The New Year is supposed to be about moving on and looking forward to the future, but as the Georgia Bulldogs are just hours away from playing their last game of the 2012-2013 season, I can't stop looking back.
You cannot overstate how great of a season we had in Athens. Do you realize that Georgia has reclaimed Sanford Stadium as a true home field advantage. Georgia has won 12 straight games at home. Why is this so important? Well two of Georgia's biggest games of the season next year just happen to be at home against South Carolina and LSU. South Carolina was the last team to beat Georgia in Athens at the beginning of the 2011 season.
Georgia also beat Florida for the second consecutive season, the first time that has happened since before Bill Clinton was President. Georgia welcomed Missouri to "Old Man Football" in the SEC by showing them that it takes 4 full quarters to win in this league. Georgia's offense set records at the beginning of the season by scoring 40 + points in their first five games of the season.
Aaron Murray has now thrown more touchdowns than any other quarterback in Georgia history. Todd Gurley became just the second freshman to run for over a 1000 yards, you know who the other guy was. Jarvis Jones proved once and for all that he is super-human, and Alec Ogletree proved that he can be the best player on any field in the SEC if he can manage to stay out of trouble. Most importantly, Marshall Morgan proved that while chicks might dig the long ball (kicking long field goals), making extra points is sexy too, and not to be taken for granted.
At the coaching level, Georgia has a great mix of coaches (minus Rodney Garner now) that seem to have the program back to the level that Richt was at in the early and mid 2000's. In the last two regular seasons Georgia is 21-3 with none of those three losses coming to our traditional rivals. 21-3. Don't forget that Georgia lost 7 games in 2010. The program is back where it belongs.
BUT!!!!!!!
I still get sick when I think about the SEC Championship Game. Slow down the run in the third quarter just a little bit and we win the game. Make the field goal in the first half, and we win the game. Cover their receiver on the only significant pass play of the entire game, and we win the game. Let the ball drop Chris, and we win the game. Spike the ball, and we win the game.
There is a theory in science that there are alternate worlds constantly playing out in other dimensions How much to take a trip for the next week to the reality where Georgia completes the greatest pass in school history to Malcolm Mitchell in the back of the end zone winning the SEC Championship over a great Alabama team and their great coach, and goes on to stomp Notre Dame in the National Title Game? Let yourself go there for a minute. How does that feel? Nice right?
Well here is another alternate reality that I have been thinking about in the last few days. After dominating Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl on Tuesday, Georgia calls a press conference for Friday morning back in Athens.
Sitting at a table with the Georgia logo behind them are Aaron Murray, Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, and Kwame Geathers. Jarvis stands up and walks to the microphone and the other players stand up behind him. He says that he has loved every minute of being a Georgia Bulldog, but one of his dreams is to play in the NFL. He thanks the coaches for the time that have spent helping him recover from his injury as well as the time to help him become the player he is today. Jarvis begins to get emotional. He steps back from the podium. Aaron Murray puts his hand on Jarvis' shoulder and steps up to the microphone. Aaron says he has done a lot of thinking about his decision, and he talked to his fellow juniors. He said that they all think about the SEC Championship Game every day and have a sick feeling in their stomachs. He says that when you are 60 years old and you look down at your grand children and tell them about your football career, they aren't going to be impressed that you were a first round draft pick. But when you pull that ring off of your finger, hand it to them, and let them read that it says National Champions 2013 Georgia Bulldogs, and watch the way their eyes light up, you know you made the right decision. He then announces that for that reason, all four of the players at the press conference are coming back to school next year for one reason: to finish what they started, to gain those last 8 yards.
I know it won't happen, but spoil yourself a little, and go there for a bit. You deserve it.
Happy New Year and GO DAWGS!
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