Larry Munson is Pacing up in Heaven
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INDIANAPOLIS - Somewhere in heaven Larry Munson is pacing in circles in anticipation of Monday’s national championship-matchup with No. 1 Alabama and Nick Saban.
Munson would give the Georgia Bulldogs no chance - certainly not without Old Lady Luck.
For decades now, pretty well as long as I can remember, Georgia fans have embraced their inner Munson, and with good reason. The Legendary Voice of the Dawgs was gruff and scratchy. His calls were as memorable as any in college football history.
And I love Larry Munson.
But with Munson, and to some degree Vince Dooley, came a certain underdog mentality. Eventually, after the 1990s, that mentality took hold, and it has been here to stay. It took 20 years to win the SEC after 1982. It also took UGA 35 years to play for a national title. All of that probably nailed in all of that thinking into the Georgia psyche.
In those years, and since, a slew of things have cemented with the fanbase - most notably that if something can go wrong it will.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
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Very few other fanbases assume the worst like Georgia fans - the Red Sox; the Cubs… but in college football no one seems to worry or assume the worst will happen like Georgia fans. That feeling is in the background once more as we gear up for another showdown with Alabama.
And it is a feeling that needs to end. UGA fans don’t understand how powerful this program could get... and soon.
Win or lose Monday night not much will change in terms of the natural advantages UGA has over its peers. Georgia should be playing for national titles, and under Kirby Smart it is. Kirby has done his part in adding to the dread by being the coach of Georgia teams that have suffered painful, meaningful losses to Alabama.
But painful losses are a part of being something great. You don’t think Alabama has painful losses? What about the Kick Six? A national title lost of the final play of the game? Alabama has that as well.
The Red Sox have 1986.
What we’ve not seen from Georgia, yet at least, is their win-it-all moment. And trust me when I tell you that if the Red Sox and Cubs can win it all, Georgia certainly can… and will. I’m not sure why Georgia fans are quite so pessimistic other than it is by nature, which is ridiculous.
Consider this game - Georgia has been and continues to be a favorite to win the game. They’ve been the more consistent than Alabama this season. They certainly played like a bully in the Orange Bowl - just like they did for all but one game this season.
In the last few decades we’ve twice seen rematches in a national championship game. Twice we’ve seen the team that lost the first time (1996 UF vs. FSU; 2011 LSU vs. Alabama) win the rematch. In addition, we’ve seen the favorites win the national title in this contest all but three times this decade - twice Bama was the victim of an upset.
But reason and rational thinking are only permitted in spurts when the nervousness of Georgia fans takes over. It almost feels like they “want” things to go wrong so that they can continue their misery.
Georgia fans need a break from their Statler and Waldorf routine. For once they need to totally believe in something that is on the precipice of happening. I get that they won’t believe it until it happens - I get that - but it very well could happen Monday night.
Blind optimism is annoying; but blind pessimism is even worse because it assumes the worst. Georgia fans should prepare to win. What's the worst that could happen? A loss on the final play of the game in overtime?
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
