....as I could surely use one. The Jacksonville Times-Union has a great look at the financials behind the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. As Blutarsky said, the Jacksonville folks did a great job of presenting the numbers in a compelling way. I still think there's no legitimate reason to move the game.
The team won't beat the Gators by running from them. They'll have to beat them running towards them.
As I said the other day, you think it's tough losing to the Gators in Jax? Try dropping one to them in Athens or Atlanta. Then you'll see what miserable really is.
PWD
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49 comments:
Bah. It's miserable everywhere and we'd be a fool not to consider moving it.
Still no rxn to the BB search "disaster"?
PWD -- I could not agree more! I had the misfortune of being in Athens in '95 when the GAYtors hung 52 on us. If you recall, they almost put up 21 point in the FIRST QUARTER! No, the game needs to stay in Jax. Do I have fun traveling back to Atlanta every year after yet another L? No! But that right would be equally as miserable coming back from the Georgia Dome. Jacksonville is a great tradition, always has and always will be. It is a vacation in the middle of football season. The Dawgs merely need to starting beating the GAYtors consistantly for everyone to drop this garbage. If the previous 19 games were played in Atlanta, Athens, or Gainsville the outcome would have been the same. Do you think Texas fans were bitching about moving the Red River Shootout when they were getting it handed to them? No, they just took it like a man. Buck up Dawgs! Try a little more bourbon to ease the pain. It works for me!
Ha! When we played Tech in their own backyard, I mean at the Omni, they pretty much dominated UGA. Sure it was a sell-out but UGA usually lost. That chnaged once the games move back to the respective campus. I don't see asking for a even playing field as running. In fact it is doenright stupid to give a strong rival home field advantage every year.
As Mike Anderson implied, money is not everything but the chance to win is!
Couldn't agree with you more PWD. It's time to man up and get the job done in Jax. If we can't win there then we can't win anywhere. I hope Cox gets a penalty against us in the 4th quarter for doing the chomp in some Gaytor's face preceding a Georgia victory. I know many will argue that taunting only pisses off the gaytors more for the following year. However, gloating about a victory seems to be the name of the game over the past two years. Meyer is an egotistical asshole who needs to have his nose rubbed in it. I know Richt would never do it, but I hope we keep airing it out when the game seems in hand. The turds are in the same position we were this time last year. Let's break their hearts and make Tebow cry like a little girl. He is most likely an outstanding person off the field, but has bought into his own hype on the field. A humbling beat down in Jacksonville is well overdue.
Keep dreaming of that Jacksonville "beatdown". It is the stuff of lore just like the toothfairy and Santa Claus.
UGA Basketball should schedule most of their homes games in Jax. I'm sure there's a ghetto court there that is better than Stagnant Coliseum.
Anon 6:58,
Where do you suggest we play the lizards? Richt has a much better road record than at home. If you expect to lose to a team year in and year out then you will get pounded at home, away, or at a "neutral" site. I for one can't stomach the thought of Fla bragging about a winning record in our own backyard. We have made our bed in Jax and must now lie in it.
sometimes College football is about more than just the game. Winning is fun, but I've never forgotten any of my trips to Jax...good or bad. I like the vacation atmosphere the game has. Its an event instead of just another game.
If it is going to change I rather have it 3 in Jax one at UGA. 3 in Jax one in the Swamp. Doing it this way makes once every 4 years you get a home game and those will be even better.
One thing about Jacksonville, we always win Friday night.
Jacksonville is where I catch up with everybody, kind of like a homecoming without all of the puking underclassmen running around. No offense.
just imagine losing in gainsville. keep it in jax
I am an old timer. Keep it in Jax. I have been to EVERY game since 1975(as a student). Back then, the gayturds couln't win. The tide changed and it will change again.
Now as an alum with my family traditions, keep it in JAX. I have had my same room for years and I enjoy my time there. ATL has nothing for me.
Old timer you have a higher tolerance for losing than I have seeing that Florida has won 19 games to GA's 15. Since I am not a a drinker the only fun I have in Jacksonville is after a win.
Well, since its all about you and your drinking and vacations then by all means screw what CMR wants and lets leave it in Jax.
And cooperdawg, lets not forget they hung 49 on us last year. And we were actually a pretty good team. When they hung 52 on us in Athens we sucked and they were as good as they ever have been.
