2011 SEC Media Days: Mark Richt Brings Message of Hope to the Georgia Bulldogs Faithful

by T Kyle King on Jul 21, 2011 9:39 PM EDT in Georgia Bulldogs Football

Despite being asked a question by center Ben Jones, Mark Richt didn’t say much that mattered at SEC Media Days today, but how he said it mattered a great deal.

In less tumultuous times, Coach Richt’s even-keeled demeanor was seen as a strength; his preternatural calm, on display at critical moments of many crucial victories, beginning with the 2001 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, made it appear as though he had the resting heart rate of a jewel thief, a marathon runner, or Hannibal Lecter.

During these difficult days, many well-meaning members of the Bulldog faithful make the mistake of confusing meekness for weakness, questioning whether Coach Richt is able to maintain such calm because he cares so little. While there are a variety of valid criticisms one might offer against Mark Richt, a lack of concern is not among them, and, fortunately, this avenue of attack has been abandoned by all but his most singleminded detractors since his active involvement helped land a stellar signing class in 2011 and is helping to put together similar recruiting hauls for 2012, 2013, and 2014. Dropping an occasional H-bomb at a Bulldog Club meeting doesn’t hurt, either.

In a sense, though, Coach Richt’s harshest critics are correct, and they were proven right---though not in the way they would like to believe---by the way the dean of SEC coaches spoke optimistically of the future to reporters who were there to ask him whether, and to what extent, he is on the hot seat. Mark Richt has the peace at the center that his faith provides, and, while those Georgia fans who hope this will be his final season on the Sanford Stadium sideline speak the truth when they point out that being a good Christian and being a good coach aren’t the same thing, it is important to remember that we have been well served for a decade by Mark Richt’s attitude and outlook.

Without Mark Richt and his quiet confidence, the Georgia Bulldogs still would be winless in Tuscaloosa over the course of their history, and would be without half of their all-time wins in Neyland Stadium. Without Mark Richt and his inner peace, the Georgia Bulldogs would not have won 90 per cent of their games against their in-state rivals over the last ten years, nor would they have won 80 per cent of their games against their oldest rivals over the last five. Without Mark Richt and his upbeat faith, the Georgia Bulldogs would be entering their 28th straight season without a conference crown to their credit.

No, all is not perfect in Bulldog Nation; much, in fact, is far from well, and it may get worse before its gets better . . . but, today, at SEC Media Days, Mark Richt did not have to answer questions about player arrests, or being true to his school, or how many second chances he plans to give to his starting quarterback, or whether his method of managing his roster is morally defensible, or whether his school paid a recruiting go-between for useless video, or whether his school paid for its star player, or whether the NCAA was right to put his school on probation for four years.

I understand and respect the views of all those Georgia fans who believe Mark Richt has overstayed his welcome in Athens, and who hope that, this time next year, we will be preparing for the Gary Patterson or Kirby Smart era to get underway. I recognize the reasonableness and accuracy of much that is said in derogation of our head coach, but, right now, this season, today, Mark Richt is our head coach, and his belief bolsters my belief. He has won here before, and done so in a manner that allowed me to take my son to Sanford Stadium and watch what unfolded there with unbridled pride rather than secret shame, and that provides a basis for believing he can do so again, and soon, and (I hope) soon enough.

None of us knows what the 2011 season will bring, and we will know soon enough how it all unfolds. On this particular Thursday, though, Mark Richt stood before reporters as the longest-tenured head coach in the Southeastern Conference and expressed his faith in the future in what is perhaps his darkest professional hour, and that has given this unabashed admirer of our head coach a measure of hope, which is the first building block of the belief that, where there has been desolation, glory again will arise.

Go ‘Dawgs!

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"Mark Richt has the peace at the center that his faith provides."

Enjoyed the post, but I feel compelled to object to this statement.

Mr. King, if you have first-hand knowledge of Richt’s inner life, I’ll jump on board with your statement. Otherwise I feel we’re employing the same reasoning as the Christian-bashers to draw an inverse conclusion. Put another way, there’s not much difference between "Richt’s cool demeanor regarding poor coaching decisions show that qualities commonly associated with Christianity are holding him back" and "Richt’s calm demeanor towards coaching decisions show that he’s equipped with a positive quality associated with Christianity."

