Reflecting on changes that are and have been made recently at UGA.
Remember when Fox was first hired on . . . . basically none of us were aware of who this man was. On this board many said, and wanted a "name" coach. Several were calling for Bobby Knight to be hired. Point being that there is a lot of talent in all of the athletic programs that none of us are aware of. Many of us are fed the things that we believe. Has to be true right, it was reported that way on ESPN, AJC, and bloggers on the internet.
Many are basically dependent on news either from friends, news organizations or coach speak. Then we have those that pay attention to our teams, whether basketball, football, baseball, tennis, swimming etc. These are the folks that are true not only to their sport, but to themselves. These are the folks that should be listened to. The people that go to the hardcourt games, the folks that load up their vehicles with family and friends and meet in Athens for football games. Nothing wrong with good information, that however is hard to get. Insiders like to protect what they have.
One of the main reasons that I post on this board pertains to the above statement. On this site we have people that "really understand" sports, sports that they have either played or have great knowledge of. kd comes to my mind with that comment. Said he did not play football, we would not know that reading his posts. He was also the first person on this board to welcome me on board, won't forget that either.
Go to any other site on the internet, what you will end up with is a group that think they own that particular site because they have been there longer or have more posts than others. What normally comes out of their brain and meets the keyboard is not objective, or should I say a large portion of the time is anything but objective.
One of the places that I still go to, but have less and less respect for is the AJC. They no longer are reporting, they are causing controversy to get the hits needed to retain their status with the higher ups.
Mentioned in another thread sometime back that when Bisher and Outlar departed the Atlanta papers, reporting was dead and the BS started and has not stopped in a lot of cases. This is not to say that some of the "reporters" at the AJC don't put some effort into their blogs, but most of it is pathetic. Nice way for "cubs" if even that to make a living . . . doing nothing.
Takes me back to this . . . . Fox. In my simple mind I relate his hiring to what needs to be done with the football program. Some of that is happeneing now. S&C. It appears to me that next year our coaching staff will pretty much stay in the positions that they hold now. This way of doing things could be really good or totally bad. I feel that there is talent on both sides of the ball, however I am not so blinded by the "speak" that I don't see the talent that our opponents are bringing in. Too many good athletes out there in high school and junior college for all SEC teams not to be improved.
This recruiting cycle is probably going to have more to do with UGA football than I have witnessed in maybe a lifetime of watching the Dawgs. Our team of coaches are going to prove their mettle . . . . . right now.
I look at some kids that have signed on or are going to sign on with other schools and it makes me step back. Think that SS already has 10 or so commits from the State of Georgia. His team got beaten badly in Atlanta, but what I take from that is this, South Carolina made it to the championship game. Hard to believe that SS won't go again, just like he stayed after Florida until he beat them. Beat them in the Swamp. The stadium that he named.
I sincerely hope that next year will be a break out year for our team. We have been less than good on the field for far too long. Some teams will travel great distances to make some money for their school or conference. Teams that know they are going to get their brains beaten out, these are the athletes that I admire. Not that these young men schedule the games, but they sure as heck put out all that they have when the whistle blows.
UGA either needs different football coaches, or it needs for its coaches to wake up, the hibernation comes to a close right now. Bears sleep through the winter, then wake up hungry and take care of business. Again, I think that this period of recruiting will tell a huge story about what UGA is or is not. My opinion.