No Wonder We Were So Good !

[Mack]

Bobby won, but he did so without having his hands tied behind his back by the hill. When he saw that starting to happen, Bobby hung it up.

Also, Georgie didn't have really good coaching until Dooley, IMHO. One could also say that now, even with the plethora of advantages that Georgie has, the Dwags still manage to come up short a whole lot of the time.

Well Sally was not that bad and had a good record but at that time Georgie had no luck....now they HSVE all of it.Of course I Kwangju Wally rather than sally but kindle is acting up.

 

[Mack]

It was a different day. WE were wining but we were the only team in town and the state to a great degree. Our stadium was the largest in the southeast and everybody wanted to play here (except the Miss. schools) ( that is another story). Clemson and Auburn came every year without a return trip and it was not unusual for ugag to play double headers at Bobby Dodd. Also you could not find a ugag fan who admitted it.

During this time The NFL went to a different level in visibility, money etc. and high school players changed from wanting a good education to wanting the best school to get them to the next level. This enabled kids to be able to go to the highest bidder (so to say) and we are now no more the big boy in town as we once were. About this time the NFL as well as Major league base ball and basketball came to town. Another problem that came about is with our inability to compete with the factory schools caused us to become an also ran when it came to winning because we can't get the better players.

I have been a side walk fan for over 60 yrs. and that is trhe way I see things.

Hey my friend went to watch Georgie play Texas in double header..Ken Cooper for Georgie drop kicked extra point. Bet that has not been done in yrs.

 

[Rodney Kent]

Mack, didn't Pepper Rodgers also drop kick and extra point in a game?

 

[Essobee]

Well Sally was not that bad and had a good record but at that time Georgie had no luck....now they HSVE all of it.Of course I Kwangju Wally rather than sally but kindle is acting up.

I didn't forget about Wally, just didn't think he coached up to all the talent he had at Georgie. And don't forget the infamous Butts-Bryant phone conversation that was accidentally overheard by a third party. Wally wasn't too bright, IMHO. That would also explain why Georgie didn't have any "luck" when Wally coached. When the talent was barely close to even, Bobby would run circles around him on game day.

 

[LibertyTurns]

I haven't been a GT fan nearly as long as some of your oldtimers, but it seems to me that the key to GT beating the Mutts has been an idiot for a coach on the opposing sideline.

 

[Mack]

:well it sure helps having a dummie on the other side ! Well Wallie and Bear did make some money out of that call but yes he had talent but during fifties he was up and down.Bobby ran rings around lot of folks on Saturdays.

 

[Mack]

Mack, didn't Pepper Rodgers also drop kick and extra point in a game?

Not sure.....Ken COOPER blew our minds when he did it and yes it was fun at 11 to ride the Nancy Hanks from Wadley....take a cab to Varsity walk to the game and watch two college games...cab to train and get home around ten. !

 

[Old South Stands]

Another problem with recruiting at Tech is exposure. There is no doubt that the AJC favors UGA over Tech. Any praise from them about GT is generally a backhand stab. Players like to see their names in the papers and good things about Tech in the papers. Of course, it is hard to gather praise when you do not win; this is the first problem. The second problem of exposure could be overcome by Tech grads with money. Since most people go to the internet, we need a lot of sites that give GT sports news each day. Does Tech have a journalism degree or study? If so, the students could be used to write articles about Tech sports and then provide these articles to local papers. Supported Internet Sites could also be backed by the wealthy grads to provide sport's information and exposure with articles from Journalism students.

This might even give a head start to Tech for the future as the physical papers will soon be history; the internet and Television will be the venue for all news.

Back during the Dodd days, the AJC gave excellent write-ups for Tech, because we won big and it was to their advantage. Since Tech no longer wins consistently, they look to UGA to sell papers from the sport's section.

I've been a Tech fan since about '76... By then UGA was already beginning its current domination of the series, but as a young fan, I really couldn't tell. Memories of Dodd were still fresh, and there were probably as many Tech fans out there as Georgia fans, especially among the older generation. News reports seemed fairly balanced, and you still got the feeling (up until about 1980) that Tech had at least a 50-50 chance of beating them on any given day. The talent level was pretty even, too. Things really got skewed Georgia's way after Herschel and the 1980 Championship and never really went back after that. 1981 and '82 UGA was again in the middle of the title hunt. At that time Tech was in the middle of a six-game losing streak to Georgia that began in '78. Tech athletics had built itself a laughing-stock reputation while UGA became the program most native-born Georgians preferred to hang their hat on. Every kid wanted to be a dawg. Kids who wore Tech gear (like me) were laughed to shame.

