You know, I’ve mentioned before that the Lexicon badly needs an entry for The Georgia Way, but I’ve really struggled to come up with a succinct description.
A couple of recent things have come up that may have helped me sharpen my thoughts on the subject. First, this tweet sent my way a few days ago:
Then, comes the news this morning that McGarity has seen fit to can the gymnastics coach he hired five years ago, right after she dismissed three players from the team, naturally. I’m sure the program is just around the corner from greatness.
Anyway, a phrase popped into my head in response to both of those items, and the more I chew on it, the more it grows on me: arrogance in the service of mediocrity. I mean, arrogance is tolerable, if you’ve got something rightfully to be arrogant about, and, well, as a Georgia fan, I’ve certainly been familiar with my fair share of mediocrity.
It’s the combination of the two, along with the money fixation, that makes the Georgia Way special for me. Am I off base with that, does it resonate with you, too, or is it just a decent start?
Get The Picture 
So, basically you don’t like Georgia folks acting like cheap Paul Johnson knockoffs?
LikeLike
I think it’s more like “rich” Paul Johnson knockoffs.
LikeLike
True, but as soon as I read he phrase “arrogance in the service of mediocrity” I immediately thought of Fishfry.
LikeLike
I agree, it’s the correct tone for sure.
LikeLike
I think the Senator has put his finger on the essence of the Georgia Way. I would work incompetence in there somewhere too though.
LikeLike
In defense of Johnson … ugh. He’s mediocre with the 41st ranked recruiting class.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way — profits > performance
LikeLike
Or how about “Profits + Perception + Power > Performance”?
LikeLike
Hey Senator, it does resonate with me, but I believe it’s just a start. In fact, you may publish a bestseller on the “Georgia Way”. The term arrogance matches the perp, but it would seem that an even more encompassing term is out there somewhere I.e. “Mega Snotwaddy” or something like that. Sitting at the baseball game Saturday night I was reflecting on just how many peeps are totally alienated with the leadership and their struggles with the fact that this is our school with a bunch of Yahoo!’s running the Athletic Department and nothing we can do about it. Oh well. It’s a great beginning sir. Make sure to finish the book.
LikeLike
I like it.
During the G-Day broadcast, it looked like the UGAA had extended the ribbon boards all the way around the East endzone, as well as put 3 smaller scoreboards on the facade behind the bulldog statue. I thought, “well, that’s pretty cool.” But then I noticed they were slap full of ads and made Sanford Stadium look like the outfield fence at a minor league game.
Then, I thought, “The Georgia Way.”
LikeLike
The Georgia Way: The great unwashed can’t watch practice through the fence but potential donors get invites to enter the pearly gates.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way: “Sanctimony is Our Trophy”
LikeLike
^^^Winner^^^
LikeLike
Kind of our version of “Champions of Life”… which, now that I think about it, probably deserves a Lexicon entry of its own.
LikeLike
I think by narrowing the Georgia Way definition you will be limiting the term’s usefulness in the future. It is almost certain there are defining effects of the Georgia Way we have not seen yet.
Its not that you are wrong, or that your definition is not accurate, but when you think you have seen it all, you may not have.
LikeLike
The Lexicon is a living, breathing document, my friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And that’s exactly what worries me.
LikeLike
of course it is…lol.
LikeLike
You are easily fooled. The Georgia Way is a d@mn joke and will are the model of ineptitude and mediocrity. Senator said it perfectly.
LikeLike
Georgia Way much, Alex?
LikeLike
Anyone turning on Kirby after one year just doesn’t like Kirby.
LikeLike
Can you fix the user name? Not sure how that came up.
LikeLike
You got it, boss.
LikeLike
Thanks..
LikeLike
Don’t know about the Georgia Way but this position definitely needs renaming. The J. Reid Parker Read and React Director of Athletics.
LikeLike
How could the ‘Georgia Way’ be anything other than what was written on the banner that was attached to the bridge at Sanford when Prince Charles visited for the homecoming game against Kentucky in 1977….. Someone unfurled a large paper banner at halftime as the Prince was walking on the field and chatting up the cheerleaders that said ” Prince Charles Does It Doggy Style”……The ‘Georgia Way’….Doggy.
LikeLike
I would add something about needlessly preening morality.
LikeLike
About an institution who included condoms in a halftime show contract?
LikeLike
The Georgia Way is the 6 that the 9-10 girls let hang around because her daddy is rich and 35 years ago her uncle won an Oscar. As a result she’s convinced herself she’s a 10 and a destined to make it as a movie star.
The Georgia Way is the 5’4″ mid-witted manager who acts like 6’2″ playboy/magnate because his grand-dad started and built a successful company.
The Georgia Way is being “Born on third base, convinced we hit a triple” and running at the crack of the bat already celebrating while unaware that our shoe laces are tied together…
Geesh, it feels harsh to type out the above comparisons. I do love my school and the kids that play their hearts out for the red & black, but we are who we are.