What's the argument for keeping it in Jacksonville, other than "tradition" (meaning parties and golf) and a fear of being heckled a little bit worse for losing to UF in Athens or Gainesville. (Why would UF even care about heckling us anymore?)
Making it a home-and-home would allow both programs more scheduling flexibility. We could play more interesting out of conf. games and would have a better chance of doing the one thing that can influence the outcome of the game-take a week off before the game.
I'll say one thing Paul, for someone who appreciates scheduling as I know you do, getting this game out of Jacksonville and on a yearly home and home would do wonders in alleviating our usual late season scheduling problem where we are at times seemingly two straight months without a home game.
The financial advantages to playing in Jax have been cited numerous times.
Georgia fans enjoy it being there more than gainesville fans.
Anon 8:43 -- Least we forget why this game was originally set in Jacksonville: To repay those loyal Dawg fans (read Big Money Boosters) in sought Georgia who make the trek Saturday after Saturday to Athens in support of their beloved Dawgs. This game has been a long standing tradition for students, alumni, fans, families and singles. Why cry now that we are getting drilled year after year. Do you honestly believe that we would have won more games over the last 19 years if this series were played home and home or in the GA Dome? I do not believe a single outcome would have been different. We have what is know as "Pucker Factor" when we see those crappy orange and blue helments. I believe that you could put Vandy in those uniforms and we would lose more than we win. If we begin losing 8 to 9 games a season will you stop going to Athens, or suggest we play our games in Atlanta, Columbus, or Macon?
Cooper, you are right, location is just an excuse for losing. I think another issue many of these people have is that they are not able to attend the game in Jacksonville.
I graduated in 1990, 4 - 0 against gainesville. Dooley dominated them for years, yet there were many students complaining about the cocktail party because, for various reasons, they could not go. Often, someone would come up with a ducket for their gal and she would go, salt in the wound.
Since 1996 I have made the trip to Jax every year, although I must amit, I lived in Ponte Vedra for 3 of those years. On 4 occasions I was not able to get a ticket but still had a great time being there. I now have 4 children, that's right 4, and Halloween has an entirely different meaning for them. It means missing some school and going to Jacksonville for 4 days. I would not have it any other way.
And from my perspective, we are 2 - 3 in the last 5. We have arrested this decline and are working on reversing the trend!
Florida repay thier big bossters by having 9 games in the state of Florida!
Sorry that should be 8 games in the state of florida.
As coach Herb Brooks said in the movie Miracle..
"You don't defend them, you ATTACK them. You take the game and shove it right back in their face!"
That's exactly what we did in 07, and I know we can do it again.
I womder if Florida fans in South Florida whine about having to drive in to Gainesville for home games? All these so called GA fans that love games in Florida should get season tickets to FSU or FL games.
Anon 11:21 -- Not too bright are we? Do you not know that some of UGA's largest boosters are from/live in south Georgia? Unlike the GAYtor fans, Dawg fans have been around for decades and come from all over the state. UGA football was successful in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. The GAYtors saw no real success until the 90's (read: The Ole Ball Coach). This one game in Jax is UGA's way of thanking these south GA fans for their support and donations. How about you pony up their difference once the game is moved to Atlanta where tailgating under an overpass is considered a great spot! We can simply replace the Landing with the great new computer lotto at Underground! Sounds like a win for everyone!
I'm a Dawg fan south of I-16, and I'd like people to stop supporting this injustice in my name.
Just make the thing home-and-home. I'd much rather drive to Athens to see the Dawgs win once in a while than see them lose at the Gator Bowl 16 out of 19 times. And even if we kept losing, at least it wouldn't be because we were dumb enough play our biggest rival in hostile territory every year. Plus, both Ben Hill Griffin and Sanford seat more people than the Gator Bowl, so the game would be more profitable. It turned out pretty well for Auburn with the Iron Bowl (11-9 since going home-and-home), and nobody's calling them chicken shit.
And to the people who say keep it in Jax because it's a tradition: slavery, segregation, and racism were Georgia traditions too, but that didn't make them good.
"You don't defend them, you ATTACK them. You take the game and shove it right back in their face!"
i agree with this 100%
As a student that believes jacksonville has nothing to do with the record that four day weekend in st. simons and jville cannot be beat.
This nostalgia for playing in Jacksonville is downright stupid. Like someone said above, segregation and racism were once the status quo, but that didn't make them right.
