I don't really get the point of canceling the Oregon series as McGarity and Oregon have just done. McGarity says he wants seven home games a year.
For what? To make more money? We already have the most profitable athletic department in the country.
To have a lighter schedule? Well...are Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vandy going to stay on the schedule? Because Richt is 14-2 vs. non-conference opponents in the regular season since he arrived, but he is 5-4 vs. the three worst teams in our league since 2006.
Non-conference scheduling is the least of our problems / barriers to greatness.
I don't agree with the decision to weaken our non-conference schedules. Do I think that the schedules were booked in an optimal fashion? No. The Oregon series was booked on the wrong years anyway with both GT and Oregon being away games in the same year. Do I think that it was a mistake to book three BCS opponents in one year like we did in 2009. Definitely.
But I don't think fans want to see three bad non-conference games a year. Does the price of tickets go down if we have fewer quality games on the schedule?
PWD
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23 comments:
This really makes me sad. I was very excited for this game, just as I am for the CU game on Saturday. Eugene would have a been a great road trip. Instead we get another noon game vs a cupcake.
I wish the BCS would require every team to play 2 BCS non conference schools. It would make the game more exciting and it would create more accurate polls because from a voting standpoint it would allow for more conference comparison.
I'm in favor of playing a game at the Georgia Dome rather than these home and home series that Evans scheduled. If that can't be done, then I'm fine with seven home games.
Traveling to Boulder and Tempe might be fun for the fans, but it does take its toll on the team.
And what's wrong with copying the Florida model? You can't argue with the success it has had on the field.
Yea I'm disappointed with this decision as well. The chances of winning a BCSC are so slim. I would rather see us play other top tier OOC schools rather than easy wins over tiny schools. Oregon would have been awesome.
It's obvious they want the revenue from a 7th home game. Shame.
I no longer attend games vs. 1-AA opponents or directional schools. I now use those weekends as a rare chance in the fall to watch everyone. Because I just don't enjoy seeing us play New Mexico St. or Georgia Southern. I used to go along with it, but I just choose not to anymore.
I want to see interesting opponents come to Sanford Stadium and the occasional intersectional trip is fun too. So if McGarrity is going to insist on 7 home games I hope he will become as good as Vince Dooley was at attracting Virginia, UNC, Texas A&M, etc. into coming to Sanford without a return trip. Because I'm not interested in seeing us play Ball St. or heaven forbid Georgia St.
PWD,
I agree. Totally crap home schedule in the future. I grew up seeing Texas A&M, BYU, UCLA and now my kids will only see UL Lafayette, Buffalo, North Texas and other directional garbage. So every even year we get Tenn, Tech, Vandy, 1 Western SEC school and 3 garbage teams. That makes for a lot more noon kickoffs, which is maybe what they (Adams/administration) are trying to achieve.
Alphadawg
Respectfully disagree.
Yes - it's not as exciting for the fans. But if you want to put the team in the best position to make a run at championships and its best possible bowl games, scheduling an extra tough OOC game is not the way.
I've heard all the pros, but I'd rather schedule more like the Gators do -- cupcakes whenever possible. Our schedule is brutal enough. CMR has admitted as much publicly.
There's two types of away games I look forward to: Oxford MS and a BCS conference one (especially one that's not on N. Avenue). It's hard to argue against the success McGarity is coming from. But your point to a happy fanbase is a larger one. I wanted to see Corvallis, and now I won't see Eugene either.
Dear Paul,
I totally agree with your post. As I heard McGarity already talking about a weaker schedule, I calculated what my home season tickets really cost me. With my donation and ticket price I am spending approximately $130 per game ticket. I am OK with 2 weak sisters, but 3 pitiful games are not what I want to travel 325 miles one way to see. I will be writing McGarity a letter of concern and hope many bulldawgs will do so. Yes, I want to win the SEC and perhaps compete for a national chanpionship. I want more than that to be able to watch good competitive football and watching LALa, I da ho State, Ga Southern,etc. is not good competitive football. Timing can be done better as you said. Our best trips recently have been to Tempe, Stillwater and this week to Boulder. Those are fun, too. Paul what can we do to further get our feelings across. The timing of this sux, too. Looks like we're "skeert" as Barney would say.
Aladawg
Dumb post
dumb comment
There was a lot of discussion about this on the DawgRun today. Surprisingly little of it, though, touched on the most important thing from my (selfish) perspective:
I want home games to be fun. I'm spending my money and time to have fun.
Big games are fun. Pointless games are not. Even if we win all the pointless games walking away, and lose our share of the non-pointless games...big games are fun, pointless games are not.
I had great fun at the Arkansas game nine days ago; it was tremendous value for my entertainment dollar. (Yes, even despite the final score.) The pointless opener...not so much.
Maybe I'm just weird. Maybe I got too warped by attending too many Oregon State and Idaho and Washington State games in my childhood. But I learned early on in life how to have a great time, and be proud of and support the school, whether or not the football team won.
Now if these preferences of mine meant that Georgia absolutely would never get a sniff at another MNC ever again...okay, maybe it would be our duty as fans to take two or even three early afternoons of tedium for the team, and pay dearly for the privilege. But the Florida method is not the only valid one for top programs.
(And if we're going to blindly ape anybody, please Lord let it not be Mullet/Jorts Nation!)
This should be an embarrassment to the University. You folks who are more interested in the W than the quality of the opponent should lobby to get Kennesaw State on the schedule to replace Tech.
