From a fan of 55 years and what i see

[Sideways]

Way back I promised myself not to dip into the coach vs. coach tirades as it was always ultimately self-defeating. I have on occasion identified myself as a Johnson fan, and as an option football fan. I have also thought, and wrote, that sometimes it would help matters if he would on occasion talk about the accomplishments and the achievements at a practice or scrimmage, or for the game itself. But I get his attitude, as mine can me much the same: we are working at getting better, and this is what we're doing wrong, so get your mom to praise you. And I don't think anybody on the board is deluding themselves into thinking that what happened in 2015 is acceptable, and it can't be repeated. In short I think 2016 might be a make or break year for Johnson. I have no problem with that. He is a big boy and can take care of himself. Doesn't need me or others propping him up. I could be wrong in everything I say -- I do have experience in that regard -- but his offense is our best shot at winning. And he is the best coach in the country with an option offense and one of the top handful of game day offensive coaches. You might phrase it as "the best that Tech can do" and I would say he is the best at what he does. A more than slight difference for sure.

Now perhaps you have heard him degrade a player, or read of it. I have not. I read everything on GT I can find and not a peep of that. His faint praise can hardly be called degrading. Believe me, I have heard degrading, I have seen degrading, I have been degraded -- the first week of boot camp destroys any illusions of self-worth -- and he is not degrading. A guy may not want to read that he "just did okay", but degraded? Now that is harsh and most of us could not pass through a day without failing that bar. I can't speak to the media except what I read in Atlanta and Macon and on this board, and for sure there are a couple of radio guys he doesn't like, but I'm a nice guy and I don't like radio guys either.

I'm not even going there in recruiting because it is hopeless. Let's just say if you want somebody to recruit like Mississippi or Alabama, break out your checkbooks and ask them how they hide it so well. Find yourself 85 four and five-star football players who want to be engineers. Change that curriculum overnight and get parks and recreation up front. That's a big favorite at Clemson, which hasn't produced a football-playing engineer in memory. Ditto Stanford. (Though Stanford would cringe at using "ditto".) As far as I know both those programs are honest and ethical ... but there they get them by the curriculum.



And this epic is why I try to stay away from useless coaching threads. I just want to be 1-0 after Sept. 3, and the next week will be there soon enough.

Funny, I have always thought of Clemson as being a wannabe when it comes to factories despite having a seemingly endless reservoir of talent but I never thought of them as being unethical, immoral, or utterly without restraints of any kind like I do UGA, Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio State, etc. I might be wrong in that assumption.

 

[Sideways]

So, they discontinued the requirement for a few years in the late 1990s. And we proceeded to beat them three years in a row, so they had to reinstate for the same reason as in the 1950s. By the way, "Survey of Calculus" is still calculus. That didn't happen to be your substitute; did it?

Back in the day at LaGrange College I had to pass a class called "Survey of Mathematics" That counts for calculus amiright? (full disclosure I was a history major)

 

[augustabuzz]

Back in the day at LaGrange College I had to pass a class called "Survey of Mathematics" That counts for calculus amiright? (full disclosure I was a history major)

Did the syllabus include "The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus"? If so, then yes it would count.

 

[99jacket]

So, they discontinued the requirement for a few years in the late 1990s. And we proceeded to beat them three years in a row, so they had to reinstate for the same reason as in the 1950s. By the way, "Survey of Calculus" is still calculus. That didn't happen to be your substitute; did it?

No it was called Math for Management. It started with like College Level Algebra type stuff and eventually went too Precalculus/ Early Calculus stuff by the third quarter iirc. Back then Management was actually part of the Ivan Allen College and so I'm not sure if that played a role in the differing requirements.
I have an Uncle who played football for Tech before I attended and he used to give me grief about how easy I had it compared to him. He had attended back when it was Industrial Management and not Business Management which it had changed to when I was there.