Richt almost seems to be turning into a Bulldog Rorschach test. I can understand that, if Richt’s "belief bolsters [your] belief," you’d be eager to see his demeanor reflect positively on him & that faith. (I suppose this means I’m impeaching you, Mr. King – please don’t think I mean this personally; I’m about to do the other side.) Then there are attacks on Richt that claim he would be "intense" & "proactive" if only he were free of his Christianity – in other words, whatever Richt does wrong is placed on Christianity’s tab. That’s not an argument; it’s a characterization based on a prior commitment.

Here’s what I think we can agree on: there’s no sinning in winning. Although a game plan is preferable to a prayer, with our OL and RBs we likely need both. And last: regardless of whether Richt’s inner peace comes from Christianity or Zen Buddhism – or whether Richt turns into an f-bomb dropping sideline firebrand – we’ll see what kind of football coach he is in about 40 days. Go ‘Dawgs!

by Krautdawg on Jul 22, 2011 1:50 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Fair points, Krautdawg.

Other than the insights I believe I gleaned from interviewing Mark Richt’s brother-in-law and team chaplain (to which I linked for the “meekness for weakness” line), I don’t claim to have any more of a window onto Mark Richt’s inner life than the next fellow, although I believe his actions (adopting Ukrainian orphans, selling his beach house to give money to the poor, going on mission trips) attest to the sincerity of his faith. I feel I am on solid ground to say that is where Coach Richt gets it, though I freely concede that adherents of different faiths, agnostics, or atheists may derive the same peace from alternative sources.

As I tried to acknowledge above, Coach Richt is far from perfect, and the state of the program is very much open to criticism, but, yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I felt good about where we were headed. Others’ mileage quite reasonably may vary, but, given my ongoing negativity, I wanted to share a bit of the positive, because it doesn’t come around very often.

(Depressive Kyle is now back on duty.)

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 22, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Dude.

The simple fact that, in your words, “Christian-bashers” are using a certain argument doesn’t mean that supporters of Mark Richt’s outspoken faith should be prohibited from calling upon his examples in that area.

First, Mark Richt has specifically talked in the past about how his faith brings him peace and stability, so one who draws on that statement isn’t making wild conjecture like the “bashers” you reference.

Second, I disagree with your notion that Richt’s supporters would support him in the same way if he “turned into an f-bomb dropping sideline firebrand.” Making an about-face personality change like that would be antithetical to his persona up to this point, and would imply that he was “faking” the strong faith and convictions he had previously professed. I would think this development would be very negative for him from a support standpoint, and would lose him far more supporters than it would gain.

You’re right, of course, that few people care about your ethics, morals, or faith when you’re winning. Nobody wins every game in every season, however, so who your coach is as a person matters hugely… and fans are right to celebrate a coach whose personal life reflects a faith and actions that we would like to see practiced by more people.

by vineyarddawg on Jul 22, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

This one goes out to T Kyle, Vineyard, & Emory

I have caused confusion & I’m here to fix it. Mr. King, I did not mean to put you onto the defensive. In fact, I agreed with your post – Richt is a devout man of faith, which may or may not translate to success on the playing field (but it would be nice to see the good guy finally win one), and there are reasons for optimism for the coming season.

Additionally, I don’t think anyone would claim that Richt’s religion doesn’t bring him peace. My objection was to the evidence I read you as using to “prove up” that conclusion, i.e. Richt’s on-field demeanor. Stating that Richt’s calm reaction to on-field adversity demonstrates positive Christian qualities was, to me, no stronger than the "basher" argument that Richt’s calm reaction to bad coaching/player decisions shows "negative" Christian qualities. In retrospect, I suppose both sides are stipulating to the man’s inner serenity, and the debate (or “debate”) is really about whether it translates to wins. Nonetheless, I remain convinced that many of our fans’ reactions to Richt’s demeanor tell me more about them than it does about Richt.

