football Archive

Recently, a debate erupted at a football-watching party.

Some argued that despite his school affiliation, they can respect Tim Teabag the player, and person. That is a mature, reasonable stance. It is also hogwash!

Every announcer in the business tries to convince viewers that The Bagger is the greatest player and person to ever slither onto the scene. He is so untouchable that no game official would throw a flag on him even when he reverts to his natural position of male cheerleader and dances all over the field.

“Give me an F … Give me an A … Give me a …,” what have you got? No flag! Amazing. If Georgia catches a cold, they get the death penalty, but this guy gets to lead cheers with no impact?

Then they go on to tell us how he has changed the game. After all, he has tied Herschel Walkers’ record of 52 rushing touchdowns. Please. The Bagger takes a snap and falls forward into the end zone; don’t compare him to or use his name in the same sentence as Herschel ever again!

Walker still holds 11 NCAA records, and he scored 52 times in three years without an extra SEC Championship game on the schedule. He rushed for 5,259 yards and beat Florida three times! The other guy has rushed for 2,415 in four years. Yeah, I know he has thrown for more than 7,000 yards, but Herschel could have done the same. Dooley was just very conservative.

At 47 years old, Walker has been on The Apprentice, a Zaxby’s commercial, and is about to do some cage fighting. Top that!

Remember the SEC media days in August? Steve Spurrier was nearly hanged because he dared to vote for another player as the best quarterback in the conference.

And The Bagger’s coach is an enabler to the media bias. After a two interception performance against Mississippi State, City Muck … I mean Urban Meyer … said he had put his QB is bad situations. What situation? You asked him to complete a pass. He is, after all, the greatest player to ever crawl out of the Swamp, so completing a pass shouldn’t be too much to ask, should it?

Luckily, Georgia had last week off while Florida was getting hit hard in Starkville. In the history of this matchup, the team with an off week prior to “The Party” usually wins. Two weeks of game prep versus one. Rested legs versus having to go to Mississippi and run all night. Restful sleep versus the sound of cow bells in your head.

The season has not been great for Bulldog fans, but a win in Jacksonville would heal some wounds. Ruining Florida’s season and having something to hold over The Bagger for the rest of his life would be priceless. If given the opportunity, our coach should call time out with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and throw to the end zone even if we are up by 30. Not a likely occurrence this year, but we can dream.

My wife thinks I am just bitter because Florida is on top right now and he doesn’t play for Georgia.

So I tried to be reasonable and analyze the positives. The Bagger does do some good things. He goes on Christian mission trips and volunteers to circumcise young boys. He is a good role model for young men and women. He did manage to play in a crucial game at LSU after getting a bad boo boo. His only real character flaw seems to be that he chose to attend Florida.

Okay, enough of that, I can’t do it anymore. Knock his block off, Rennie Curran! Go Dawgs!

Written by Mike Flynn.

Question: When should a player get flagged for excessive celebration?

Answer: When a team is threatening to upset a prim time matchup of No. 1 Florida and No. 4 LSU.

Imagine you are a wide receiver. You just hauled in a touchdown catch to put your team ahead of a rival ranked fourth in the nation with just 69 seconds to play. 94,000 fans are going nuts!

What would you do? What would your team do? Not celebrate? Not show the emotion of the moment?

It has long been argued that a flag could be thrown on any play. There is an infraction somewhere on that field, but good officials use judgment. On Saturday, an overzealous zebra took the outcome of the game away from the players on the field, and inserted himself as the most important component of the contest. That is wrong!

Unfortunately, Georgia coach Mark Richt is stuck in a quagmire of his own making. Since he encouraged his team to “celebrate” after scoring against Florida in 2007, the Dogs have been the most heavily penalized team in the country. How can a coach that encouraged his team to get flagged now discourage the behavior? If he does discourage it now, his team may think he is being a hypocrite.

Still, the Dogs need more discipline and not just at the end of the game. On LSU’s first drive of the contest, sophomore cornerback Brandon Boykin intercepted a pass deep in the end zone. Had he taken a knee Georgia would have had the ball at the 20 yard line. Instead, he tried to run out of the end zone and was tackled on the 2. Football is a game of inches, and Boykin cost the Dogs 648 inches, thus altering the play calling of the ensuing drive. The Dogs were forced to punt out of their own end zone, and LSU converted the possession into a field goal.

Play smarter and follow the BASIC rules. Don’t field punts inside the 10 yard line. Don’t dance … period! If you are more than three yards deep in the end zone, down the ball. Come on guys … we are Georgia… not Miami.

Another GISA school makes the switch

Pinecrest Academy in Forsyth has announced their plans to participate in the GHSA beginning in 2010. The small private Catholic school with an enrollment of around 200 students will participate in class A athletics.

This is a growing trend among GISA schools and with a contract renewal looming next year DWS, Sherwood, Terrell Academy, SGA, Southland and all the Macon schools have a tough decision to make. Do they stick with a dwindling league, or jump to GHSA? The economics of running an athletic program demand the institutions consider all alternatives.

The decision is a difficult one made even tougher by certain positions of GHSA. Currently, cheerleaders in Catoosa County are under fire for and banned from displaying any religious signs at a football game. One “citizen” of the county complained about the words “commit to the Lord” being placed on a break through team banner. It seems the phrase offended this genius and violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.

County school board officials also say the U.S. Supreme Court has “ruled that religious activities at high school football games create the ‘inescapable conclusion’ that the school endorses the religious activity.”

If those words offended a spectator, I wonder what would happen when a boat rocker of similar make up followed his team to Old Pretoria Road and saw the cross. Or what would he do when the “voice of the Knights” Tim Dix is leading the crowd in prayer?

If these GISA schools are forced to participate in GHSA to reduce travel expenses, and accept any dollars from GHSA, will they fall under the same ban? Maybe not at home, but what about when they are on the road?

There is clearly more to consider than just travel expenses, but I fear the die is cast and DWS and Southland will be forced to follow the big three in Macon. The smaller schools will stay put for now, but their days of independence are numbered, too.

Written By Mike Flynn.