Time to say goodbye.

[Jim Prather]

We already have a thread to introduce ourselves when we join the site. I thought it might be time to start one when we step away.

 

[Jim Prather]

I found this site almost ten years ago. Since then, I have visited this site nearly every day - to the point where I have made it my home page on almost all my web browsers. It has become my default site for killing time. I am certainly not a prolific poster (as anyone can see from my anemic post count) and this is the first thread I have ever created. I say this to indicate that, in the grand scheme of things, I am not an important person either to this site or to Georgia Tech football. Ultimately, though, I think it is rude to leave without saying goodbye.
Last night made me realize that I no longer enjoy watching Georgia Tech football - but not in the way that many of you are immediately going to assume. I realized that, while the losses continue to be painful, the wins no longer bring me joy. After a win, all I feel is a sense of relief. It dawned on me that life is too busy, and too short, to spend so much time on an activity that is an emotional net negative. I knew right then that it was time to step away from Georgia Tech football in general and this site in particular.
Before I go, I would like to start by thanking all the moderators. You do yeoman's work in a completely thankless job. I would also like to wish everyone here good fortune and Godspeed. Ultimately you are all dedicated Georgia Tech fans - which makes you a very special and hardy breed! I will particularly miss the lively debates among the posters - even the ones who I personally find obnoxious.

Best of Luck and THWG,
Jim Prather

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I liked the post because I've gone through the same things a few years back and not because I wanted to see you go. Eventually, I just ended up focusing on GT baseball since it does bring me joy. I realize that is not for most and probably quirky to many but to each their own.

There's a lot to do other than GT football and it's a good time to explore them more! Fall hiking season is starting

Oh yeah, the mods do a great job which makes this site unique. Thanks to them for herding the cats!

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Liked both comments for similar reasons. I stepped away from Tech football for a few years during the BL period and for a while during the Curry years. Neither was meant as a statement about the program, just a burn out and loss of joy. Time away can be really helpful. Doing more productive things with your time feels very adult like

 

[4shotB]

I get it. I noticed last night I really didn't yell, scream or get all that mad. I have seen enough bad GT defense over the last 10-12 years that I waited for the inevitable game tying (I thought at the time) drive inside the 3 minute mark. I really wasn't all that bothered when the 2 point score wasn't reversed (although I don't think he caught the ball the replay wasn't clear enough to overturn the call). When I went to bed I fell fast asleep and got up this morning thinking about my tee time at 11:30. This last 4-5 years has been the worst stretch of GT FB in my lifetime and I am including the early Curry years and the B--- L---- debacle. I may devote my fall to other hobbies. I goy used to it last fall with all the late kickoffs.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

I am in the mostly stepped away mode as well. When they hired CGC aka the recruiter, I was desperate to hear a plan that would help the offense or defense get an edge. But the more I listened to him everything rang hollow, shallow and so many poster just ate it up. Thinking recruiting would "fix" all of our problems. I got put on ignore by a bunch of people who did not want to hear my concerns about how we need a more comprehensive plan other than just recruiting. I recognized how he connects with the players and can recruit. I hopped he was smart enough to be like Dabo and bring in the best coaches he could.

But after 25 years of donations and being a season ticket holder I could not get myself to buy tickets to go watch the recruiter destroy Tech football. And almost no one agreed with me. They said I was a CPJ fan boy when in fact the emperor had no clothes. Which I was/am a big CPJ fan, but I was ready to embrace a change as well.

I wish I had looked like a fool then instead of being right. But I get used to always being right.

There is still a chance he could Dabo it, but I dropped it to 10% from 30% after this past game as nothing has changed now that he is getting his players. He still sucks as a coach.

I am 90% out, but keep sneaking peaks hoping something can bring me back.

But I am all in for BB

 

[bke1984]

Yeah, the sad thing is I started having thoughts like this on my walk this morning. Over the past year I've gotten back into bass fishing in a big way and have really enjoyed myself. I'm certain that if I spent every Saturday from now until Thanksgiving fishing for 8 hours instead of watching the current installment of Tech football that I'd enjoy myself much more. The problem is that I haven't lost all hope yet - it's likely a fools hope, but there's still a chance that we could somehow piece something together and win a big game.

