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Kirby Smart on Georgia-Florida Jacksonville setting: ‘we miss opportunites’
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Kirby Smart on Georgia-Florida Jacksonville setting: ‘we miss opportunites’
ATHENS — Kirby Smart is sticking with his sentiment that Georgia playing its annual rivalry game with Florida in Jacksonville leads to missed opportunities
Comments
Despite everything else, as a life long Georgia fan and a Georgia graduate who went to school with Walker, Hoage, and Butler (and attended many a World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), I think the game in Jackonsville is just too important a tradition to change. Tradition means something! GO DAWGS!
I believe it's one of best atmospheres in college football, it's a week, or maybe even two week celebration. I'm sure it could be tweaked somehow to be a recruiting advantage. I hear a lot of other schools fans say how cool it is and say it's more of an event than just a game. Sure, it's a long way from Athens, but the win/ loss record doesn't reflect that and UGA has picked up a lot of talent from the Jacksonville area in short because of this game location. Let's also not forget the South Georgia fans either, that's why it was placed there to begin with. Go Dawgs !!!
Smart's comments make it sound like the game will be staying in Jax. I don't know if you could realistically split the game between Jacksonville and Atlanta, but if you could -- and if UGA could host players for official visits in the Atl. years -- it might be worth considering.
As for the tradition of Jacksonville, I'd prefer a home game, even if it did mean going to Gainesville every other year. I've been to the Jax game, and I don't consider it any more special than a game in Athens. Attending a game in Athens actually means more to me these days. I like visiting campus more than some Florida city.
**** them Goobers! They should have to come play us in Atlanta for the next 50+ years. Let them make the long trips to play us for a change. We're **** to allow this to continue. It's time they come play us in Atlanta!
GO DAWGS!
I'd like to see few years break every now and then. I like the idea someone threw around before (athens-gaines-jax-jax, repeat). Would be cool to see the Dawgs play in the swamp. But that's just me. Some will roast me. But I'd like to see the gators play in Athens also, revenge for the last time they did.
I've been to the cocktail party ten times and not once did it ever feel like a "home" game to me. It always seemed like a Gator home game no matter what color jerseys were being worn. I'm with Kirby on this one. Screw pumping all that money into Jacksonville. Pump it in to Athens instead every other year.
What about a 4 year rotation: ATL, JAX, Athens, Gainesville? I'd really hate to see the Cocktail Party completely disappear.
Also, it's hard to believe playing in JAX is significantly hurting our recruiting when our recruiting classes finish in the top 3 year after year.
Home-n-Home!!!!!!!
Makes sense to me. The Bog Lizards could be the "home team" in Atlanta for long enough (every other year) to compensate the Dawgs and the state of Georgia for a deal disadvantageous to us for fifty years.
Why do we have a tradition which hurts our recruitment, makes us the de facto visiting team every year, and benefits Jacksonville?
It's played in the (formerly named) Gator Bowl in the state of Florida 70 miles from their locker room. How can it not therefore be a home game in all but name for the University of West Gainesville? What advantage does UGA gain?
Yes, the WLOCP is a tradition. I'm fine with continuing the tradition. Either move the tradition to a neutral site in Georgia for fifty years or let the Gators do a home game every other year in Jacksonville, FLORIDA. On our home game years we'll play the game in Atlanta or Athens, GEORGIA. Who cares if it's indoors or outdoors.
If Kirby says it's hurting us to continue giving away a home game every other year, and if it's clearly benefiting Jacksonville, FLORIDA instead of the Georgia economy why give the advantages to another state and their school.
That's how I see it.
Go, Dawgs!
I back CKS 100% on this. Playing a "home" game every other year in FL against FU makes no sense. CKS's development of the UGA program has outgrown the additional revenue guaranteed by this game. A game every year in JVille handicaps UGA recruiting. I believe CKS will work UGA out of this arrangement sooner rather than later. As he should. He has been very clear about where he stands. He has been slowly moving the Dawgnation mindset away from Cocktail Parties into National Championships.
The main reason for changing it to a more traditional home-and-home arrangement is to give the Dawgs home field advantage, since they have been deprived of it in that series for such a very long time.
