A Word or Two About Terrance Moore's Article

I'm a huge dawg fan and loved the enthusiasm as well as the intensity of the moment and the game.  CMR missed the mark.  There are so many classier ways to fire up a team rather than to shove it in their face...especially in the first quarter.  It was immature and wimpy.  Think how 'foolish' we would have looked if we had not won!  We literally gave them the first two touchdowns.  Most of all it showed how desperate and how starved we were to have some success over the Gators.  If I were a recruit, I'd really wonder if Georgia is a truly a top-tier SEC team or a wanna-be.  It was embarrassing!  Real winners just don't do it that way.  

The "enthusiasm" and "intensity" you rightly laud was due, in large part, to the end-zone celebration.

Were we "shoving it in their face" with the celebration? Yeah, probably. Just like Steve Spurrier dropping 50 on us in Athens in '95, just like Reggie Nelson openly dogging Mo Massaquoi last year. They've been the a*holes in this rivalry for the last 18 years, and for the most part we just sat back and took it. Basically what Richt did was decide that a) we weren't going to take it anymore and b) we were going to try and be the a*holes for once. I think the team found that it felt kinda good.

Some recruits might wonder "if Georgia is truly a top-tier SEC or a wanna-be," but I think the scoreboard at the end of the game probably answered most of those questions. I think it was much more likely that potential recruits decided they liked Richt's guts, and that he's the kind of guy they'd like to play for.

Celebration or no celebration, we took care of business, and from the coaching staff right on down to the bench players and water boys, I'm proud of our team today. GO DAWGS!

Randomterrace... ZING.  Well done.

Hortdawg...I respectfully disagree.  From my perspective in the upperdeck in the stadium, the intended effect was clearly achieved in the players, coaches and fans.  It was such a bold (call it immature and foolish if you like) move that it set the tone that this year we were not going to play this game like we played many of the last 10-15 games in this series - like a kid desperately holding onto a toy just waiting for a bigger kid to come take it away.  Sure, we had to kick off from the 7 yard line and Florida got an easy touchdown.  But, Florida likely was going to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession regardless of the yard line from which we kicked off.  But, the bold move instilled in our players and fans the attitude that we are going to give Florida much more than they bargained for.  What is more, at that point, at least 20% of the Florida section seats were still empty.  Their fans were dragging themselves into the stadium and by the time they got seated, we had cranked up a buzzsaw and nobody saw it coming.

Also, I think your comments underestimate Coach Richt and overestimate our 18-20 year old players.  I have no doubt that Coach Richt has tried many of the "classier ways to fire up" this team and we are all aware of the results.  If Coach Richt felt like this was an effective way to fire up this group of kids, I respect his judgment.  More importantly, hindsight overwhelmingly validates his judgment.

Regarding the players, no one can ever be sure what action will fire up a group of young kids in a given situation, but a good old school Lou Holtz pep talk probably would not have been all that effective.  But, you know what was effective?  Instructing them to celebrate and have fun.  That worked.

I would be concerned if we behaved like that in every game.  But, the beauty of this move was that it was a once-in-a-lifetime gimmick and it worked like a thing of unadulterated beauty.  Those kids have never had more fun playing football than they did yesterday.  

My guess is that we lose exactly zero recruits as a result of this celebration.

Your comment about "real winners" is valid.  But let's be honest, every college football fan in the country knows about how Florida has dominated this series since 1990.  Real winners don't lose 15 out of 17 to a rival.  I would much prefer that despite the recent run of success by the Gators that our psyche would still be one of complete confidence and swagger, but it has not been for some time.  However, if this game is the start of a UGA winning streak in the series, we magically will become known as "real winners" in the minds of football fans other than those dressed in red and black with a propensity for barking.

GO DAWGS!

i don't see how anyone who has followed georgia football for any length of time could condemn what the team did after moreno's first td, either a professional sports "journalist" or the dummy who posted here first.

i can easily see how someone who follows a different team or a different conference and who doesn't know where these players have been could view their actions as classless and low-rent.  i thought it was great, and the "suggestion" cmr made to his team that instigated it was a brilliant piece of coaching psychology.  and you know what?  they did win, and maybe this had something to do with it.

more than this, though, is the fact that cmr--of any coach--has more bankable credibility in the integrity department than anyone, so i'll take my cues about what is or is not foolish from him, thank you.

t. moore banged out an ill-considered, mean-spirited piece of crap because sometimes that's what small-minded people with big megaphones and deadlines do.

I. Florida ended up getting the ball around their own 35 after we celebrated. So, while it can be argued that Reshad Jones played the ball badly and "gave" them a touchdown, it cannot be argued that the penalty did.

