Bridge Jumpers Beware
JACKSONVILLE - The old-time Georgia fan was past disappointment and on the way to figure out which bridge to jump off.
Probably into his late 60s, he sat outside the stadium with a group of fans he went to the game with. I remember him being from south of Athens, but not South Georgia. Where he called home was irrelevant. His mood was not.
He was worn out, tired, frustrated and done. His mood pretty well captured what I’ve seen over many of the 21 Cocktail Parties I have seen - excitement followed by season-ending despair.
A party isn’t really a party if it isn’t fun.
“I have been coming to this game for decades. If you would have told me we would lose to Florida like this in the 1970s or 1980s I would not have believed you,” he told me. “Vince Dooley never lost to Florida like this.”
He told me that after Georgia lost to the Gators 24-10 in 2016. Georgia hasn’t lost to an SEC East team since.
And they have manhandled the Gators in back-to-back beatings in Jacksonville. I thought about him this weekend after Georgia beat the Gators again.
Did he come to these two games? Did he make the SEC Championship Game last winter? Was he at the Rose Bowl?
Things can change quickly in a good way at places like Georgia, Florida, Auburn, LSU and Alabama. The atmosphere for quick and decisive change is compounded by the talent surrounding those places.
But what it feels like we have witnessed, and are witnessing is a cementing of what Kirby and company have put in place. This will probably be the worst Georgia team we will see for the foreseeable future. The final transition from Mark Richt’s classes to Kirby’s is happening right now. From here on out the few holes that remain will be paved over, and Georgia will power on.
Every year, however, isn’t a championship one.
That we are closing in on November, and UGA has beaten Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri by double digits and still hasn’t secured the SEC East title is surprising, but also reality.
Kentucky’s physical style of play will give Georgia yet another test. The SEC never quits. This will be UGA’s third top-ten game in a row. Clemson and Alabama have combined to play none of those this season.
Then again, those two don’t play in the best division in college football… the SEC East. Yeah. I said it.