Just because we had a great run way before Florida was a football powerhouse doesn't mean we should hang all of our hope that we suddenly will turn the tide and start dominating again. Fact of the matter is that Florida is a big time program, and going Home (Atlanta at Dome or something) and away (Jacksonville) wouldn't be that big of a change.
To continually get our asses kicked by a program that is arguably one of the hottest in the nation right now, due to tradition, would be asinine. The old timers who are going to cry and bitch can accept the fact that a 30-45 minute drive for their people and a 8-10 hour drive for ours isn't right. (Not to mention the simple economics that our fans are pumping vast amounts of money into their local economy.)
One final note- Deciding that any sort of change is "running from them" is a pretty self-defeating thought. A modification or enhancement to the already great rivalry shouldn't be greeted with total negativity.
Damn, I wis we could get team ANON on the schedule. Bunch of ANON quitters wouldn't come out of the tunnel after halftime.
Generation "Y" or is it "Why?" you can't whine about everything. Be thankful you have the HOPE and leave our cocktail party alone!
I am so f'ing tired of the "We just need to man up and win!" argument. Yes, like our coaches have never thought of that. Maybe, just maybe, the days of Dooley dominating Florida are NEVER coming back. To use another line from Miracle:
"GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!!!"
I was in school in '95 when the OBC hung 52 on us...the only reason it doesn't sting like it really should is that the Braves won the World Series that night. Downtown Athens was fun...mobs of students tomahawking up Lumpkin, up Broad, back down Washington. Some kid got up on top of the WWI monument in the median on Broad near the Arch. Perched up there like a pigeon with half of the ACC police trying to talk him down.
HL, I had completely forgotten that was the same night (the debacle of the loss and the World Series win).
I remember watching both, but did not recall them being the same day. Must be some sort of psychological mechanism for dealing with tragedy and joy.
Did somebody actually compare us playing in Jax to segregation? Let’s play the “did somebody really just do that” game.
If our team isn’t the type of team to go down and win in Jacksonville, how can we possibly be the type of team to win a National Championship? We won in Jax in 2007 because we had the swagger, confidence, and discipline to beat ANYBODY and our team knew that (just wish we had that the whole season). That’s the type of team that wins championships and we need to have that drive consistently. Moving out just seems like we’ve settled to be the 2nd best team in the east on a consistent bases.
I feel like there's more of an argument to stay in Jax because we're scared of what would happen if *gasp* God forbid we lost on our territory than there is an argument for anything else. I really don't see how we would be ridiculed for losing any more than we already are. Gator fans are arrogant and obnoxious and will be no matter where they are.
There's a reason why it's called "homefield advantage." There's clearly some kind of mental block associated with playing the Gators on their turf. Would the outcomes of the past 2 decades of games have changed had the game been moved to Atlanta? Maybe, maybe not. The truth is, we don't know and won't know, but why give an already great team ANY advantage? I just think that we should be more concerned with doing everything in our powers to win and less concerned with how we might be viewed if we move the game. This is football, not a popularity contest.
'There's a reason why it's called "home field advantage." '
How do you explain those 19 years we were winning?
How do you explain the 50/50 stadium seating as benefiting the gators?
How can you explain how there are more Dawg fans in Jacksonville throughout the entire weekend setting the atmosphere (because they must make it into a vacation) than Gator fans (who drive up the morning of the game and back home after)?
I'll never forget any of my trips to Jacksonville. Made 7 straight from Freshman year until i moved to NY last year and couldn't afford to go. And even after watching that game, I said to myself, I'll never miss another. I felt like I wasn't whole this season because I didn't make it down there.
Keep it in Jax. We've won a ton there before, we can do it again. The only real disadvantage is having to drive an extra 300 miles or so.. but it's not like each player is putting the miles on his car, staying up late driving down there.
Equal allotment of seats. More Dawg atmosphere the entire weekend. How is that home field advantage??
Where is the Diamond Dogs love for smacking around Clemsux the last couple days?
Kevin, if it's not a homefield advantage for Florida then how do you explain Richt wanting to play the game every other year at a neutral site in Georgia?
Let's not give a peer an automatic advantage every single year. Florida's not a doormat anymore.
Kevin- How do you explain those 19 years we were winning?