My first week of freshman year in '87, a hall mate from Connecticut pointed out a giant billboard right off the Tech campus stating: "Channel 2 is your Georgia Bulldogs Station". Why did the city of Atlanta root for the Dawgs and not for Tech? Herschel casts a long shadow over the UGA program to this day; there's still a big perception of UGA as winners going back to that time. Many prominent Georgians/Atlantans in news, media, govt and the board of regents were products of UGA, so there's a little bias built in. The fact that Tech lost a lot of games didn't help, either.

The Hill is absolutely essential to the success of the athletic program at Tech. Without the Hill's 100% commitment, no coach can do very much. At the time I arrived at Tech, the school had a brand-new president, Patrick Crecine. He was hired to bring big changes to Tech. When he came, the campus didn't look much different to the way it looked when my dad was there in the late '50s. Crecine laid the groundwork for a lot of the stuff that you see on campus today, the foundation President Clough would later build upon during his remarkable tenure at Tech. Many great changes were instituted under Crecine, who wanted to make Tech a top-tier institute of research and learning internationally. But he also had a great passion for sports. In his personal dorm-to-dorm basement speaking tour, it was obvious he loved sports and appreciated Tech's athletic traditions. Within a few short years, the football team would win a national title and the basketball team would go to the Final Four. Tech's campus would also become a future olympic village. Crecine was eventually fired in '94. The bottom line: if you want Tech to have a very successful athletic program, you've got to have excitement coming from the very top.

 

[Mack]

My daughter is 35 years old.When she was five we bought her a nice navy blue tech warm up suit for kindergarden..She came home that day and said all the girls had georgie warm ups............she never wore the tech gear again and is a die hard puppy lover.........good thing though my wife is passionate tech girl and we are about all that is left......that is how strong peer pressure is on kids to be a puppy fan.......Not good but it is what it is !

 

[Rodney Kent]

Peer pressure is very strong, especially among the young. Most all youth want to be liked and to fit in. Since UGA is winning more than Tech, they want to be on the winners side, even though it does not make them any better of a person.

It is really both ridiculous and hilarious that many Tech students and fans think they are better than UGA students and fans. The same applies to the UGA students and fans. Actually, the school you attend or root for as a fan has nothing to do with a person's esteem or ranking in life. All of this is determined by a person's values and reliability. It gets even more hilarious because there are fans of Tech and UGA in the same families. I guess they are supposed to better or lesser because their team wins or loses. However, it is true that most non-students choose to be a fan of the school which wins the most games because they think they are also winners. Personally, I could have just as easily become a fan of UGA if I had started following football when Vince Dooley started coaching at Georgia, and if I had not already become a fan because of following Bobby Dodd's teams first.

I was more a fan of the coaching of Bobby Dodd than I was of Tech in particular. The excellent coaching of Dodd hooked me into the fan club of Tech football. Then I started following basketball at Tech when Nick Hyder was coach. He was not a great coach, but he did do well and had some great players, so I became hooked as a basketball fan. Again, had I not first become a fan of Tech, I could have easily become a fan following the coaching of Dooley. In today's time, I would have chosen to be a fan of UGA because of Reverend Richt. I actually like him better than I like Paul Johnson. However, since I have already become a fan of Tech in the mid-forties, it is hard for a leopard to change its spots, although I think about it often. One thing is for sure, I will not spend good money to watch poor performances. I think attendance will begin to taper off drastically if the ship is not righted in the near future.

 

[daBuzz]

Peer pressure is very strong, especially among the young. Most all youth want to be liked and to fit in. Since UGA is winning more than Tech, they want to be on the winners side, even though it does not make them any better of a person.

It is really both ridiculous and hilarious that many Tech students and fans think they are better than UGA students and fans. The same applies to the UGA students and fans. Actually, the school you attend or root for as a fan has nothing to do with a person's esteem or ranking in life. All of this is determined by a person's values and reliability. It gets even more hilarious because there are fans of Tech and UGA in the same families. I guess they are supposed to better or lesser because their team wins or loses. However, it is true that most non-students choose to be a fan of the school which wins the most games because they think they are also winners. Personally, I could have just as easily become a fan of UGA if I had started following football when Vince Dooley started coaching at Georgia, and if I had not already become a fan because of following Bobby Dodd's teams first.

I was more a fan of the coaching of Bobby Dodd than I was of Tech in particular. The excellent coaching of Dodd hooked me into the fan club of Tech football. Then I started following basketball at Tech when Nick Hyder was coach. He was not a great coach, but he did do well and had some great players, so I became hooked as a basketball fan. Again, had I not first become a fan of Tech, I could have easily become a fan following the coaching of Dooley. In today's time, I would have chosen to be a fan of UGA because of Reverend Richt. I actually like him better than I like Paul Johnson. However, since I have already become a fan of Tech in the mid-forties, it is hard for a leopard to change its spots, although I think about it often. One thing is for sure, I will not spend good money to watch poor performances. I think attendance will begin to taper off drastically if the ship is not righted in the near future.