 

[augustabuzz]

No it was called Math for Management. It started with like College Level Algebra type stuff and eventually went too Precalculus/ Early Calculus stuff by the third quarter iirc. Back then Management was actually part of the Ivan Allen College and so I'm not sure if that played a role in the differing requirements.
I have an Uncle who played football for Tech before I attended and he used to give me grief about how easy I had it compared to him. He had attended back when it was Industrial Management and not Business Management which it had changed to when I was there.

Thanks for the info. I do find it interesting that USG installed the calculus requirement twice at Tech after winning streaks against their beloved dogs.

 

[99jacket]

Thanks for the info. I do find it interesting that USG installed the calculus requirement twice at Tech after winning streaks against their beloved dogs.

I agree. We have got to have the only Business School in the state that requires Calculus. Kind of seems like making Art History a prerequisite for Med school to me.

 

[Sideways]

Did the syllabus include "The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus"? If so, then yes it would count.

Nope! Which makes me all the more appreciative of what our players do off the field as well as on it.

 

[GTpdm]

^ x 1000, ask the players and parents how they feel about CPJ. If anyone has paid attention to the "reporters" in Atl they'd understand just how asinine 95% of them are. I've never seen a major market with less journalistic talent than Atlanta.

That's because most (u)GA journalism graduates can't get hired outside the (u)GA homer market.

 

[MidtownJacket]

When I was at GT '03-'07 I was in the IAC with a degree in Public Policy and had the calc requirement. Frankly it was part of what sold me on getting a liberal arts degree from GT.. They bill it (at least to prospective "student only applicants") as a positive and provide a Bachelor of Science (not Arts) based on the math/science/programming/engineering required "electives".

My humble opinion is that GT focused first on the value of the degree and preparing its enrolled body for life after Tech. They give us the shaft early, so we avoid it later in life. I personally believe in the process, married a GT MechE and we plan on doing everything we can to sway our future kids to attend GT as well. Frankly, at 30 years old we live a comfortable life with great jobs and a lot of opportunity and I firmly believe GT helped develop our potential into real success. The Institute will continue to get my time, effort, and treasure for as long as they continue that mission first.

I want GT sports (like anyone else here) to be as successful as they can be inside of that paradigm, but the tail doesn't get to wag the dog - and for me that means school first. Having said that - I am a fan of CPJ and have said multiple times across older threads I completely disagree with the notion that CPJ's style is too hard or places him in a position that weakens his ability to relate to the SAs. The players who have played for him say time and time again (in the media during interview, and after playing for him in various places including this board) they thought he cares about them as players and people.

His public position on how he handles commitments to players (Jaylend for example) or any number of times he has waited on kids (JHD) to screw their heads on right speaks to a deeper commitment to the kids and their development than a few puff comments would in the post game pressers. His job is to make the players better players, people, and students. Sometimes that means showing some spine and calling a missed block what it was. FWIW I think he also does a fair job dogging players for effort mistakes as opposed to physical limitations. If you flat out get beat by a bigger, stronger guy but did everything you could and were supposed to do, I can't recall him ever getting after a player for that - and if he has, I'd be surprised.

>> TL;DR I think GT is a school first, I went here because GT is a school first, and I root for the team and players in part because GT is a school first. IMHO the additional academic requirements we have benefit us all more in the long run then they hurt us.

 

[takethepoints]

Like I said in another thread, if you are outside academia and can do math, you have SUPERPOWERS! While it may cause some grief among the players while they are at the school, it pays off. I didn't go to Tech – I'm a synthetic alum – but I can do data analysis. Result = when I start talking about data, people look at me as if I was Dr. Atomic. Which, btw, I most definitely am not. That Tech gives its students that advantage is a plus, so far as I can see.

 

[MWBATL]

Fans are more immediate. Look at the last 5 yrs and compare. From a more recent perspective, we're behind those guys I think.

HS kids are a LOT more immediate. They MIGHT consider 5 years worth of history. In the last 5 years they are 54-14, with 3 Rose Bowls, 1 Fiesta Bowl....

