Very Late (But Fun) G-Day 2010 Photos

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. It's about time to break this long stretch of no posts on the blog, and what better way than by posting a few photos I took at G-Day? Better late than never, right?

(Note: Click images to see large, high quality versions)

Is this Coach Richt's Last Year in Athens?

Paul Finebaum wrote Tuesday on al.com that Mark Richt, along with LSU head coach Les Miles, could potentially not return to their jobs in 2011. His reason: both coaches, while very successful at their respective programs, can't compete with their top rivals and will eventually be ousted by rabid and angry fanbases.

He argues that Georgia under Mark Richt has only a 1-4 record against the Corch Meyers Gator, plus a bad season in 2008.

My first thought: aren't the fans the ones who actually choose which coaches are on the metaphorical "hot seat?" Why does it seem like there are plenty of sports writers across the nation who love to designate the jobs of coaches as "in danger," while the local media somehow haven't caught wind of it? Do the sports writers who cover primarily Georgia football think Mark Richt is in a lot of trouble? Doesn't seem that way. That's probably because the fans at Georgia aren't really making a lot of noise about it either.

So where did Finebaum go wrong here?

First, I think Georgia fans, despite hating Florida and hating losing to the Gator Superb, have a sort of empathy with the team and the head coach. It isn't like the curse of the Gator began when Mark Richt first stepped foot on the warm, polluted Jacksonville soil. The Dawgs have been pummeled by Florida since Vince Dooley left behind the almighty headset for Ray Goff (1-6 against UF) and Jim Donnan (1-4 against UF).

But that's not all. Sure, Florida rose from the depths in 1990 and have done well ever since, but Mark Richt has faced the Gators in three of their best seasons in history (2006, 2008, and 2009), losing all three contests. His team has played against two national championship Florida squads, and one that was very close to repeating (2009).

Yes, Georgia fans want Richt to beat Florida more than any team, and no one is going to be happy with more losses to the Gators, but I just don't see Georgia fans calling for the firing of their head coach based only on his record versus our top rival.

Second, last season was far from being the "complete disaster" that Finebaum thought it almost was. Georgia went 8-5, beating rivals Auburn and the then #7 Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Not a fantastic season by any means, but still a year that the vast majority of Big-Six FBS teams would love to have.

In fact, in the past decade since Mark Richt has been in Athens, 8-5 in 2009 was likely the worst.

Last year some of the national college football "elites" (along with others) had seasons just as bad or only very slightly better.

-Oklahoma was 8-5

-USC, LSU, and Miami finished 9-4

Is Bob Stoops now on the "hotseat?" Would Pete Carroll have been if he hadn't jumped ship and fled to the NFL?

Yes, Les Miles is under scrutiny, but that's more likely because he makes boneheaded decisions during important games.

So does one "down season" with an 8-5 record put a great coach's job in jeopardy? Georgia fans don't seem to think so.

The Florida game last year was perhaps the lowest I've ever seen Georgia football in the past few years. With three losses, the Dawgs were trying to hang on to a possible successful 10-win season by a thread, looking for a miracle and a turnaround. There was a strange excitement about the Cocktail Party, and Mark Richt appeared to have a confident plan. He told the media and fans that they better be watching, because that Halloween game in Jacksonville was going to be fun. Everyone went to the game or tuned in on their TVs with a hope for maybe the biggest upset of all time.

And then the team came out in black pants and helmets.

It wasn't so much the loss that bothered people, I think. It was the fact that when the Bulldog Nation needed confidence, needed to see the best effort in history from a downtrodden football team, needed to see a spark similar to 2007's end zone celebration from the coach and the players... we were greeted with a uniform change. How could Mark Richt have possibly thought that would be a good idea? Especially after the Alabama blackout the year before.

The fallout was terrible. On the Mark Richt radio show, callers sounded so upset and disappointed, and Mark Richt sounded the same. It really seemed at that moment like something was wrong.

But it didn't take long for the doom and gloom to pass, and you really didn't hear much shouting of "fire Mark Richt!" The cry became "get rid of Willie Martinez!" instead, and so it was done. Coach Richt did what he had to do, he atoned for past mistakes, beat rival Georgia Tech and won yet another bowl game to regain the trust of the Bulldog Nation. The only time you hear about Mark Richt being in trouble is when you read a non-local sports news writer's opinion, or see fans from other parts of the country or rival schools speculating on his imminent firing.

But the feeling in Athens and places where the Bulldog faithful gather? Support for the head coach that the vast majority of Georgia fans have come to love. Optimism for the future. Excitement for the 2010 season.

The New UGA Football Dictionary is Underway (My Definitions)

I saw via a link from David Hale that via the blog and idea of Senator Blutarsky, many people are compiling a huge list of terms for college football fans.

I'll take a moment to publicly submit some of my own entries to this project.

• Bay-Bay (v.) - 1. to drop a ball. 2. to make an uncharacteristic mistake at the most important moment leading to an embarrassing complete failure. "I studied all night, but somehow I still Bay-Bayed on that final."

• Adversity (n.) - something you constantly face or struggle against (usually a lot), but it is impossible to be specified. "We faced a lot of adversity this year, but we kept working hard."

• Gradulate (v.) - 1. to formally express your joy or acknowledgement of something in a federal building and/or public forum. 2. see congratulate. "I want to gradulate the Florida Gator."

• Bad Deal (n.) - a past occurrence that humiliated and angers you. It will forever be in the mind of you and your football team (or just you). You'll handle it, and it's going to be a big deal.

• (To) Get a Ring/s (v.) - a phrase used often sarcastically to mock an over-the-top excitement over an achievement. "Wow, you've been playing that video game for a month and you finally beat it? Are you going to get a ring or something?"

• Straight Outta Crompton (adj.) - describes any unexpected or uncharacteristically magnificent performance. "Woah! Vanderbilt just beat Florida? That's straight outta Crompton!"

• Quarterback (n.) - the position in football responsible for passing or handing off the football, and sometimes fair-catching punts. "This looks like a great punt to return! We should definitely put a quarterback in there to fair-catch it. That will really catch them off guard."

• Walsh (v.) - to have the ability to do something well (such as kickoff into the end zone) but choosing not to do it to your full potential (for any reasons, but possibly for being told not to). "I can beat-box really well, but we're in a library so I'm just Walshing it right now."

• Black helmet (n.) - a bad idea, something that sounds fun but will likely end in sorrow.

• Penn Wagers (n.) - a person who ruins the fun, often at inappropriate times. "That guy who told us to sit down while cheering at the Georgia game was a total Penn Wagers."

Logan Gray Videos to Ease Your Off-season Boredom

So Logan-gate 2010 appears to still be going on, as we have yet to hear officially whether Gray will return for the Bulldogs this season or transfer.

If you're bored with no Georgia football news to get you through the lull of the off-season, then here are some original videos of Logan Gray throughout the spring. As you know, I had the supreme honor of doing videos for David Hale of the esteemed Bulldogs Blog this spring, and these are some of the classics involving everyone's favorite QB/fair-catching specialist.

(NOTE: Some of the videos don't feature Gray until the end.)