Good candidate for Post of the Year. Nicely stated.

 

[Old South Stands]

Peer pressure is very strong, especially among the young. Most all youth want to be liked and to fit in. Since UGA is winning more than Tech, they want to be on the winners side, even though it does not make them any better of a person.

It is really both ridiculous and hilarious that many Tech students and fans think they are better than UGA students and fans. The same applies to the UGA students and fans. Actually, the school you attend or root for as a fan has nothing to do with a person's esteem or ranking in life. All of this is determined by a person's values and reliability. It gets even more hilarious because there are fans of Tech and UGA in the same families. I guess they are supposed to better or lesser because their team wins or loses. However, it is true that most non-students choose to be a fan of the school which wins the most games because they think they are also winners. Personally, I could have just as easily become a fan of UGA if I had started following football when Vince Dooley started coaching at Georgia, and if I had not already become a fan because of following Bobby Dodd's teams first.

I was more a fan of the coaching of Bobby Dodd than I was of Tech in particular. The excellent coaching of Dodd hooked me into the fan club of Tech football. Then I started following basketball at Tech when Nick Hyder was coach. He was not a great coach, but he did do well and had some great players, so I became hooked as a basketball fan. Again, had I not first become a fan of Tech, I could have easily become a fan following the coaching of Dooley. In today's time, I would have chosen to be a fan of UGA because of Reverend Richt. I actually like him better than I like Paul Johnson. However, since I have already become a fan of Tech in the mid-forties, it is hard for a leopard to change its spots, although I think about it often. One thing is for sure, I will not spend good money to watch poor performances. I think attendance will begin to taper off drastically if the ship is not righted in the near future.

Ditto the Mark Richt comment. Though he hasn't run the team the best possible way (too many kids getting arrested and talent pool not coached up to their potential), it's hard not to like him, especially the way he gives his players second chances. He's one of the few SEC coaches who, after dismissing a player from the team, will help to make sure he lands on his feet elsewhere and has another chance, even if it's at another SEC school like the Auburn QB. If I were a budding football fan today, it'd probably be UGA. Sometimes enjoy going over and reading Bill King's Junkyard Blawg and finding out what's going on over there. Many commenters don't like or appreciate Coach Richt, and that's sad. While we shoot for nine-win seasons and hope to win the division, their fans continually hope for (and expect) NC's. Anything short, and they want to fire the coach.

My dad got his Bachelors and a Masters at Tech, and he took me to the campus a number of times when I was small (was as familiar with the inside of the wind tunnel as the stadium in those days). Yet I rooted for UGA when they played Tech in the '75 game. Dad said the Tech players were smarter, and I should root for Tech. What turned me to the Tech side was a kid at school who wanted my desk. His dad was a wealthy alum, and if I traded desks with him, he'd take me to a Tech game and let me sit with his dad in the press area. Met some other alumni there, and with my dad's Tech connections, became hooked from that point on. We had a neighbor up the street from us who was also a Tech alum. His next-door neighbor went to Alabama, and I used to like listening to them talking at the fence and expressing their mutual dislike for UGA. I remember Mr Litchfield saying that if the Bulldogs played Russia, he'd root for the Russians. Funny as it might seem in retrospect, it was Pepper Rodgers who really got me liking Tech football. It was fun getting to meet him and learn from him at his summer camp. Will never forget the image of Coach Rodgers holding my 3-year old brother in his arms and talking with my dad, reminiscing about Tech in the '50s. Was devastated when he got fired, but remained an unwavering Tech fan through all the lean years.

 

[Ramblinwreck7]

I know it's 2:30 in the morning, and I really do hate to be this way. However, we are suggesting post of the year and also commenting on how uga isn't that bad? For me, I'm not even one of those people who believes beating uga and going 1-11 is better than 11-1 with a loss to uga, but we are really giving them that much credit? We are also making Richt into some sort of saint? Please tell me what he did to help Nick Marshall because the comments I read stated he hadn't kept in contact since kicking him from the team. I know that perception often equals reality, but lets please not buy into everything that we hear. I'm not suggesting Richt is a bad man because it is a business, but he is far from a saint. I do believe there is more good to CPJ than those who want him gone would like to believe.

Forgive me if I read this incorrectly. It is a late night.

