I posted this in repsonse to one of your comments about the UGA – USC game a few weeks ago. Not sure if you saw it since I was a little late to the party, but I thought it applied to this post as well. Since you’re still harping on the UGA game, I will too. If you’ve already seen it/ ignored it, apologies in advance.

I can certainly appreciate your gracious attitude in victory. I’ll say that as I was leaving Sanford Stadium, not one UGA fan said a word to my friends or me (save for a about 3 or so snotty remarks from co-eds – I think Georgia may have the most ill-mannered female fans of any SEC school). I think anyone who knows anything about football knew that UGA was lucky to preserve that win.

However, I also must admit that I bristle a little bit when I hear a UGA fan claim that the "What if?"s for UGA clearly outnumbered those for USC. Your litany of "What if?"s ran thusly:

What if Rod Battle had not been hurt . . . what if Justin Houston had not been suspended . . . what if Branden Smith had downed the kickoff in the end zone instead of bringing it out . . . what if Joe Cox hadn’t telegraphed his throw by locking onto the receiver on the interception . . . what if Stephen Garcia hadn’t had the game of his life . . . what if Spencer Lanning hadn’t had the game of his life . . . what if the fake punt hadn’t worked . . . what if the long snapper hadn’t sent the ball over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone . . . what if Georgia had only turned the ball over twice as often as South Carolina . . . what if South Carolina had had only an eight-minute time of possession advantage . . . what if Georgia had had more rushing yards than penalty yards . . . what if Georgia’s offensive production had been even close to South Carolina’s?

These, with the possible exception of the long snapper sending the ball over the punter’s head, are not examples of the kind of scratch-your-head, rip-your-heart-out moments that characterize true "What if?"s. For every UGA "if" tit, there is a USC "if" tat. We had our share of suspensions, telegraphed passes and the like. For you to even suggest "What if South Carolina had only had an 8 minute time of possesion advantage," illustrates that UGA fans are not true connoisseurs of the enigmatc "What if" as are Carolina fans. That’s almost akin to my saying, "What if South Carolina consistenly had a more talented team than UGA?" A true what if goes something like this: "What is Spencer Lanning had made his easiest kick of the nights?" Or perhaps,"What if Tori Gurley had not had two touchdowns called back?" Or better still, "What if our kick return unit hadn’t inexplicably taken the night off?" These are the type of "What if?"s that Carolina fans could list ad naseum from almost every UGA game going back from here to eternity. I don’t seem to recall ever hearing about the SEC commissioner calling UGA to apologize for ten missed holding calls in one game.

But I can’t fault you too much for your inexperience in what-ifery. UGA fans count their heart-breaking losses by the decade ("Remember that one time when we didn’t win 10 games in one season?"). South Carolina fans count our heart-breaking losses by the season – sometimes even on two hands. When the losing team leads the victor in first downs, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, and turnovers, I’d say that at the absolute very least, it is debatable as to whether the better team truly won.

And please don’t mistake my remarks as disparaging in any way. There is a reason UGA won on Saturday night, having much to do with the great tradition, passion, and talent that surrounds that football program. I am sincere in saying that I appreciate your graciousness and your praise for my team. However, please do not insist that lady luck favored the Gamecocks over the Bulldogs on Saturday night. You got the victory, let me have my "What if?"s.

I fail to see why some reasonable Georgia fans are so put off by Dr. Saturday’s position, so much so that you feel the need to address it the day before the Arizona State game. Moreso than any other game I can remember, it’s like the two fan bases watched two different games.

The Gamecocks outgained UGa by over 100 yards and had two touchdowns called back by penalties. Regardless of how close you think the game was, South Carolina was one play from winning at the end. That’s pretty close.