Vineyard, the above should make clear that I wasn’t calling T Kyle’s argument invalid, but rather stating that the way I read it, it carried no more weight than the argument it was refuting. And I agree that a profane, ragehead Richt would lose many boosters & donors – unless, as you point out, he’s winning.

Lastly, Emorydawg – isn’t that an oxymoron? (To avoid confusion: this is the point where, in person, I would buy a round.)

by Krautdawg on Jul 22, 2011 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

We're good, Krautdawg.

I agree that any number of people who have inner peace attain it by means other than Christianity, and that, if I meet someone who clearly has inner peace, but about whose inner life I know nothing, it would be presumptuous (even if it was not, in a given instance, mistaken) for me to suppose that Christianity was its source. With respect to Mark Richt, i believe we know enough about his inner life to draw that conclusion in his case, but I concede that it is unfair to extrapolate from that some more general point about humanity, even if my own (admittedly limited) experience suggests to me that this general point probably is more true than not.

When I answered you this morning, I did so upon my belated arrival at the office following a 9:00 a.m. court appearance, during my usual morning routine of drinking a cup of coffee, checking my e-mail and voice mail, and doing a quick jog around the blogosphere. (Some critics, in another thread, would characterize that as “goofing off,” but that is a separate conversation with a much less pleasant person.) Accordingly, I had neither the time nor the resources at my immediate disposal to quote Erasmus, who said it best in 1522:

The sum of religion is peace, which can only be when definitions are as few as possible and opinion is left free on many subjects. Our present problems are said to be waiting for the next Ecumenical Council. Better let them wait till we see God face to face.

I believe we more or less are agreed upon that point, as well as upon the point that we both are hoping a nice guy can finish first this season. It’s all good. Selah.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 22, 2011 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions

+1 on Selah.

THAT is the word I’ll be hanging on to for dear life when we’re in 3rd-and-long and you can see our tailback trying to remember which blitzer he’s supposed to pick up.

And don’t think I’m leaving this thread without confessing my part as well. When I first read your post, it was after a long day of continuous studying and my evening routine of dinner, e-mail checking, and one Scotch on the rocks to smooth the day’s check of the blogosphere (it became necessary during the Martinez years). My girlfriend actually did walk by and say “oh, fooball blogging” with a tone to it. Then I ended up taking a pretty hard “4-corners” interpretive tack to your post. So here we are.

Truth be told, whether a squad of college kids wins football games is one of those things that will never, ever affect my own faith (adjusting for a couple of apostate days after tough losses). I suspect the same is true for you, with the exception that I don’t consider my faith bolstered by good seasons (“These, too, are vanity”). Still, I’m liking the Season of Selah, and I believe I’ll toast to it right now. Where did I put that Scotch …

by Krautdawg on Jul 23, 2011 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

"Richt almost seems to be turning into a Bulldog Rorschach test."

This. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Most concise/accurate observation I’ve seen in re: the hot seat. If you think the best way to show your Bulldog bonafides is to piss and moan over every loss, then your going to take a much more cynical tack toward our coach’s demeanor. “He doesn’t care like I do, rrraaarrrrrrroooooowwwwwwwlllll.” It’s self-defeating. There’s always going to be someone angrier, more strident, more upset, more self-righteous about their cubicle and armchair football IQ. One thing I’ve noticed about comments on Dawg blogs is that we have some unbelievable jackasses in our fanbase. Insufferable, petty, nitpicky jerks. And honestly, it makes reading about the team a little less enjoyable. Am I really supposed to believe these folks know more than the coaches? Particularly when the coaches get the opportunity to evaluate players for however many hours during practice? Really???

By contrast, if your idea of being a fan is staying loyal/patient/optimistic through thick and thin, and taking the broader view about the program as an ambassador for the University… then… of course you’re going to be displeased with the arrests, suspensions, and the W-L record over the past three or so seasons. But, fire and brimstone??? It’s not worth the broken keyboard and hair loss.

In my mind, when evaluating our fans, and our coach… passion isn’t always a virtue.

by EmoryDawg on Jul 22, 2011 10:01 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs