John Leonard's column discussing the ouster of Mark Richt

sadlerdawg, have said this before, one more time. You are a "pillar of strength" on this board. Here before me and many others, does not mean a lot to some, but you are a senior member and you do not "blink".

Blink meaning you are true to your "word". That is not true when those of us that look at "every site available" and read some of the "stuff" that is often "repeated", and it is BS.

Moving away from the back pats or slaps, the game in JAX is driving me nuts. I am having a group of folks in my space for the game. Many are Dawgs, gators and Seminoles, and others.

Seems that the game in JAX has come down to a "deep discussion". I am glad that those that surround me in my space are folks with a level head and can "openly discuss" college football. Some older, some younger, some come for the food, and as yd1 mentions sometimes . . . . Bloody Mary's. We do have an open bar that is supported by those that can handle a "good time".

Go Dawgs . . . .

Mike Adams ghostwrote it.

Understood averagedawg.

I posted this response to that guy:

I used to be a rabid Richt supporter like you, until quite recently. Having been raised in a Bulldog family, my own fandom started back in the 1960s. I lived through "above average" football under Dooley and "average-to-above-average" football under Goff and "declining-results-above-average" football under Donnan. So when Richt came on board in the early 2000s, it was a breath of fresh air. He elevated the program to heights we had not seen before - and that includes Dooley, to be perfectly honest. Just compare their W/L records (you have to have SOME sort of measuring stick). (I awarded the National Championship to Herschel and still do.)

So Richt IS a very good football coach. EXCELLENT even! And if "very good" is your cup of tea, welcome to "above-average-ville". I can't deny that it's been fun to watch the Dawgs play "above average" for most of my life. And watching my Dawgs finish in the top 25 year after year has been fun too. Sometimes we have even cracked the final top 10! YAY!

But to suggest that wanting more than that is "fair weather" is defeatist on YOUR part.

Is it wrong to want to win a National Championship? Alabama fans, by YOUR standard, are "fair-weather", because they only like "fair-weather". Tennessee fans too. Florida fans too. Abuurn (sp) fans too. Ohio State fans too. Southern Cal fans too. Oklahoma fans too. Florida State fans too. So I guess I am guilty of being "fair-weather" in my fandom, because I only want "fair-weather" for my football team. By YOUR standards, the only REAL fans belong to Wake Forest, Duke, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss (yes, Ole Miss), Mississippi State, Kentucky . . . and on and on . . . (and Georgia) schools that simply don't win National Championships . . . you know it, I know it, and THEY know it. But they are fans nonetheless, and apparently the BEST KIND, because they seem to "enjoy" weather that is other than "fair".

Your comparison of Jim Harbaugh and Richt is nuts. Who cares what Harbaugh says or does, outside of Michigan? I only concern myself with Georgia - guess that makes me "fair-weather" too. When you went off on that comparison, I patiently waited until you returned to the subject. Still waiting.

We have gotten used to being one of those "very good" football teams that "nobody wants to play" and everyone "marks on their calendar" every year. Does that satisfy you? Because it no longer satisfies a lot of us. If that makes us "fair-weather", then it suggests that we are becoming more like fans in Tuscaloosa. I think that is a good sign - we need to elevate our program, so we can look schools like Alabama in the eye. We certainly can't look them in the eye yet - they stand FAR ABOVE us. You seem satisfied to chant "S-E-C, S-E-C" while watching Alabama and Abuurn (sp), LSU and Florida hoist trophies over their heads, and watching the Dawgs play someone like Purdue in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on December 28th. I'm happy for you. Enjoy . . . because it's looking like another one of those years for us. I hope the weather in Shreveport or Charlotte is "fair" for you when you get there. Seriously.

You make the losses to Alabama and Tennessee sound like they were close, hard fought contests, in which the better team lost. The reality - cold and hard as it is - is that we do not belong in the same SENTENCE with Alabama, much less STADIUM. And losing a 21 point margin over a team as anemic as Tennessee simply brought home the fact that we are possibly not even above average this year. And then to not even score a TD against Missouri brought home the point even more severely. We WILL lose at least ONE more game this year - to Florida. And we will PROBABLY lose one or MORE games past that. That's not "fair-weather-ism" that's just "REALISM". Our football team is "fair" this year, so I guess even "I" can still hope, huh?

What Richt has done for our football program is awesome. He has shown us that we can be better than just "above average". But he has also proven, over and over and over and over again, that HE will not elevate us to the highest level. He won't. He hasn't. He is showing no signs of being able to do that. And it's not just one or two bad calls, and it's not just a few "fair-weather" fans inside the state of Georgia saying that, either. It's become a meme among national sports writers. Clemson-ing and Richt-ing are synonyms, John. Harsh reality sets in, eventually.

But that happens for some sooner than others. Enjoy our "above-average" football this year. And probably next year. And probably the year after that. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Wow !!! I had no idea when I posted that link it would cause this much of an uproar

I just wanted everyone to see what this guy had to say and how "misguided" he is.

His sucking up in that article almost makes me believe that someone has some personal, private pictures of him that he doesn't want to get out.


Anyway, GREAT write up Thriller !!! I hope he answers you back so we can laugh at him !


DM<