Coach Kirby Smart showed up at Sanford Stadium Saturday, excited and buoyant with a positive frame of mine, but that is nothing new. He told his team that they should enjoy themselves, play hard, play smart, and enjoy the moment.
“You don’t find this atmosphere everywhere,” he told his eager team, which has experienced more castigation this season than the previous eight years combined.
It was a whole house of full-throated “Damn Good Dawgs,” bent on aiding and abetting the home team in the splendor of a night game that brought about elevated emotions for a matchup of top-ranked teams, showcased by national television.
In every game, subplots, vignettes, and sidebars leave a team with a good or bad taste in their mouth, depending on whether it is a victory or a loss.
I have fun with wide receiver Arian Smith, whom I refer to as my cousin. He is always in a good mood with an ebullient personality. He gave me a hug and said, “We don’t lose at home.”
That is a Kirby Smart tradition, which is no small thing. It heightens the challenge for opposing teams. The momentum that comes with repeated success breeds confidence. Then, the Smart man in charge works to make sure that success does not bring about arrogance.
There has been no coach on record lately (certainly to my knowledge) who doesn’t value good field position, which Georgia did not have all night against Tennessee. Yet, there was an offensive consistency that ranks with some of the best performances of the past.
The Bulldogs scored from their 25, 16, and 25-yard lines in the first half and then shut out the visitors in the second half. Georgia added touchdowns in the second half, starting from their 13-yard line and eight-yard line.
When the Dawgs sacked the Tennessee quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, late in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble, they enjoyed the best field position of the night at the Tennessee 45. Still, the game was over, and the celebration had begun.
Coach Smart pointed out that the Bulldogs got a lot of help from the fans. When he came to town as the new leader of the program in late 2015, he began engaging the student body, telling them at a basketball game that he wanted them to fill Sanford Stadium for the spring game. They did.
He told them two years ago that when Tennessee came to town ranked No. 1, they would not be doing their job if they didn’t leave the game with sore lungs.
That happened, too.
He has given Georgia its greatest era, and while the gentry may fuss and carp sometimes – hey, don’t we do that in our own families? – they know how good they have it.
Some teams hope for an 8-4 season and a trip to a holiday bowl. Dawg fans can bask in the glory of having lost only four games in four years.
With the program's support reaching exceptional status and Kirby’s indefatigable energy and resourceful commitment pushing for it to be even greater, this can be the epicenter of college football as long as the head coach’s stamina retains its edge.
When he told his players to enjoy the scene, play their best, seize the moment, and strive to bring glory to ‘ol Georgia,’ he was sharing with them his love and devotion to his alma mater.
When he fell in love with Georgia as a high school defensive back, playing for his dad in Bainbridge, it was as real as it has been for any Bulldog loyalist who has rung the chapel bell and has sung “Glory to ol’ Georgia.”
The late color announcer for the Bulldog radio network, Bill Munday, often appeared when Georgia alumni gathered and were dedicated to making this toast.
“I was Bulldog born, “I was Bulldog bred, “When I die, I want to be Bulldog dead.”
Georgia has a football coach who identifies with that creed. He will always give his alma mater his very best, and he will try to pass that feeling on to his players. Some will get it, some won’t.
But, as they say, “That’s life.”