LikeLiked by 2 people
A great start, but lacks the fiscal constraint angle. I also would ponder the reverse. Could it not be our mediocrity is serving our arrogance? Not to attempt to outdo you, but “funding mediocrity in service to arrogance” is how I read it.
LikeLike
Maybe “arrogance in defense of mediocrity” is better — shorter, with just a touch of passive-aggressive to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Moderation in the face of greatness”. A slight twist to above.
LikeLike
I like this, but it does not yet pay homage to the all-important cost component.
I can support “arrogance in the defense of cut-rate mediocrity”.
LikeLike
How ’bout “arrogance in defense of mediocrity and the reserve fund”? 🙂
LikeLike
The Georgia Way® : “Don’t Bogart my Reserve Fund”
LikeLike
Maybe I should just paraphrase the old line about Bush — The Georgia Way: born on second base and thinks it hit a triple.
LikeLike
“Now pinch-running for Alabama, it’s The Georgia Way®.”
LikeLike
That’s pretty damned good there.
LikeLike
“The Georgia Way. It just means more… reserve fund.”
LikeLike
Always look to you Joe for a good comment section chuckle.
LikeLike
I like it. As a definition, not as part of our institutionalized culture.
LikeLike
“The Georgia Way…”
Late to games and early to leave.
Will jump off the bandwagon just as quickly as jumping on.
Always believe we’re going to go undefeated and win a Natty.
Country club mentality on a Walmart budget.
Entitled, because “We’re Georgia!”
Think outside the box? Not a chance.
LikeLike
That’s definitely a part of it.
LikeLike
“Country club arrogance on a Walmart budget.” I like it.
LikeLike
Ouch! Well played!
LikeLike
+100
LikeLike
I blame Damon. Arrogance is where his troubles started and the cascade of decisions since has us where we are today.
LikeLike
It does resonate with me Senator. That’s a very interesting phrase. Did you coin it or is it one of those lawyer “sayings”?
LikeLike
All mine.
LikeLike
I feel like there are two things here.
People turning on Kirby and the Georgia Way.
Are people turning on Kirby because of the georgia way? Or because of him?
Smart has clearly made a lot of poor decisions since getting to athens. He has given plenty of reasons to not like him.
Or is that Kirby doesnt fit the georgia way and that is rubbing people the wrong way?
LikeLike
I’m not sure what “people are turning on Kirby” is supposed to mean.
After an 8-5 season, I don’t think it’s unfair for fans to want more than they’ve gotten to this point. But I’m not hearing any “Smart must go!” screams from the fan base.
LikeLike
Start out 3 – 2 and then get clobbered in JAX again and we’ll all need ear plugs.
LikeLike
I think it means just that. The shine is off Smart and people want more from their head coach.
My point was more about unpacking the georgia way from people’s attitudes towards smart. 8-5 and loses to vandy and tech are obvious reasons why a fan would start to turn on their coach, but not really a valid definition of the georgia way.
Or are McGarity’s PR skills and Smart’s paranoia part of the georgia way?
Did these 2 kncukleheads land on the georgia way or did the georgia way land on them?
LikeLike
Well, by all means, let me be the first.
SMART MUST GO!
Just kidding………a little bit.
LikeLike
Yeah – I don’t know that “turning” is the right phrase. He’s definitely not going to be getting the benefit of the doubt from the fanbase anymore if Season 2 is a spitting image of Season 1.
LikeLike
I am not anti-Kirby at all. That said, he has not done himself many favors. Any unbiased observer would see a disconnect between his “every detail matters” talk and his first season as a head coach. Outside of games, he has also not done himself many favors with the media or the “common” fan. If he isn’t very succesful very quickly, he may find himself with a shorter lease than past coaches, and at least some of it will be due to his own choices.
But Kirby connects to The Georgia Way in a powerful way for reasons mostly out of his control I don’t fault him for wanting or taking the job, even if it was given to him in all the smug, duplicitous, passive-aggressive, we-know-better-thou of power brokers and AD, and everything since then has been more or less a reactive horror-show of PR mismanagement.
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike
Actually, it seems a little backwards. I’d go with “mediocrity in the service of sanctimonious arrogance”. To me, your phrasing implies mediocrity as a goal, when I think it is just a by product of the sanctimonious arrogance. And the ‘sanctimonious’ part is important to explain where the arrogance comes from, because it sure as hell doesn’t come from athletic success.
LikeLike
Mediocrity isn’t a goal. It’s the actual product.
LikeLike
Someone was commenting on a similar thread a few weeks ago. The comments were comparing us to Clemson and South Carolina. A poster who is a South Carolina fan replied that UGA fans were sounding arrogant and pathetic at the same time. Sounded kinda right at the time.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way (TM): Petty is as petty does.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way®: “Good enough is good enough.”
LikeLike
The Georgia Way supporters believe Sherman only won because he cheated in recruiting.
LikeLike
Haha – he had a better bag man!
LikeLike
I thought the Union won because they had more Scots Irish fighting for them.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way® would have tanked it for the Reconstruction funds.