That said, this year may be a tipping point for me. If we go 2-10 or 3-9 again I may consider taking a break next year and doing something more fulfilling. Even if I just watched the games on TV I'd buy myself 3-4 more hours a day to do other things.

I hate that it's come to this...

 

[MidtownJacket]

Keep being a fool with us @bke1984

We are working his process, this is the time we build out mettle and hopefully we will be turning the corner soon. I think Geoff is our version of Dabo, but with budget coordinators who will have to grow into the level we need.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Keep being a fool with us @bke1984

We are working his process, this is the time we build out mettle and hopefully we will be turning the corner soon. I think Geoff is our version of Dabo, but with budget coordinators who will have to grow into the level we need.

This. So much I like about the CGC / Dabo comparison. Everyone made fun of him at first too. But he built a program on loving his players and being relentlessly positive.

But you are right. We need money. We need top notch assistants and coordinators. We need to get those early signature wins that help sell the program. We need to be better coaches during the game.

It could all come together. I am hoping. But I also understand those who are skeptical. For as long as Tech has played football it has only won when it had a different scheme or system than everybody else. It’s a tall order to see if Tech can beat everyone else at their own game.

Let’s win Saturday!

 

[Old South Stands]

I quit watching professional sports years ago and don't even watch NHL games. The only thing I'd continued to watch in recent years was college football and some international/college hockey. But college football is increasingly becoming the very thing I hate about most professional sports. My dad, a Tech grad himself, always said sports was modern-day 'bread and circuses' and made fun of me for watching football when I'd come over to his house. And on a certain level, I think he's right. I'd gradually lost interest in Tech football at one point but was reinvigorated with the hiring of Paul Johnson. I followed his teams very closely each of those seasons and in the process came to appreciate option football. My lack of interest is now threefold... 1) My dislike of the general trajectory taken by big-time TV sports as a whole; 2) The mandates being forced on today's college students, althletes included. I don't care to support a system that does that to students. Going to games or watching them on TV is supporting that system; 3) Tech was a huge part of my life, going back to grade school. I first became a Tech fan during the Pepper Rodgers era. When he passed away, it was almost like an era ended for me. Coinciding roughly with Paul Johnson's exit, it felt like a good time to put it all in the past and move on to new things.

 

[4shotB]

I quit watching professional sports years ago and don't even watch NHL games. The only thing I'd continued to watch in recent years was college football and some international/college hockey. But college football is increasingly becoming the very thing I hate about most professional sports. My dad, a Tech grad himself, always said sports was modern-day 'bread and circuses' and made fun of me for watching football when I'd come over to his house. And on a certain level, I think he's right. I'd gradually lost interest in Tech football at one point but was reinvigorated with the hiring of Paul Johnson. I followed his teams very closely each of those seasons and in the process came to appreciate option football. My lack of interest is now threefold... 1) My dislike of the general trajectory taken by big-time TV sports as a whole; 2) The mandates being forced on today's college students, althletes included. I don't care to support a system that does that to students. Going to games or watching them on TV is supporting that system; 3) Tech was a huge part of my life, going back to grade school. I first became a Tech fan during the Pepper Rodgers era. When he passed away, it was almost like an era ended for me. Coinciding roughly with Paul Johnson's exit, it felt like a good time to put it all in the past and move on to new things.

I can relate somewhat as the games do not mean as much to me as they once did. Saturday game time used to be the epicenter of my fall universe and my mood through the balance of the weekend could be influenced by whatever took place on the field...i.e. events over which I had no control. now I watch the games as a backdrop to a family get together each Saturday. While we watch the game, we can cut it off at the end with no lingering hangover or after effect. It's the same feeling one gets when leaving the movie theater. There will be a discussion about the movie of course for moments afterwards but not for the duration of the weekend.