II. An arguement I hear a lot in condemning the celebration is "what if we had lost?" Well, what if we had? Would the gesture have lost it's quality just because we lost? I don't think so. I said to myself at the time, "If we don't score one more point, it was worth it to let them know we're not afraid." I also told my fiancee to hit me hard in the face if I ever, ever doubted coach Richt again (which I have in this very blog.) That isn't to say that I'll never doubt him, just that I'll keep it to myself next time, waiting for the inevitable sunrise of his superior knowledge, talent and experience.

P.S. Sorry about all the spelling errors, but it was very, very late.

It was a gambit that worked.  CMR so rarely shows excessive emotion that it stands out when he does.  There has been a lot of discussion about his apparent stoicism lately, and I believe that he might have taken it as constructive criticism.

He smiled at a dogpile in Tuscaloosa, showed a spark after the game in Nashville, and then last night he let his emotions go a lot more than he normally does.  He's not going to turn into Dan Hawkins or Bobby Knight.  He is, however, still willing to learn and grow as a coach, and he might be picking up a few new motivational techniques.

Pretty good for a 7th year coach who is a third of the way to passing Vince Dooley.  Many people with his resume and experience would think they already know everything they need to.  But last year, he gave up the OC job, and this year, he picked up some fire.

There is a time and a place for everything, and I believe that last night was it.  He is learning when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, when to walk away and when to jump around in the end zone.

As Hannibal Smith would say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

The sideline clearing was AWESOME. And it seemed to work. Why should we care what they're saying about us? Maybe it's a rare win. So what? Bottom line:  Gators got spanked in 2007....Case closed....

Worse than having done it and lost the game would have been having done it and had the TD overturned.

Meyer was beside himself mad and that certainly worked to our favor.

I was surprised that with as many PF type penalties that things never seemed on the verge of out of control.  If it had been close to that, the blown defensive offsides and associated unnecessary roughness for hitting Stafford would have certainly resulted in a free for all.

My personal opinion is that it showed we were here and ready to claim our half of the field.  They may have been upset that we disrespected their field, but if it is neutral then half of it is ours.

I think we should do it next year.  If we are warned of grave consequences for running on the field then call Duke and get the Dukies to give us something to do on the sideline (maybe turn in unison and show them what we thing they should do).  Then in 09 it will be so much in their minds that we won't even have to do it.  After 09 alternate just to keep it as a possibility.

Great way to really get back into this series and stay in the running for the East.

While I generally subscribe to the Bear Bryant school (when you get to the endzone, act like you've been there before) and believe wholeheartedly that sportsmanship has left the building in all sports, I thought Coach Richt's tactic was brilliant.

I don't think any team (especially Georgia) should do anything to provoke our opponents, the "get a penalty" thing was a great idea. Maybe the team went a little too far.  

Let's don't go overboard - let's keep Georgia the class act it's always been and leave the tacky-ness to the Gators, Jackets, etc.    

I left out a "but".

My statement should have read -  I don't think any team (especially Georgia) should do anything to provoke our opponents, BUT the "get a penalty" thing was a great idea.

Sorry.

Terrance Moore blows and should go back to South Bend. He hasn't talked much ND or Cincinnati Reds smack this year.

..showed up last night.  That passion that this team and coaching staff have seemingly lacked finally arrived in the game that we needed it to come out in.  I knew after the ten. game that the Bulldog nation's pride had been insanely bruised, but i can truthfully say that after saturday's game, i have never been more proud and excited about my bulldogs in a long time.

Terrance Moore is an idiot.  This guy who made these bumper stickers is NOT.  "Honk if you sacked Tebow!"  Just  Hilarious.  The ability to taunt the gators while I'm driving... Priceless.  Found on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150176829352&ssPageNa me=STRK:MESE:IT

What Doug, et al, said.  

Randomterrance - you make an interesting point about Moore Terrance possibly not having full belief in what he wrote.  Something to think about.  

I was not pleased to see the entire team run onto the field.

Several concerns:

1. The play was under review.  If the play had been overturned, UGA would have had a 30 yard penalty and no TD.  That would have looked stupid to the nth degree.
   
2.  The ensuing TD had nothing to do with the penalties since UF had a penalty on the return and started on about the 35---pretty where they might have started had nothing happened.
   
3.  It could have turned ugly (think Miami-FIU).  These are young people who are enthusiastic.  It might not have taken much to start a fight. Watching it on my DVR today (Monday) I saw how disciplined UGA was in its undisciplined celebration).  The team ran onto the field and stopped a couple of yards short of the players on the field.
   
4. I expect that if UF scores first next year, we will see the same thing.  I hope everyone here who is applauding UGA doing it remembers that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Fantastic game.  I was in Boston for work and set myself up at John Harvard's brewpub (great beers) to watch the game.  Almost went to the first half of the Harvard-Dartmouth game, but the weather was looking bad.  Anyway, a woman sitting just down the bar was really into the game.  Turns out she is a 2003 UGA grad in town to see a friend.  Small world.  Made it a lot more fun to watch!