Yeah, yeah. I know. This element has been brought up multiple times on here as well as any other forum of UGA football discussion. Well, this little quote brought back a memory from last year that might be of interest to you all.
"One of the hardest things is walking around this city and to be around these players and to see some of them taking things for granted, some of the guys who are just happy to put the 'G' on or to wear a Georgia football shirt downtown to pick up women. They want to put a 'G' on so people will recognize them. So what? The 'G' doesn't make you. As soon as these players realize the 'G' doesn't make the person, the person makes the 'G,' that's how they know Georgia's so much better than everybody else." - Kelin Johnson
My story starts off in what I would consider my favorite bar downtown on December 11th, 2010. It was quiet for a Saturday night, except for a group sharing the other end of the bar with my friend and me. This group was decent in size and everyone was dressed in penguin suits and dresses. Shots were being thrown around, pictures were being taken, and it just looked like one hell of a great time. After releasing some of the alcohol from my system and during my walk back to my bar seat, I decided to ask one of the guys in the group as to what the celebration was for. "We just got back from an awards ceremony and are living it up!" said the man. He then introduced himself as Rhett McGowan from the UGA football team. I believe he read how unimpressed I was (and currently I was thinking of the terrible football season I witnessed), because the next notion of his was to introduce Tavarres King, who happened to be standing about five feet from us and wearing some arm candy. I decided to give King a nice handshake, just like McGowan, but at the time I threw a question or two in. "How do you feel about this upcoming bowl game?", in which King replied, "Yeah, should be an easy one". My handshake decided to tighten up, and before I let my drunk mind take over, I spouted out, "Well, you better beat them. Good luck". I walked away from the group as they proceeded to pound shots and live it up. My friend and I paid our tabs and we were gone, only to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Later that night, I looked up both players only to find that they were underage at the time. After that night, I felt that we might actually lose to UCF and ever since that loss, I have lost almost all my respect for the current discipline for the team. That discipline comes solely from the coaching staff.
I feel like the majority is giving respect to all this gimmick and hype that is now the UGA football team. This respect was earned after many years of a very powerful program, but I feel like many of the players and coaches are riding on that and not making a name for their own. Just like what Kelin Johnson said, the players need to make the 'G', not that the 'G' makes the players.