LikeLike
You stole my post and my long time definition of Georgia athletics.
LikeLike
Lowest low in my lifetime was the Goff era, or the end of it. Even then, we always seemed to be on the verge of turning the corner and were doing well in other sports. Men’s & Women’s Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Gymnastics. We’re well below that now. For members of our Athletic Board to not be considering and discussing drastic action, i.e., a complete overall of our administration is tantamount to negligence. They say when you hit rock bottom, the first thing to do is stop digging.
LikeLike
Donation levels keep sending a message of approval. There is no reason to expect BM to change anything when the tens of millions continue to pour in. Georgia fans get what they pay for in all sports.
LikeLike
The Georgia Way = the Board of Regents + the athletic board
LikeLike
The entire discussion about the “Georgia Way” reminds me of the old idea that “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” So yeah, I think we are making this shit up.
LikeLike
I’m sorry, what did you say? All that winning must have distracted me from your keen observation.
LikeLike
This idea that there is some weird group-think that has permeated every facet of UGA for decades and has somehow prevented us from greatness is a bit over the top for me. There is no Georgia Way to blame. There was no curse of the Bambino on the Red Sox. There was no curse from some goat owner on the Cubs either.
LikeLike
I guess our draconian drug and discipline policies that no other SEC school has are imaginary as is our willingness to keep coaches around who are having horrid on field results as long as they are “good”?
LikeLike
I guess it’s just bad luck, then.
LikeLike
I don’t believe in luck either, but it seems just as reasonable as the “Georgia Way” theory. The reason you have struggled to describe it in the Lexicon is because it does not really exist. Instead we have dozens of suggestions on here today to describe a thing that apparently has no repeatably identifiable characteristics or predictable results.
LikeLike
The reason I have struggled is because I don’t think Lexicon entries should be the length of a short story.
As far as your “dozens of suggestions” go, perhaps you haven’t noticed they’re remarkably consistent in content.
LikeLike
I would equate The Georgia Way more with corporate culture than curses and bad luck. Clearly many companies or organizations have a culture or style and ours is defined by The Georgia Way of handling its business.
LikeLike
It’s all about priorities and leadership.
Do you think this university would risk their cash-cow for a Theo Epstein?
LikeLike
The Georgia Way: A proud silent majority that tolerates a gaggle of whining, bitching, sniping complainers.
LikeLike
I thought you said “silent”.
LikeLike
You left out “…that loves mediocrity in sports as long as they can feel pure and noble…” after “A proud silent majority”.
LikeLike
Swish
LikeLike
I read this about the sin of pride just the other day:
“Pride is the most dangerous of sins, because it blinds our understanding, and unless something finally makes us realize the truth, we are liable to go on, day after day, in self-delusion…”. Sound familiar?
LikeLike
Georgia Way? A sanctimonious attempt to mask greed by foisting up a straw man named Conspicuous Consumption of Mediocrity.
LikeLike
Not off base. We have that rare special blend of jackassery in the BM building.
LikeLike
I think of the Georgia way as some sort of marketing speak for a strong drink:
The Georgia way, a concentrated flavor of fiscal conservatism mixed with a fully embraced heaping of mediocrity.
LikeLike
8-5. Get used to it, you fire Richters.
LikeLike
The AD has proven his abilities are below mediocre. His record for hiring coaches with substandard records is astonishing, more so is the AB to accept his performance.
The easy part is firing. A coach’s performance over a sustained period pretty well takes care of that. Durante’s record was set as soon as she came into the SEC from Cal. She never made the fit. Same with Stricklin. In the back of every alums mind right now is which way is the “young ball coach” is going to take the Dawgs in 2017.
Like I said the other day, Durante is gone. So is Stricklin. His record at UGA and in the SEC is as low as a coach can go. In three years he made no staff changes.
The 2017 football team had better be lights out, or the current AD is on his way out. After all the AD make a very quick and lone decision to let CMR go to hire KS. If the football program retreats in 2017 the take in Athens will be who is the new AD.
The future of UGA athletics looks to be at the bottom in the SEC. Why keep on talking about it and sending in more money. Just how excited are you about the programs in Athens?
So where is the next gym coach? Or the diamond dawg coach? Out there somewhere is some hot shot aspiring coach …hoping the McGarity call does not come to them. McGarity is bad luck!
LikeLike
The Georgia Way: Doing less with more, but with conviction!
LikeLike
Senator,
I like the succinct “arrogance in the service of mediocrity.” It has a nice ring to it. However, I’ll submit that the four defining characteristics are the two you’ve listed (arrogance and mediocrity) plus greed and ignorance, which you yourself and a number of others have touched on today and in the past. So, I might amend to “ignorant arrogance in service of greed and mediocrity.”
And, since I never pass up an opportunity to inject a portmanteau, the short form: “ignorrogance in service of greediocrity.”
LikeLike
I think you are on it. I would respectfully proffer “narcissism in the service of mediocrity”. Narcissism being “an inflated sense of one’s self”.
LikeLike