Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich shoos away all the black helicopters hovering over the Flats in the wake of the postponement of Tech-Alabama series.
Yes, Jacket fans, it was his call.
… Radakovich said he contacted Alabama athletics director Mal Moore in December to discuss postponing the series because at the time he was considering some attractive alternatives that would help Tech’s recruiting efforts, as well as balance their schedule. He declined to say what those alternatives were.
And this has got to be disheartening for yellow-tinged conspiracy theorists everywhere:
Radakovich debunked the numerous theories that have been pushed during the past few days. The postponement has nothing to do with any kind of super-conference possibilities and it has nothing to do with coach Paul Johnson’s displeasure with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game played at the Georgia Dome at the beginning of the season, which he said has given those schools a recruiting advantage in Atlanta…
And what about what everyone else thinks? Well, you can probably guess.
… Lastly, no, Tech isn’t afraid to play the Tide.
“We have the greatest respect for the University of Alabama and their football program,” Radakovich said. “Playing them would be a lot of fun.”
Sure would. At least from my selfish standpoint.
Get The Picture 
Radakovich’s explanation is pretty vague and tentative to justify a definite postponement. And it’s always easy to say it would be fun to play Bama when you don’t have to.
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I think PJ & crew would like an easier test. A game against Alabama could be a validation of the triple option, or it could be proof that it can’t win on the national stage. I don’t think PJ wants that sort of referendum game this early in his tenure… especially with all of the pieces he lost (that he didn’t recruit).
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You’d think this would be a good shot for him. If you follow the trends, one of those two years would be a good chance to catch UA defenseless, a-la this year. I’d run with it when I could, Paul.
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Radakovich apparently remembers how much fun the defensive struggle broken bone Tech v. Alabama games were when they were:
“annual events until 1963 when Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd withdrew the Yellowjackets from the SEC. Dodd was motivated in part by a long running feud with Alabama’s legendary coach Paul Bryant but he also objected to the SEC’s recruiting practices and the resistance to integration among the conference’s institutions.”
http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2010/5/1/1453550/alabama-v-georgia-tech-series
“Bobby Dodd….told me two or three times before that if we didn’t stop beating him he was going to quit playing us, and I can understand that. The Holt-Graning incident gave him the out, and I think he would tell you so. Maybe he would have had a problem dropping us from the schedule if this had not happened, because Georgia Tech-Alabama was a big game.
Let me set it up a little better. Bobby Dodd and I were very close for years, one of the few men in the business I’ve felt close to, and I’ll always be grateful for the way he helped me. I know when I was at Kentucky Bobby and his wife Alice came up to visit us, and he helped me put in the T formation, gave me his playbook. And one year there, when we beat him pretty bad, he thanked me for taking my first team out in the fourth quarter. When I was at A&M I’d go over there for his spring training. Why, he sent a couple of his assistants over to our place last year.
But over the years we always felt we could beat Georgia Tech by just going out and putting that shoulder pad and the bonnet on ’em, because they weren’t going to do it for 60 minutes like we were. Regardless of their ability, if a team wallows around all week playing drop the handkerchief and the boys don’t think tough or live tough, how can they be tough on Saturday? You can get away with it a few times, but you sure can’t get away with it every Saturday. Over the long haul we’ll beat you. We like to work during the week and have our fun on Saturday.”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078925/2/index.htm
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As a guy of 63 that grew up in Atlanta, I can tell you the GT Ala games were legend. What the Bear said about GT was true, Booby Dodd was one of the coaches that did not believe in physical practices during the season. The “drop the handkerchief” line was used often in that regard. It worked for Dodd and he turned down offers from the Pro’s that used the same philosophy. Tech won in those days (1950’s early 60’s) because they had some of the best talent in the country. Dodd left the SEC because he thought that GT had as much national recognition as ND and he did not want to share the bowl money. He made a big mistake and old GT fans will agree with that.
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+1
This fits with my memories and the stories I heard growing up in Atlanta as well. Dodd thought Tech would be the Notre Dame of the South. It was a big gamble that surely never paid off.