I too will stay home....Idaho State and La Lafayette were ok if we got two BCS games. With only Tech, if McGarity has the guts to keep them on the schedule, it is BS. And we know the prices for these sorry garbage games will be the same for the good games.
There is a way to get a 7th home game and still have an attractive schedule. Play Florida ON CAMPUS. I guess that trip to Jacksonville isn't too far.
Are we sure the new AD has gotten rid of his Orange and Blue pompoms?
From the linked article:
“If you look at the models of other schools that have played for the (BCS) championship lately, there’s always one tough nonconference game.”
What is he saying? That GT will be our tough non-conference game every year and we will have 2 directional schools and a vocational school as our other 3 games? No thanks. Why don't we move to the ACC while we're at it? It would be easier to win nat. championship there.
UF and Alabama won their national championships because they were good teams that were coached well with great athletes not because they played a powder puff schedule. Of course, it didn't hurt them that they played nobody out of conference. Why don't we worry about being a good team that is coached well and has great athletes before we start the high school scheduling?
As an alumnus on the left coast who tries to make a game a year, you won't see me spending my money traveling to Athens for a powder puff. I don't kid myself by thinking they care where I spend my money though. If I don't spend it in Athens, someone else will but I have no interest in traveling across the country to see GA Southern, Idaho State, etc. play. I have no interest in watching those games on TV either because they mean NOTHING and show NOTHING about your team.
Of course the timing of this is horrible and might look bad but I wouldn't have supported this if we were 4-0.
Hate to think it might be the case, but maybe in the back of McGarity's mind he's thinking "how much revenue can one more home football game each season add to the coffers so I'll be able to pay all of the buyouts for football, baseball, gymnastics, ...?"
Oh, and let's don't forget he'll have to overcome the reduced contributions that seem inevitable.
Why should anybody be surprised by what McGarity is doing? He spent 18 years at Florida. Florida has had great success, including 15-3 over Georgia over that time. So, of course he is going to bring a lot of Florida business practices with him.
McGarity was the overwhelming fan choice to be the new AD. Why don't we allow him a chance to do that job as he fits?
Anon @ 11:57 nailed it.
I almost choked when I read GM's line about having 7 home games a year. It all points back to Jacksonville. Too bad we have too many masochistic fans who still think UF will ever revert back to it's pre-1990 ways.
Sound points all,
PWD
I think we should continue to “show the flag” out west. One ASU/OSU type regular season road trip beyond the Mississippi every 8-10 years should be enough.
If McGarrity is bent on seven home per year, then I hope he gives serious consideration to rotating in Clemson more often than the current one home/away per decade. Doubtful that we will ever go back to playing them every year, but perhaps four times per decade is do-able.
I think it foolish to hope that ticket prices will come down for the stinker games that apparently will be fleshing out the home schedule.
I'd be interested to know how many of the people complaining about this think the GA/FL game should remain in Jacksonville. Move GA/FL to home & home and you can play these types of games and still have 7 home games every year (not to mention a MUCH, MUCH better home schedule with either Florida or a quality OOC opponent EVERY year).
We can't continue to play 6 homes games while the rest of the big boys play 7 or 8...with a lot less travel.
I agree with anonymous 11:19 as far at the Florida game coming home and home.
It is moronish to complain that going to Eugene Oregon for a road game is TOO FAR and playing a HOME game in Jacksonville, Florida is fine and dandy. Only an embicile buys into that logic.
Play that game home and home and we get those 7 home games. Think what that could do for the Athens businesses that McGarity is so concerned about.
As for giving McGarity time, I am all for it. But there are two things I am not interested in from him...lectures on discipline coming from AK47 university and lessons on how to have gutless scheduling. Those he can keep in his memory book.
This is where I rant ! National exposure or not, there ain't nothing like going 0 - 3 in conference play to get exposure if your Georgia. As for out of conference opponents. How hard is it though a regional game geographically, it would still be as big as any SEC V ACC tilt; SCHEDULE CLEMSON REGULARLY ! How hard is that. How about F S U hmmm , Honestly,I got another, UGA v. VT home & home, UVa even. Hay here is one UGA v. UNC. How about UGA v. Miami, yah thats the ticket too ha.
To me, I don't give a flip about the Ducks. Beavers, Sun Devils, Huskies etc. There's only one PAC school worth a tinkers damn worth scheduling and thats USC. I'd much rather schedule FSU, Clemson, UNC, VT, or Miami than the Ducks.
Aside from the fact that the Tennessee Techs, Idaho States, and Louisiana Lafayettes of the world are great for me to take the young kids to, i hate to see the team abandon tough OOC games. I liked being able to point to the fact that not only did we play Tech every year but also threw in another FBS school from a real conference as an opponent. I can't wait to eat the crow sandwich that my UF friends will be serving when we play a pansy OOC schedule year after year.
McGarity is right. You people are wrong. Perhaps you all enjoyed losing to OSU last year. Playing one less home game than the other conference powers is delusional. Sooner or later it will catch up with you.
McGarity is also right in that Evans' "building the brand name" excuse is idiotic. UGA's brand is big enough, and winning promotes brand name more than anything.
So stop your whining. If you can't support UGA during the cupcakes, then you don't deserve to be called a dawg.
Reality is that this Dawg team is considered a cupcake by opponents now and if things don't change soon, our footbakll team may begin to rival our basketball team in terms of stature. We stink from head to toe!~
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