Here’s an idea, petition the sec to allow recruits in Jacksonville for the “home” game and only for that team. No contact with the “visiting” team at all. That way Kirby doesn’t lose a recruiting weekend and the game gets to stay in Jacksonville. I believe the majority of Georgia fans wants it to stay there. I understand that some fans want it to go home and home, but like BoydCrowder said, it would be sad to see it completely leave Jacksonville. Go Dawgs!!
Amen !! Very well stated !! There was a time waaay back when the game in Jax might have more resembled neutral and I stress the word “might”. But for the last years stacked on top of years it sure ain’t been neutral !! It’s a close outpost for the mud lizards. Period. I love how you remarked about KS not looking to build cocktail parties but Championships !! VERY well said !! Why deliberately give the walking pocketbooks an edge by playing at their outpost year after year ?? That’s ridiculous !! No the tradition has long since been dead and buried. Now I’m NOT talking about our Dawgs fans traveling. Not at all. Dawgs fans travel all over the country by the thousands to support the team as was evidenced by vs Notre Dame a couple years back. I’m super proud of how well Dawgs fans travel to games. I’m talking about the City of Jax. It’s not even vaguely a neutral site. And it does to a certain extent hamper recruiting. I’m for Athens- Gainesville rotation myself. Beating them in Both places would be extra sweet. Tie a rope around the end of that gator snout break up the obnoxious gator chomp. Go Dawgs !! GATA !! P.S. Small wonder the Mayor & City Officials of Jax want the game to stay there !! Brings in millions of $$$ to their local economy from Both fan bases !! Only right to spread some of that $$$ around Athens every other year !!
It will probably change but as much as Kirby Smart claims this is hurting UGA recruiting, the FACTS just don't back that up. I seriously doubt that there is any kid that Georgia truly wanted to visit Athens was unable to do so. And yes, playing the Gators would probably carry more panache than playing, say, Vanderbilt, but again, we're still ranked #1 and we're still in the hunt for a National Championship, Jacksonville and all. I'm hard-pressed to see how switching this game back to Athens every other year would improve our lot. And clearly, the people who actually pay Kirby Smart's salary (not us peons) feel the same way. Go Dawgs!
So why not we get the short bus ride every other year and play in Atlanta/Gainesville?😎
With the beach towns cracking down on drinking, etc., it’s only a matter of time that the game moves out of Jacksonville. CKS is being just a little too deferential to the AD. If he truly wants the game moved back to a home & home, he should just say so without the “aw shucks, it’s out of my control” act.
Tired of the "traditions" excuse from so many. Let's talk about traditions. Home games used to start at 1 pm. TV or no TV. Games were over in time for everyone to get home for supper. Tradition was scrapped due to TV money. You used to be able to watch the game from the railroad tracks. That tradition was scrapped when the stadium was expanded for more ticket revenue. In the past, if you were resourceful, you could find a decent parking place. But there was too much money to be made off parking, so gone is that tradition. UGA band used to play "Dixie", was even referred to as the "Dixie Redcoat Band". That tradition is gone. Times change and money talks. Past time to scrap Jacksonville, every year. Go home and home or alternate Jacksonville and Atlanta. That would be a new tradition that makes sense for everyone.
The game will never rotate between four sites. Go ahead and slam the lid on that one. If you're paying attention to Kirby's interest in moving the game out of Jax because of recruiting, then the game will eventually become a home-n-home series. There's no reason to leave Jax and go off-campus to Atlanta. Go Dawgs!
I mean, we all know what the situation is here. Jacksonville knows they get money from it and I'm sure they are willing to pay a whole lot more than Atlanta is. Fans would obviously like a home/home or ATL/JAX and I'm sure UF is very happy to take the money from Jax and have their players be driven an hour there.
So the real question is this. Are you going to push UGA's AD to change it or are you just going to allow them to turn a home game into an away game?
Don't underestimate the impact that our awesome fans have made this year and how much of a "home field" advantage it gives us.
It's not just the distance, it's the fact that if you're considered "home" but you only get 50% of the allocated seats instead of probably 75%-80%.