Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fans cost the Dawgs a recruit.

Way to go, "fans" of UGA football. All of your whining and clamoring and posturing against Richt and Co have cost the Dawgs a stud DT recruit.....maybe.

Jordan Watkins said that he has a great relationship with Georgia's coaches, and couldn't imagine attending UGA if they weren't there. All of the fan fervor against the coaching staff caused him to pick Stanford over the Home school. Now, if UGA goes on a 10-game run, shuts all the petulant fans up, and finishes with an SEC crown...maybe that will give Watkins a good reason to change his mind.

But, as it stands, the fans are beginning to hurt the program more than Richt could. Richt's Dawgs lost 12 games in 2 seasons, and he signed one of the best classes in program history. Apparently, those KIDS believe in Richt and his ability to rebuild this program.

Maybe our fans could learn a thing or two from these kids.

Go Dawgs.


10 comments:

Dr. Merkwurdigliebe said...

Apparently you didn't read all of his comments. The tenure of Mark Richt was not the issue. Stanford was his favorite from the git-go.

Ben Dukes said...

I did read his comments, and while Stanford may have been the leader, our fans sure didn't make the decision difficult on him. When you have a fanbase that loves their team, and supports them come what may, then you foster an atmosphere that makes kids want to go there. At UGA, we don't have that. Fans became spoiled, and most importantly, jealous of other schools. They do not have the patience to let football be football, to let cycles be cycles.

Instead, they are like whiny children who won't shut up until they get their way.

That's not something players want to be a part of.

tckr83 said...

OR maybe the kid wanted to go to Stanford... he's a VERY bright young man after all. That is your spin on the subject as you completely omitted everything else he said in the article.

We could've lost him because Stanford is a MUCH better football team right now than UGA as well... But, blame it on the fans that have absolutely nothing to do with what happens on the field.

Apparently the cold taste of reality hasn't smacked you in the face yet. We've been in a cycle for a while now... and we still find a different way to lose a game every week. 11-14 over last 25 if you remove the 1-aa teams played... Donnan and Goff were let go for less.

I like Mark Richt too, but come on man. Bobby Bowden was a GREAT coach, greater than Mark Richt will ever be... until he wasn't and Bobby Bowden was replaced. It happens. Players don't want to be a part of losing either... you can read that from the comments/tweets from the current Dawgs.

BuLLdawg said...

I-A Wins 2006-2011 ( 6 Seasons )

1. Boise State 63 wins

2. Florida 58 wins

3. Texas Christian 56 wins

4. Oklahoma 56 wins

5. Virginia Tech 54 wins

6. LSU 53 wins

7. Southern California 53 wins

8. BYU 52 wins

9. Texas 52 wins

10. Utah 52 wins

11. West Virginia 51 wins

12. Wisconsin 51 wins

13. Missouri 50 wins

14. Oregon 49 wins

15. Auburn 49 wins

16. Penn State 48 wins

17. Hawaii 48 wins

18. Boston College 47 wins

19. Cincinnati 47 wins

20. Texas Tech 47 wins

21. Navy 46 wins

22. Ohio State 46 wins I thought they are supposed to be great ?

23. Tulsa 45 wins

24. Oklahoma State 45 wins

25. Nebraska 45 wins

26. South Florida 44 wins

27. Nevada-Reno 44 wins

28. Georgia Tek 44 wins – outside Top 25 over these last 6 seasons now

29. Georgia Bulldogs 44 wins 2006-2011 – six (6) seasons

I-A Wins 2006-2011 ( 6 Seasons )

Gawdsports said...

I posted this response on LHB. I thought it would be fair to share it here - first hand info.
I have to step up to be the unpopular contrarian. First, players should not be booed; however, coaches and their decisions can be whether inside the stadium or on the internet. Sometimes that’s a fine line, but agreed the boundary should not be crossed. It shouldn’t matter one iota what BuLLdawg or Darth Prophet have said, or written about the program. If it does the program is in more danger than imaginable, because they are worried what some yahoo, 38 year old still living in his parent’s basement, is blogging.

Yes, I do believe with Ben Dukes’ thesis that a lack of winning and a winning environment lead Jordan Watkins to pick Stanford. He publicly stated that he wondered if his position coach would be there for his college career. But I reject wholeheartedly that me or any poster contributed that calamity, any portion. The same fans who are writing their thoughts are the same ones who made Sanford Stadium for USCe the loudest it has been since the Auburn black out. They were cheering and rooting for the Dawgs to pull it out until the bitter end. Some clapped to honor the effort that valiant players gave, as they exited the field after another loss. No, it’s not the “fan’s fault” that another player or victory has eluded Coach Mark Richt, yet again.

What does shoulder the entire weight? What’s cause the lack of winning? The leadership of the program has been eroded by going 0’fer against Top 25 teams the last 2 plus years. When you play in the SEC, you run up against top tier competition week in and week out, no matter how soft your schedule may be; thus that becomes a major issue. Who controls game planning? Who controls scheme? Who controls how well players are prepared to execute plays? Who controls tackling technique? Who teaches and preaches ball security? Who controls blitz pick up and the fundamentals of RB’s pick up the LB? Who sets the tone and tenor by which their players play? Who controls teaching blocking technique? Who sets forth policy to control players off field actions? Who ultimately controls winning? Not Charlie Sheen – Winning duh!

Answer those questions and you get the conclusion as to why Jordan choose to go West Coast. No that’s not on me!

Ben Dukes said...

BuLLDawg! Been a while. I thought you had lost interest. Glad you're keeping me up to date on those ever-important win totals.

Ben Dukes said...

Gawdsports -

You may "get" some of what I'm saying, but I don't think you understand the entire problem with the acidic fanbase that follows Georgia football. Having been on the sidelines, and heard fans booing, I can tell you first-hand that it's absolutely ridiculous, and does not foster a positive relationship between the team and its fanbase.

As for the USC game being the loudest since the Blackout at Auburn, yeah...in the fourth quarter, the fans woke up. Way to go.

Simply put - the Fans came into that game timid, afraid the game wouldn't go their way...which is flat-boned idiotic. I have a news flash for fans - YOU DON'T WIN OR LOSE A GAME. The game being played actually doesn't change your life...unless of course, you bet on it, or your pride can't take looking that Auburn grad in the eye as he scans your DVDs at Wal-Mart. I'll be posting another blog in a while about this topic, so I hope you read. And no, I don't mind contrary opinions.

Mr. Sanchez said...

And why did they come in timid Ben? Perhaps it is the last couple years of pissing ourselves in every big game like that, because we weren't timid when we were able to win those games, or at least be competitive. But after getting blasted again and again against top teams, and having been scoreboard aside, whipped for the majority of the game against Boise, they might have a reason not to be optimistic going in to last Saturday against the preseason favorite to win the SEC East.

Ben Dukes said...

So Sanchez;

You're backing me up that the fanbase is largely a group of whiny children who can't "man up?" Thanks.

Mr. Sanchez said...

I can probably agree with that. And we are 100,000% in agreement on the never, ever booing part. That's just beyond unacceptable.

But yeah, the fans are a bunch of whiny kids. We bicker amongst ourselves. We have segments that will whine about folks too negative. We have segments that whine about folks who are too positive. We're spoiled, never satisfied, and there's always, and I mean always, a segment who's unhappy. As I've told a perpetually sour friend one time, "I could give you $1,000,000, and you'd @itc# that the bills weren't crisp." It is what it is, fans will always complain, and as any customer service professional would tell you, even if you have one unsatisfied customer for every 1,000 satisfied, you will always hear more from the unsatisfied folks.