Chip Towers is expecting Coach Richt to receive a fine and/or a reprimand of some sort from the Southeastern Conference. I'm also expecting something along those lines. Frankly, I'd be shocked if Richt wasn't fined, and it'll be worth every penny.
(Image: Just after "Camera Incident" that drew the second flag. Photo by IronChefTurducken. Click to enlarge.)
If Mike Adams wanted to finally get some fans on his side, he'd match the fine to the charity of Richt's choice. He would then publicly back his coach in writing to the SEC. He could be polite and civil about it, but he should back his guy.
Around the Blogosphere:
-- UgaMummra has put The Celebration to music. Instant classic.
-- Senator Blutarsky has a series of articles on Class and The Celebration. I find myself in near total agreement with everything he says. In one of his articles, he points to Spurrier's smart ass comments on the situation.
-- Mark Schlabach gives the whole incident some historical perspective without coming down or endorsing the situation. On the other end of the spectrum, one blogger called it the most classless moment in college football history. Now, there's some OMG! HYPERBOLE!11!!1! Personally, I'm a fan of Woody Hayes punch on the Clemson kid or the GT 222-0 score against Cumberland for the most classless ever moment, but I'm open to other nominations.
See Also:
-- Stomp the Yard - Kyle King
-- When the Going Gets Tough - Doug Gillett
-- A tech fan with no concept of what class really is - StingTalk
PWD
11 comments:
I wrote a long email to the guy at CFN about how he doesn't understand the issues behind The Celebration because, looking in on the rivalry as he does, it doesn't matter to him that Georgia lost 15 of the last 18. He spent so much time saying that Coach Richt doesn't deserve a hotseat for his performance that he completely missed the fact that rivalry is what makes College Football great. And coaches are hired and fired for their ability to win the big rivalry games. Not that Richt would have been in any danger of being fired, but he knew as well as any coach that in college football, beating your rivals is the first way to creating a happy fan base, and a happy fan base is a monetarily supportive fan base. A fan base that helps pay for an indoor practice facility.
I nominate Dink NeSmith to pay the fine. Since he volunteered to pay big bonuses to CMR in exchange for a win, this should not be a problem for him. Put your money where your mouth is Dink!
I nominate the jack-off 40 or 50-something hanger-on/booster who was on the field, in the end zone at Bobby Dodd in 1997. Hines Ward took one to the house and waiting for him in the back of the endzone with middle finger sticking out like a 12 year old, was this middle-aged GT douche bag flicking off of a college athlete on national TV. He did the Maggots proud that day.
At least according to SEC assoc. commissioner Bloom, no punishment will be handed down, but Richt has submitted a carefully worded apology.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3086059
My take is that Richt should have been thrown from the game but not suspended or fined afterwards.
Players don't do things like that without a coach's permission, so you toss the coach to reverse the motivational aspect by handicapping the team. It's not like basketball or baseball where a coach can get thrown out to motivate a team; a football head coach is far more valuable in-game, so it actually is a punishment to toss one.
The SEC has to do something to prevent copycats, so to that end getting tossed from the game would be the best deterrent. A fine doesn't do anything because the boosters will gladly pay it after a big win. You have to do something that actually makes a direct impact. The Florida players kept their heads, but there's nothing to say that if Saban tried that against Auburn you wouldn't end up with another Miami-FIU situation only much, much worse.
In the end it looks like there will be no punishment, but I bet if it happens again anywhere in college football, punishments will be swift. Severe? Probably not, but swift to save face.
Wow...throw CMR out of the game.
That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever read. Nobody got hurt, nitwit. It wasn't like Temple's Jon Chaney sending in one of his self-described "goons" to break an opposing player's arm. I didn't see any "throat-slash" signals or gang signs being thrown up (like Miami players). They were on the field cheering like it was an on-the-field pep-rally. Granted, had Florida done this to us, I would have exploded but that is because that is the kind of stuff they are known for. This was giving them a dose of their own medicine.
I wonder how Jay Cutler and Earl Bennett feel about this "excessive celebration." They had a chance to beat Florida stolen from them by the refs two years ago simply because Bennett jiggled slightly after scoring and then hugged one of his O-linemen.
Face it. Richt made history. This will be talked about long after we are dead.
Year2,
Why don't you grow a pair. Throw him out of the game? You might as well fire him on the spot while you're at it. And blow up his house before he gets back to Athens.
Get real. You are a baby.
Christ almighty, these blithering nancies from Tech have gotten their culottes in a self-righteous wad so tight they're just moments from being compressed into diamonds:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=140&f=2939&t=1305555&sto=pagestart
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=140&f=2939&t=1299089&sto=pagestart
My favorites are the Techies going on and on about how much respect they've lost for Mark Richt. Oh noes!!1!!1! A rival team we've beaten six years in a row doesn't think our coach is classy! I will attempt to recover from this earth-shattering revelation by . . . doing absolutely nothing.
You know it is not that unusual to see an entire bench empty and celebrate a touchdown.
It just usually happens at the end of a game instead of at the beginning.
Did any of you complaining to me read what I wrote? I didn't ask for anything to be done after the game, because that would be overreacting. I said no fines or suspension would be necessary, and I still stand by that. There should have been punishment beyond just yardage penalties and it should have been contained within the game.
The implications of the act, however, are not simply contained within the game and are not limited to Florida and Georgia. The precedent of the situation is what I'm worried about. Just because UF and UGA could handle the situation without a fight doesn't mean everyone can. Just because people don't get hurt every time fans storm the field after a game doesn't mean that when fans storm the field it doesn't create a dangerous situation.
I'll close by quoting Coach Richt's apology letter: "I admit this was inappropriate... I understand that the entire team running on the field created the potential for an altercation and that excessive celebration is not in compliance with the Southeastern Conference sportsmanship policies and expected standards... You can be assured I will not ask our team to do this type of thing again." I suggest you listen to your coach.
So, Year2, presumably you believe that CUM should have been tossed prior to the LSU game while his players jumped up and down on the Eye of the Tiger? The pre-game dancing about at mid-field, on opposing school insignia's, is not without precedent and has resulted in fights. Seems to me that such a classy coach like CUM would have coached his team not to engage in such provocative, un-sportsman-like, and classless behavior. I trust that the booing we hear on the Youtube video is not that of LSU fans but of noble FLA fans who are appalled and dismayed by such classless antics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO4PIGF8JZk
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