January 1, 1981 was a Thursday. It was 19 days before Ronald Reagan would be sworn in as president of the United States. The number one song in America was "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon. The number one movie in America was 9 to 5, staring Dolly Parton. It would be two years before return of the Jedi was released. Kirby Smart was five years old, and my parents hadn't even started dating. It has been a long, long time since Georgia won the National Championship.
There are a lot of storylines heading into Monday night's game; 37 years since Georgia has won the title, the student versus the teacher, Alabama with a chance to win another national championship, Saban looking to tie Bear Bryant with his 6th National title.
To me, the student versus the teacher storyline is the one that I just can't buy into. In a way, it feels like Kirby Smart can't get credit for what he has done at Georgia in just two years because he learned everything he knows from Saban. You hear all the time that he has brought the "Alabama Formula" to Athens.
You know what the Alabama Formula is? Have better players than the other team. It's not that hard to figure out. Of course Saban is a great coach, and given a month to prepare he can probably get his team ready to beat any team in the country, but there is nothing easy about whatKirby has done at Georgia.
Just look around to the other coaches that come off the Saban tree. They aren't in the title game Monday night. McElwain just got fired at Florida, Lane Kiffin is at some C level school in Boca Raton, Florida. If copying Alabama were easy, then everyone would have done it 10 years ago. Georgia is not Alabama, and Kirby Smart is not Nick Saban. To steal an idea from Harry Potter, it is not how they are alike that matters, it is how they are different. Kirby works as hard as anyone, but when the game is over, he enjoys winning and shows it. When Georgia went into the Victory Formation against Tennessee the cameras caught Kirby giving the V signal while sticking out his tounge. When Georgia won the SEC, a Gatorade soaked Kirby was jumping around on the sideline like a 10 year old. When the Rose Bowl ended last Monday, Kirby gave a fist pump that would have made Tiger Woods jealous.
Conversely, Saban is a robot who believes winning titles gets in the way of recruiting. When Bama won its first title in 2009 over Texas at the Rose Bowl, he got angry at the players who poured the Gatorade on him because there was still time left on the clock. In 2012, after beating Notre Dame, he complained about how it was a real disadvantage in recruiting to play for the National title. Saban's inability to show the basic human emotion of happiness makes him less likable, in my opinion.
The reality of this game is that even though these teams don't play that often, when they do, the games are typically very good, and have long-lasting ramifications.
Going all the way back to 2002, Georgia got a huge road win against the Tide on a Billy Bennett field goal late to win by 2. That was the week when Pat Dye, the former Auburn coach, said that Georgia wasn't "man enough" to beat Alabama. The Dawgs went on to win the SEC and the Sugar Bowl.
In 2007, Georgia won on the road at Alabama again, this time in overtime. The Dawgs carried that momentum to a number two national ranking in 2007 and another Sugar Bowl victory.
In 2008, the Alabama Dynasty was born on a Saturday night in Sanford Stadium. Georgia was ranked third in the nation and hosted the ninth ranked Tide. Georgia pulled out the black uniforms that had worked so well in 2007, but the magic was gone. Alabama crushed Georgia. The Dawgs never won the SEC again under Richt. Meanwhile, Alabama would win 3 out of 4 national titles from 2009-2012.
In 2012, Georgia faced Alabama in the SEC title game and was completely out-matched talent wise. This was a time period when Georgia's top 22 (the starting 11 on both sides of the ball) was as good as anyone, but the Dawgs didn't have the depth that Alabama was known for. Of course, Georgia came up just short of winning that game, while the Tide went on to crush Notre Dame and keep the Dynasty alive.
2015 was the last time Georgia and Alabama played. Georgia was undefeated while Alabama had already lost at home to Ole Miss. It was the first time in 72 games that Alabama was not favored. There was a lot of talk leading into the game that the Dynasty was over. Alabama killed Georgia, proved that the Dynasty was still going strong, and eventually won the National Title again. Georgia would go on to fire Mark Richt and hire Kirby Smart that December.
This game is the most evenly matched game between these two teams since that game in 2002. Georgia has almost as much talent as Alabama, and with the senior leadership of the Dawgs, there is not a huge gap between the teams like there has been in the past.
The breakdown of this game is pretty simple. The team that runs the ball will win the game. Hurts will make a few plays, but if Georgia can make him throw, they can slow down the Alabama offense. If the Georgia offensive line can hold up, then the Dawgs will have their day.
Wrestling great Ric Flair always said, "To be the man, you have to beat the man." Tonight, Georgia has the chance, not only to win their first national title in 37 years, but to do it beating the only dynasty of the modern era. Alabama has been the King of College Football for the past decade. A win tonight doesn't mean that Georgia is the new King, but it will mean that there is at least a contest for the crown moving forward. Beating the best means more, so I'm glad we get the Tide tonight, because if Georgia wins, there will be no doubt that the Dawgs earned every single bit of this title.
I want this so bad.
I want this for the players, especially those seniors who came back this season and might have changed this program for the foreseeable future.
I want this for Kirby Smart, who was patient and waited for his dream job. I was skeptical about Kirby because I wanted a head coach with head coaching experience, but I could not have been more wrong. Kirby has done almost everything right since he got the job.
I want this for the fan base who has had to suffer through an amazingly long list of incredible disappointments. So many close calls, so many what if's throughout the years. Still, each and every September, the Dawg Nation fills Sanford with renewed hope and expectation.
I also want this for me. Today is my 33rd birthday, and I can't think of anything more perfect than celebrating with a national title. Most people who know me know that I love sports. I am a Falcons fan. I am a Braves fan. I am an Atlanta United fan. I was a Thrashers fan. But no offense to any of those team that I do love, I am a Dawg. Understand, I am not a Dawg fan, I am a Dawg. This is my team. I know there are a lot of you out there that feel the exact same way.
Tonight is our night. All the suffering ends, and for one night, we will be champions. For one night we will sit atop the college football world. I just wish the Mighty Munson was here to see it!
Georgia 17 Alabama 13
Glory, Glory
Dawgs on Top