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Apparently Nick Saban has a 3-0 fantsy, as Bama replaced GT w GA SO
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I didn’t realize that Chic Granning was punting. I thought he was passing. Anyway, while looking intently downfield to see what was occurring he was blindsided by Holt who not only broke his jaw, but also jammed his front teeth into his gums such that only the tips were visible. It was the cheapshot of the decade and that’s why Jack Lescoulie, sportscaster for the Today show, and other sportscasters slammed Holt and decried the “beastiality” of football. If Holt had known the end rsult, I’m sure he would not have delivered such a crippling blow (Granning didn’t play again as QB). The press had a field day with the training practices at Alabama, including the “cage”. It was circular, enclosed at the top and about 3ft high. The ball was tossed in and the player who could emerge with the ball could go in and shower. No rules. This was repeated until the last man. It was a toughening exercise and involved all players no matter which string. After beating Bama up and calling for legislation against such a cruel sport, the sportswriters looked around the SEC and ,Lo!, found another team that did the same exercise in the cage. Does the name Wally Butts strike a cord anywhere? Yep! It be us, the rough and tumble mighty Bulldogs. Anyway, the sportswriters turned the fire down and the cage “practices” went away . I think it was Bryant who said “ok” since he had noticed since they had stopped that he had fewer injuries from slugging and biting that went on in the infamous cages.
Wonder what would happen if we cranked the cage up again?
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It was by far the cheapest shot I’ve ever seen in football and he wasn’t even thrown out of the game. It did happen during a punt but I’m not sure Chick was the punter.
Side note a few years later Holt was in the pro’s as a LB and two of the GT OLineman were on the other team, one of them was an All-American Billy Shaw, Well they broke Mr. Holt’s leg on the first O play of the game.
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Yet more lies from the counter-revolutionary SEC capitalist! Triple-option dominant in every way, ACC championship is best championship! Decadent SEC fall at the feet of Revolutionary Great Leader Paul Johnson! Winning recruitment battles in multiple state! Bama fearing People’s Democratic Republic of Triple Option Offense and hoping not to play Strong Yellow Jackets!
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The Red Book Good Housekeeping Lesson for the Day:
Chapter 5 — War and Peace
Every Communist, Democrat and Tech fan must grasp the truth, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a triple option flexbone.”
Just because we have won one victory against the hated running dogs of Athens, and it would have been two in a row had not BeBe, or whatever his name was, dropped a first down pass when it hit him exactly in the wrong place: his hands…means nothing.
We must never relax our vigilance against the frenzied plots for revenge by the imperialists and their running dogs whom we shall chop block whenever the refs are not looking.
Whoever relaxes vigilance will disarm himself politically and land himself in a passive position and get an “Are You That Stupid?!” penalty called upon himself dishonoring not only the team but also will be deemed to be a direct attack on my longevity bonus and retirement plan which may some day be as great as Paul Hewitt’s.
The commanders and fighters of the entire Chinese People’s Liberation Army of the North Avenue Vocational and Trade School absolutely must not relax in the least their will to fight; any thinking that relaxes the will to fight and belittles the enemy except, of course, when the enemy is Georgia, is wrong.
When it moves to the peaceful years, I hate it.
Not because I love chaos or string theory but because a time of peace is not good for the development of the people, the boosters, the few Techsters who do not happen to be studying on Thursday nights and early Saturday afternoons and their attendance in the glorious Bobby Dodd arena.
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there is great disorder under the heavens, and the situation is excellent.
(Mao stole most of his best stuff from Confucious)
All crows under heaven are black.
(I just wanted to contribute some Eastern philosophy, too)
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Sure, DRad. Playing Alabama would be a lot of fun. You’re just choosing not to do so. I guess Coach Boone was right in Remember the Titans: is football fun? No, sir.
I admire the valiant spirit of the Tech program. Willing to forego the fun of getting bitchslapped by Alabama in order to endure the tedium of beating up on Gardner Webb…oh wait, bad example. Is Mars Hill looking for a game in that season?
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Tech probably can’t beat Alabama but it can beat UGA.
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Translation: We know they would kick our ass in our city
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Hey, hey. We run this state. “Our City” is a pretty bold claim.
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You guys left out the fact that Bear was suing the Saturday Evening Post over an article co-written by Furman Bisher accusing him of promoting dirty play and brutality on the practice field. Bear believed that this law suit lead to the article in the Post accusing him and Butts of fixing a game and gambling on college football. Bisher later denied any culpability for the latter article even though he conducted interviews rhar were used by the writer. Bear considered Bisher a Tech “homer” and thought Dodd was behind the plot, though he never stated so publicky. I guess Bear thought Bisher was a running dog lacky of Dodd. See, I know some Maoist sayings too!
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Just because we have won a victory, we must never relax our vigilance against the frenzied plots for revenge by the imperialists Techsters and their running dogs. Whoever relaxes vigilance will disarm himself politically and land himself in a passive position.
Hey, I’ve pulled for the Soviet National Team against Tech. Why not quote Mao against them?
I wonder if anyone in Montana has heard of Mao?
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81Dog, yes, in Montana they like Mao on their blts.
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well played, Shane.
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