 

[Rodney Kent]

Ramblinwreck7: I like Richt as a person. I also think Richt is a better coach, but not to great in selecting assistants. He did very well at UGA when he first arrived and was the Head Coach and offensive coach at the same time. His demise started when he handed the offensive coordinator's job over to Booboo. His record has gone down since then. He also hired the wrong defensive coordinator and will not fire him. I have said this before and say it again, "Richt has the same problem as Chan Gailey, he is too loyal to his assistants. A coach should have his loyalty to the school and fans who pay the bill, not his assistants. He needs to keep his feelings of loyalty out of the situations and make changes where needed. He is beginning to drown in his own neglect of making changes of assistants.

 

[daBuzz]

I know it's 2:30 in the morning, and I really do hate to be this way. However, we are suggesting post of the year and also commenting on how uga isn't that bad? For me, I'm not even one of those people who believes beating uga and going 1-11 is better than 11-1 with a loss to uga, but we are really giving them that much credit? We are also making Richt into some sort of saint? Please tell me what he did to help Nick Marshall because the comments I read stated he hadn't kept in contact since kicking him from the team. I know that perception often equals reality, but lets please not buy into everything that we hear. I'm not suggesting Richt is a bad man because it is a business, but he is far from a saint. I do believe there is more good to CPJ than those who want him gone would like to believe.

Forgive me if I read this incorrectly. It is a late night.

I don't take offense and I'll gladly explain my statement about "post of the year".

First, I thought he hit several important points head on:
1) People like to associate with winners and UGA beats us consistently. In fact, they've done so since the Dooley era. And nowhere is peer pressure and the desire to be liked & fit in more prevalent than it is in teens or younger people. Therefore, it makes it an easy call for many of those kids to become a fan of UGA. They're the state school and they win more than we do, on average. So if we want more young people to be Tech fans, we have to win more and especially win more head-to-head versus UGA.

2) Rodney Kent said:

It is really both ridiculous and hilarious that many Tech students and fans think they are better than UGA students and fans.

I couldn't agree more. A college/institute/university is a place to get a degree. And a degree is something that is supposed to prepare you for the task of going forward in your life; prepare you to make more money in other words.

Too many of my friends and even some of my fraternity brothers from Tech feel like their degree from Tech is some pinnacle that allows them to look on others with condescension. I have a very good friend from my time at Tech (Mike) who lives on the south side of Atlanta who absolutely hates anything and everything to do with UGA. I ran into him one day about 3 years ago in downtown Atlanta while I was having lunch with another very good friend of mine who graduated from UGA. This UGA friend (John) had on a suit but, on his lapel was a UGA alumni pin.

I invited Mike to have lunch with John and myself and, during the course of the lunch, Mike eventually commented on John's alumni pin and even made a somewhat derogatory statement about the "quality of education that you get at UGA". John, ever the gentleman, just smiled politely and said "well I certainly did enjoy myself quite a bit more than I probably should have while I was in school there" and let the comment pass.

John had to leave shortly afterwards to go to a meeting and, after he left, Mike made the comment that he was disappointed that I was "hanging out with worthless dawgs, even if they are nice guys". I looked at him and laughed and said, "Worthless? Umm...John was leaving this meeting to go to a business meeting where he collects final payment for the buyout of the company he built. He sold 49% of his business 2 years ago to a company with the option to buy out the remainder and they just exercised that option. That 'worthless dawg' is now worth just north of $18 million." He responded, "Well yeah, but that's just one guy. Most UGA grads don't make that."

I said, "Sure, most don't. But I have 2 other friends who are UGA grads and both are worth a couple of million each. Plus an aunt & uncle who are UGA law school grads and they're worth 7 digits, too. " I went on to try and explain to him that a degree is just the launching point for your career. Certainly a Tech degree provides you with a better launching point than many, if not most, degrees from other schools. But it's what you do with that degree afterwards that determines how much you make in your working career.

I think we would all do better to remember that your choice of schools is just your choice of your launching point. I have friends who graduated from Tech, friends who graduated from UGA, Florida, and other "factory schools", and friends who are like me and graduated from smaller colleges (I left Tech after my freshman year because I had a baseball scholarship offer to go to a school in south Ga and play ball). Some have done better than others but it is usually based on willingness to take risks, being in the right place at the right time, work ethic, willingness to save and/or reinvest money, and several other factors. But I see no reason why I should limit my friends and business associations to those who happen to be fanatical about the same university as myself. In fact, doing so is a huge hindrance and places limitations on my business that will inevitably hurt my business.

So, to end a long story: yeah, I thought his post was pretty spot on.

 

[awbuzz]

@daBuzz
Not going to quote of the statement above to save others from having to scroll through it... very well said regarding choosing friends and giving someone grief solely based upon the school that they attended or did not attend.
Well done ( wish some folks on some other boards were able to read that and grasp its relevance to them in their lives.)