 

[JacketFromUGA]

Like I said in another thread, if you are outside academia and can do math, you have SUPERPOWERS! While it may cause some grief among the players while they are at the school, it pays off. I didn't go to Tech – I'm a synthetic alum – but I can do data analysis. Result = when I start talking about data, people look at me as if I was Dr. Atomic. Which, btw, I most definitely am not. That Tech gives its students that advantage is a plus, so far as I can see.

I stole that quote and told it to a bunch of our Math/Sci teachers. They all love it.

 

[Skeptic]

When I was at GT '03-'07 I was in the IAC with a degree in Public Policy and had the calc requirement. Frankly it was part of what sold me on getting a liberal arts degree from GT.. They bill it (at least to prospective "student only applicants") as a positive and provide a Bachelor of Science (not Arts) based on the math/science/programming/engineering required "electives".

My humble opinion is that GT focused first on the value of the degree and preparing its enrolled body for life after Tech. They give us the shaft early, so we avoid it later in life. I personally believe in the process, married a GT MechE and we plan on doing everything we can to sway our future kids to attend GT as well. Frankly, at 30 years old we live a comfortable life with great jobs and a lot of opportunity and I firmly believe GT helped develop our potential into real success. The Institute will continue to get my time, effort, and treasure for as long as they continue that mission first.

I want GT sports (like anyone else here) to be as successful as they can be inside of that paradigm, but the tail doesn't get to wag the dog - and for me that means school first. Having said that - I am a fan of CPJ and have said multiple times across older threads I completely disagree with the notion that CPJ's style is too hard or places him in a position that weakens his ability to relate to the SAs. The players who have played for him say time and time again (in the media during interview, and after playing for him in various places including this board) they thought he cares about them as players and people.

His public position on how he handles commitments to players (Jaylend for example) or any number of times he has waited on kids (JHD) to screw their heads on right speaks to a deeper commitment to the kids and their development than a few puff comments would in the post game pressers. His job is to make the players better players, people, and students. Sometimes that means showing some spine and calling a missed block what it was. FWIW I think he also does a fair job dogging players for effort mistakes as opposed to physical limitations. If you flat out get beat by a bigger, stronger guy but did everything you could and were supposed to do, I can't recall him ever getting after a player for that - and if he has, I'd be surprised.

>> TL;DR I think GT is a school first, I went here because GT is a school first, and I root for the team and players in part because GT is a school first. IMHO the additional academic requirements we have benefit us all more in the long run then they hurt us.

I like this so much it deserves more than a Like. I even like the getting the shaft early observation. Well done.

 

[MidtownJacket]

I like this so much it deserves more than a Like. I even like the getting the shaft early observation. Well done.

Thanks - I thought the reference worked well too (patting myself on the back) haha

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Tech fans, OTOH, are fairly well satisfied with five losses and a trip to the Toilet Bowl.

I don't understand comments like this. Every Tech fan I know of wants Tech to go undefeated each year before the seasons starts and secretly yearns for getting into another national championship. At the same time, the history of Tech football over the last 50 years has taught most Tech fans that it does little good to jump out of a 3rd story window every time your team losses. Being patient with incremental progress against a backdrop of hurdles that are anomalous to the rest of the football landscape seems psychologically balanced, not to mention a reasonable calculation of the facts as they are known.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

When I was at GT '03-'07 I was in the IAC with a degree in Public Policy and had the calc requirement. Frankly it was part of what sold me on getting a liberal arts degree from GT.. They bill it (at least to prospective "student only applicants") as a positive and provide a Bachelor of Science (not Arts) based on the math/science/programming/engineering required "electives".

My humble opinion is that GT focused first on the value of the degree and preparing its enrolled body for life after Tech. They give us the shaft early, so we avoid it later in life. I personally believe in the process, married a GT MechE and we plan on doing everything we can to sway our future kids to attend GT as well. Frankly, at 30 years old we live a comfortable life with great jobs and a lot of opportunity and I firmly believe GT helped develop our potential into real success. The Institute will continue to get my time, effort, and treasure for as long as they continue that mission first.