We were winning because we were A LOT better than them then. We had better talent, better coaching, better everything. We're on a much more level playing field now. Maybe not in the 1990s when Spurrier was there, but since Mark Richt has taken over, there's really not much of a difference in talent or coaching between both teams. There's no reason why we shouldn't be winning evenly in this series.
As for the 50/50 seating and the even number of dawg fans, as I said before, it's all mental. Our players AND coaches have associated Jacksonville with losing the past two decades now and somehow, they just can't get past that. Call it a cop out, call it whatever you want, but a big part of football games are mental. I'm not saying we should have it in Atlanta every year or even every other year, but I think we're foolish to not even explore the idea.
I so agree with the poster upthread that mentioned the Alabama-Auburn game. CMR has even suggested that we change the arrangement. Even some Florida admit they have a home field advantage.
We did not have better talent, we did have better coaching. We it be too much to have you look at our team objectively and say that we are possibly getting out-coached? Or does the problem lie between the helmets of our players who sh*t the bed when they play UF. Do they do this because the game is in Jacksonville? Doubtful, they have no problem winning on the road with Richt. Moving the game will not subdue ALL mental problems our players have. It's cowardly to move it to Atlanta, we should want to take them in JAX. If we win it'll only be because we brought the game home, and if we lose... god forbid.. It's kinda like playing Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.
Dante-
Just because Richt wants to move, doesn't mean that ='s wins for UGA. He is just as desperate as other Dawg fans who truly want to believe that moving the game will have a significant impact on the outcome every time we play in ATL(or UGA). It's not the case. The game will go to whomever wants it more. We will both continue to recruit top 10 classes so it comes down to coaching and heart. I'd say lately, UF has been beating us or damn near close to in both of those categories.
Back to Anon- Associating the last 20 years with losing.. What do you think UF did? They lost for 20 years and still managed to turn it around and take 16 from us. Are you saying we aren't man(dawg) enough to bring it back to them? Have you no pride at all? Do you want to come crawling home like a baby so we can even the score? The idea of it being "mental" is not considered a disadvantage. It's not mental for the players who see tons of UGA fans and a 50/50 split. They don't see it as a home game for UF. They see UF and think "crap, these guys". Doesn't matter where we play. That mentality will not change with out victories. and moving does not necessarily equal victories. Again, see Richt's home vs. away record.
Totally beside the point of "home field" but if you've ever been to Jacksonville for this game, I can't believe you'd want to take that experience away.
We wasted 2 months with Parker to call those guys now?!? Wow, we must have gotten turned down by everyone. Why not Hamilton over the 2 of them?
Anons
No F bombs.
Please tell me this (Purnell and Haith) is a joke.
PWD, You going to Foley this weekend? We went to Clemson last night, an effing blast. The place was quietttttttt. Seeing how childish those ACC teams/coaches behave makes me realize how lucky we are to have the professional attitude of Perno. Go dawgs!!!
Obviously I've had it all wrong. Playing our biggest rival 70 miles from their campus has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with our problems down there. We simply just need to WANT it more and that will solve our problems.
Somehow I don't think that's it. I'm sure our players and Richt want to win that game as much as is possible. Which is probably why Richt wants a change in venue.
"Just because Richt wants to move, doesn't mean that ='s wins for UGA."
You're right about that, but I'll take his word over yours. If Richt thinks an every-other-year neutral game in Georgia is good for the team, he's more than earned my support. He's at least earned the right to try it out IMHO.
In the end, it will come down to money.
Fans will choose the side that makes the most sense to themselves as fans.
We blogged about this dynamic:
http://runaroundsues.blogspot.com/2009/03/tailgaiting-on-northside-drive-aint-as.html
Kevin- Explain to me how wanting the game to be moved to Atlanta every OTHER year or once every four years is "crawling home like a baby" because I don't see it. Sure they might say that but who cares? I don't think we can look any worse than we already do by losing year in and year out. All I'm saying is that it's something to think about because obviously what we're doing right now isn't working. As far as coaching comparisons are concerned, Florida beat us all 3 years when Mark Richt was our coach and the incompetent Ron Zook was their coach. Zook lost at least 4 games the 3 years he was there but he still managed to beat Georgia. You can't tell me that he was a better coach than Mark Richt.
And yes, I have been to Jacksonville. I love the experience but I also want to win games.
What is Urban Meyers record vs. UGA?
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