I am conflicted about this. I miss that Friday night feeling before a big game when it was like being a child on Christmas Eve - so excited that you could barely get to sleep. OTOH, I regret the times when the balance of the weekend was ruined by a missed field goal, a dropped TD pass, a CB missing a tackle, etc. In retrospect it seems rather silly.

The interesting question to me is it a function of getting older moreso than the results over the past 4-6 years (or whatever the exact dates are)? FWIW, I am assuming we are approximately the same age as I was at GT when Pepper was our coach.

The reason I ask this is twofold - I have an very dear and old friend who was a bit of a mentor who played FB at Auburn who is now in his 80's. He quit watching Auburn play about two decades ago as he felt the game - the $, the rules, etc - were completely different from the game that he playedd as a young man. He even felt that the people he played with were, for the most part, student-athletes. He felt like the shift was away from the student part of the equation to more "hired guns" or mercenaries for the bread and circus act that the game had become to him. Interesting I am in my 60's now too. I could not understand what he was talking about twenty years ago but can now.

The other person I think about often is my recently deceased father, who passed away at 87, He was an Ohio native who was a lifelong OSU and Cleveland Brown fan. I remember as a child and young man, him sitting in front of the TV and demonstrating the colorful part of the vocabulary he picked up in the Navy on the rare occasions those games were televised back then. Later in life, he could see most games due to cable and I noticed that he too had quit watching the games live. He would set his DVR and head to the golf course. If his team won, he would watch the game. If they lost, he would skip or delete. he said it a) freed him up to golf, which was his passion and B) saved him time and energy. With the use of the fast forward, a 4 hour game he said could be seen in its entirety in about 30 minutes. As you know, his college team (OSU) has very rarely had bad teams so it's not like he was giving up on a sinking ship. Even Auburn, the other team I mentioned rarely fields non-competive teams so maybe there is something more at play than the W_L record of our recent teams.

Sorry for the long diatribe. It is just something that has been on my mind lately as I find myself reflecting on the task. When I read this board, especially after a loss, I understand why some of our posters seem so bent out of shape because I too used to be much more emotionally attached to the outcomes.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I can relate somewhat as the games do not mean as much to me as they once did. Saturday game time used to be the epicenter of my fall universe and my mood through the balance of the weekend could be influenced by whatever took place on the field...i.e. events over which I had no control. now I watch the games as a backdrop to a family get together each Saturday. While we watch the game, we can cut it off at the end with no lingering hangover or after effect. It's the same feeling one gets when leaving the movie theater. There will be a discussion about the movie of course for moments afterwards but not for the duration of the weekend.

I am conflicted about this. I miss that Friday night feeling before a big game when it was like being a child on Christmas Eve - so excited that you could barely get to sleep. OTOH, I regret the times when the balance of the weekend was ruined by a missed field goal, a dropped TD pass, a CB missing a tackle, etc. In retrospect it seems rather silly.

The interesting question to me is it a function of getting older moreso than the results over the past 4-6 years (or whatever the exact dates are)? FWIW, I am assuming we are approximately the same age as I was at GT when Pepper was our coach.

The reason I ask this is twofold - I have an very dear and old friend who was a bit of a mentor who played FB at Auburn who is now in his 80's. He quit watching Auburn play about two decades ago as he felt the game - the $, the rules, etc - were completely different from the game that he playedd as a young man. He even felt that the people he played with were, for the most part, student-athletes. He felt like the shift was away from the student part of the equation to more "hired guns" or mercenaries for the bread and circus act that the game had become to him. Interesting I am in my 60's now too. I could not understand what he was talking about twenty years ago but can now.

The other person I think about often is my recently deceased father, who passed away at 87, He was an Ohio native who was a lifelong OSU and Cleveland Brown fan. I remember as a child and young man, him sitting in front of the TV and demonstrating the colorful part of the vocabulary he picked up in the Navy on the rare occasions those games were televised back then. Later in life, he could see most games due to cable and I noticed that he too had quit watching the games live. He would set his DVR and head to the golf course. If his team won, he would watch the game. If they lost, he would skip or delete. he said it a) freed him up to golf, which was his passion and B) saved him time and energy. With the use of the fast forward, a 4 hour game he said could be seen in its entirety in about 30 minutes. As you know, his college team (OSU) has very rarely had bad teams so it's not like he was giving up on a sinking ship. Even Auburn, the other team I mentioned rarely fields non-competive teams so maybe there is something more at play than the W_L record of our recent teams.