I want GT sports (like anyone else here) to be as successful as they can be inside of that paradigm, but the tail doesn't get to wag the dog - and for me that means school first. Having said that - I am a fan of CPJ and have said multiple times across older threads I completely disagree with the notion that CPJ's style is too hard or places him in a position that weakens his ability to relate to the SAs. The players who have played for him say time and time again (in the media during interview, and after playing for him in various places including this board) they thought he cares about them as players and people.

His public position on how he handles commitments to players (Jaylend for example) or any number of times he has waited on kids (JHD) to screw their heads on right speaks to a deeper commitment to the kids and their development than a few puff comments would in the post game pressers. His job is to make the players better players, people, and students. Sometimes that means showing some spine and calling a missed block what it was. FWIW I think he also does a fair job dogging players for effort mistakes as opposed to physical limitations. If you flat out get beat by a bigger, stronger guy but did everything you could and were supposed to do, I can't recall him ever getting after a player for that - and if he has, I'd be surprised.

>> TL;DR I think GT is a school first, I went here because GT is a school first, and I root for the team and players in part because GT is a school first. IMHO the additional academic requirements we have benefit us all more in the long run then they hurt us.

This. So much this.

 

[Skeptic]

I don't understand comments like this. Every Tech fan I know of wants Tech to go undefeated each year before the seasons starts and secretly yearns for getting into another national championship. At the same time, the history of Tech football over the last 50 years has taught most Tech fans that it does little good to jump out of a 3rd story window every time your team losses. Being patient with incremental progress against a backdrop of hurdles that are anomalous to the rest of the football landscape seems psychologically balanced, not to mention a reasonable calculation of the facts as they are known.

And I still don't know how such conclusions are reached. Not even a "I believe" or "I think" or "Seems to me that..." Just a flat out assertion of fact. Somebody tell me, quick -- and I am not a Tech guy and have no interest at all in math or numbers of any kind because they are evil , so I don't have a dog in the fight -- how people on the board who are sometimes kind of overweening, dare I say smug, with pride about GT and its admitted world class education would embrace mediocrity in any form with the school. That is so schizophrenic I can't get my arms around it. If so the cheerleaders are missing a great opportunity.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

And I still don't know how such conclusions are reached. Not even a "I believe" or "I think" or "Seems to me that..." Just a flat out assertion of fact. Somebody tell me, quick -- and I am not a Tech guy and have no interest at all in math or numbers of any kind because they are evil , so I don't have a dog in the fight -- how people on the board who are sometimes kind of overweening, dare I say smug, with pride about GT and its admitted world class education would embrace mediocrity in any form with the school. That is so schizophrenic I can't get my arms around it. If so the cheerleaders are missing a great opportunity.

I got used to "accepting" bad seasons back in the 80's, but I am certainly never satisfied with them. I go to every game expecting to win; when we don't, I may not be devastated, but I sure ain't happy.

 

[4shotB]

And I still don't know how such conclusions are reached. Not even a "I believe" or "I think" or "Seems to me that..." Just a flat out assertion of fact. Somebody tell me, quick -- and I am not a Tech guy and have no interest at all in math or numbers of any kind because they are evil , so I don't have a dog in the fight -- how people on the board who are sometimes kind of overweening, dare I say smug, with pride about GT and its admitted world class education would embrace mediocrity in any form with the school. That is so schizophrenic I can't get my arms around it. If so the cheerleaders are missing a great opportunity.

Great point/question. I think most GT fans embrace the "zero sum" mentality wherein you have to decide between being great in athletics OR in academics. Very few of us dreamers/idealists/nutcases or whatever out here in cyberspace think that greatness in both are NOT mutually exclusive. (or is that term too "evil" as it is derived from the mathematics of probability?)

 

[Skeptic]

Great point/question. I think most GT fans embrace the "zero sum" mentality wherein you have to decide between being great in athletics OR in academics. Very few of us dreamers/idealists/nutcases or whatever out here in cyberspace think that greatness in both are NOT mutually exclusive. (or is that term too "evil" as it is derived from the mathematics of probability?)

What you said.