enthusiasm.
 
ThomastonJacket said:
Hey guys, I don't post often, but this coaching change obviously has alot of people coming out of the wood work and throwing in their 2 cents. Right now while we have this many fans interested again, Drad must hire some one that will keep the excitement for GT football at the level it is right now. Whether the people that post on the message boards want to believe it or not, most of the time there is a silent majority that feels differently than the GT alums that post regularly. I myself am a regular guy from a small town in central GA and I didn't go to Tech(grad Columbus State). I am the kind of guy that GT needs to reach out to, the kind of guy that will tell UGA fans where they can go, the kind of guy that will put the GT flag on his house, the kind of guy that drinks his beer from a GT coozie and wants nothing more than to feel like his choice of college football team is recognized by the entire southeast as a team that will be tough year in an year out, and for it to be "cool" for lack of a better term to be a Tech fan again!

I don't wish to step on any toes but hiring a guy like Neuheisel will do nothing to reach out to people like myself.

Hatcher and Muschamp are the definition of southern football, and they are the 2 coaches on our short list that will have the best chance of firing up the fan base again, winning, and bringing new fans to GT.

Each of these things should be guiding Drad's decision, he's not going to find his great fan base in downtown Atl, or by catering to the Gt alums. His great fan base is already here in small towns across GA and with a young, fiery, southern head football coach our job of spreading the "Good Word" will be made much easier and he will find alot more of us in Atl on Saturdays in the Fall.
Click to expand...

Dang. I couldn't have said it better!. Thanks, Thomaston.

We often forget how much mileage UGAg gets from the small town, non-alum fans. I'd love to have a bunch of these guys rooting for Tech. If I hadn't attended GT, I myself would be a small town non-alum Tech fan.
 
I think the southern thing is overblown. O'Leary was OK. Where was Ross from?

Granted, it is preferred. So if we choose Rick I assume he was that much better to Rad.

Let me make one more point. We need more non-alumni fans. I would love 'southern' ones. However Atlanta is largely yankee transplants. Those are the fans truly winnable as future ticketholders IMHO.

Winning will win more fans than anything. But a big name hire like Rick will get more attention in Atlanta than a purported genius nobody has ever heard of. FWIW.
 
Let me start by saying I am about as southern as they come, and have a great fondness for southern tradition as it relates to football--a student of the folklore so to speak. That having been said, Georgia Tech sits in the middle of what has been described as the fastest growing human settlement in the history of the world. It is --and for the foreseeable future, continue to be integrally associated with urban environment. "Cosmopolitan" and football don't necessarily go together, but that's the hard facts of where we find ourselves. Not to me--but to a growing majority of sports fans--Georgia Tech football is purely entertainment. We are in competition with pro sports, titty bars, Shrek, the symphony, and even Tech basketball. To survive in that arena, Radakovich has rightly determined we must win more games, be a topic of conversation at the water cooler based on performance and not based on disappointment. Grant Field needs to be viewed as the destination point where Georgia Tech displays its excellence and where good times are had by all.
Frank Howard, the old Clempsen coach--a sort of Jerry Clower persona for those too young or too transplanted to know--was definitely "Southern" to the bone. I would not want him ever to coach the Jackets. That guy you describe with the GT can coozie could be me on occasion. But guess what? That guy doesn't buy season tickets, doesn't write a check to the Tech fund, and doesn't fly to the bowl games. Radakovich knows his fan base. I am not saying Neuheisel should be the choice--quite frankly, I shouldn't be choosing---but if Neuheisel is the choice I think he will do fine--if he wins. I sense that whoever is chosen, there will be very little patience-from DRAD or from us, the unwashed masses. I don't relish going thru this process again four years from now, but I bet we do if there isn't really impressive results right from the get-go.
 
Statistics would prove otherwise. Had you not gone to Tech, you would likely be a fan of whichever team was winning really big when you were in your early teen years. You strike me as natural FSU booster!!
BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
 
Yukon, you make good points, i would have to disagree that fans like I described would not buy season tickets though, and if nothing else it would keep the red out! Also strength in numbers can accomplish many things like, better radio coverage, better press coverage, and these are things that could continue to build the fan base.

You were correct on you statistics about becoming a fan of a winning school, I just happened to hit that age around 1990!! Winning will solve all the problems, I'm just attempting to touch on some other things that will help.
 
hmmmm.......my girlfriend went to Columbus State......your name isn't Shelley by any chance is it?
 
ThomastonJacket said:
A lot of Georgia Southern fans are also big Paul Johnson fans. Hiring him could very well tap into those people. I'm not against Johnson at all.
Click to expand...

True, they are, but being a Southern man myself and knowing both Johnson and Hatcher I would take Hatcher in a heartbeat over Johnson. Nothing personal against Coach Johnson I just think Hatcher would be better suited for our situation.(young, energetic, etc.)
 
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