Sorry for the long diatribe. It is just something that has been on my mind lately as I find myself reflecting on the task. When I read this board, especially after a loss, I understand why some of our posters seem so bent out of shape because I too used to be much more emotionally attached to the outcomes.

I can relate. Entirely.

Funny thing is that the SEC motto is “It means more” when for most mature fans I know it means less and less.

 

[GaTech4ever]

This post spoke to me. I just turned 30, and have been a GT fan my whole life before I became an alum. My Saturday’s in the Fall have revolved around GT football for as long as I can remember. Which was fine when I was younger. But now I’m getting to the point where it’s affecting my relationships (e.g. going on a date isn’t an option if GT plays on Saturday night, arriving to events late if we play at Noon).

I’m not at the point where I’m burned out on GT football. But I’m at the point where I’m giving away valuable time with important people in my life because my free time 100% revolves around GT football. And it’s actually starting to matter because I’m not a kid anymore. Not sure why I posted this, guess I just wanted to get it off my chest!

 

[gtie73]

This post spoke to me. I just turned 30, and have been a GT fan my whole life before I became an alum. My Saturday’s in the Fall have revolved around GT football for as long as I can remember. Which was fine when I was younger. But now I’m getting to the point where it’s affecting my relationships (e.g. going on a date isn’t an option if GT plays on Saturday night, arriving to events late if we play at Noon).

I’m not at the point where I’m burned out on GT football. But I’m at the point where I’m giving away valuable time with important people in my life because my free time 100% revolves around GT football. And it’s actually starting to matter because I’m not a kid anymore. Not sure why I posted this, guess I just wanted to get it off my chest!

 

[MidtownJacket]

This. So much I like about the CGC / Dabo comparison. Everyone made fun of him at first too. But he built a program on loving his players and being relentlessly positive.

But you are right. We need money. We need top notch assistants and coordinators. We need to get those early signature wins that help sell the program. We need to be better coaches during the game.

It could all come together. I am hoping. But I also understand those who are skeptical. For as long as Tech has played football it has only won when it had a different scheme or system than everybody else. It’s a tall order to see if Tech can beat everyone else at their own game.

Let’s win Saturday!

You know what? I was thinking today with the new hires and some of the positive news around NIL collectives and the edge rebuild we are at the rubber meeting the road phase.

I love MaTech, it made me who I am as a man, introduced me to my beautiful wife I hardly deserve (and daily thank the blessed ratio for) and set me down the path that brought me to this moment at 36 feeling content with where I am and in awe of where I still could go. Professional and personally I have am overflown with gratitude for the Institute and my time there.

That said, we have to make progress this year or else I fear even the most steadfast supporters and ardent believers are going to move their time/passion/focus/money elsewhere. I’ve double down on giving the last three years to the AA and really am hoping we see improvement from the new staff. Let’s go Tech, give ‘em hell!

 

[Buzzbomb]

Speaking of goodbyes, at 104 and 95 years of age. Elite sisterhood…

Tech Mourns The Loss of Jo Atchison

Longtime Tech fan passed away on Sunday at age 95

ramblinwreck.com

 

[Northeast Stinger]

What great ladies!

Extra points for an article that mentions Heisman’s gimmicky offense.

 

[Pointer]

Think I'll be joining the OP for a while myself. Enjoy the season y'all, hoping everyone is satisfied at years end. Go Jackets!

 

[Lotta Booze]

Is this the thread where people make a cry for attention post about being done with the team and posting just to continue posting as usual? Unclear on title/purpose

 

[Jetdrive3]

Is this the thread where people make a cry for attention post about being done with the team and posting just to continue posting as usual? Unclear on title/purpose

Oh. That adds so much