Glory Redux

 

The fans of the Georgia Bulldogs and, indeed, the entire state of Georgia owe the 2022 edition a great amount of gratitude.

After last week, when Georgia somehow, someway, defeated Ohio State based on an errant field goal, this state could not take another nail-biter. Especially to a team from The Big 12 Conference, which the SEC sort of looks at like the way the Atlanta Braves looks at The Montgomery Biscuits.

It's not that TCU was a lousy team. Shoot, they beat Michigan, which had defeated Ohio State. But, like Georgia, they have gotten lucky in a couple of games, like the one against Baylor, where they won on a field goal that looked like The Three Stooges designed it.

TCU's quarterback,  Max Duggan, finished second in The Heisman Trophy balloting. That means football fans that many people who know what they are talking about think he is a good quarterback.  And he is.

But this 2023 College Football Championship was just too big of a stage for Duggan and the rest of the Horned Toads. Yes, I giggle every time I say "Horned Toads".   

Georgia, on the other hand, seemed right at home.  They won it last year against the Crimson Tide, which was a big deal.  Georgia hadn't won a championship since January 1, 1981.  Jimmy Carter was still President.

TCU hoped to win. Georgia expected to win.  

I don't know if Stetson Bennett IV is the greatest quarterback in recorded history. But I know he won't have to buy a meal in any restaurant in the state of Georgia for the rest of his life.

There's something about his story. The walk-on that somehow becomes first string and leads his team to two national championships. It says a lot about him that he didn't dump football because he had a lot of opportunities to do so, and nobody would have blamed him if he did.

But he didn't, and he scored two touchdowns last night. (It seems like everybody scored two touchdowns last night. If Uga X had been there, he would have scored two touchdowns.)

The Georgia defense was more than great. They were stifling. Just when it looked like TCU might get something going, they didn't.  They made only one mistake all night, which led to TCU's only score.

It is safe to say that Kirby Smart has his place safely inside the pantheon of great Georgia coaches.  He had his team prepared, which is the greatest compliment you can give a coach.

The morning after, the media was filled with the usual media stuff. Drunk idiot college kids hooping and hollering in front of a TV camera.  Sports talking heads debating this question: Is Nick Saban still THE GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), or is it Kirby Smart?

All I know is winning is better than losing.  Most of the time, the teams I've rooted for has been on the losing end of a beat-down like this. Think of The Atlanta Falcons. Think of The Atlanta Braves. Think of The Atlanta Hawks.  Georgia overcame the powerful Manis Loser Rays.

Georgia fans should enjoy the victory.  Here in the Atlanta area, we have a lot of fans of the other schools who do not like the barking, the woofing, and the hunker downing.

When you win back-to-back championships, you can bark all you want.