Jeffrey Trapnell, Georgia fan, has had it.
I am all for traditions. Having said that, I think the tradition of Georgia versus Florida in Jacksonville (the only reason our home slate of games is below average every other year) is stale. If we are not going to go to a home and home with Florida then we need to consider going Jacksonville-Atlanta every other year. I have always been frustrated by the amount of travel involved in that game for Georgia (fans and players alike) and not Florida. Year after year after year, we make the trek down there and play in the Gator Bowl, of all places, never getting a home game, travel wise in return. Meanwhile, the Gators sleep in their own beds and take an hour bus ride over from Gainesville.
This is insane.
Let’s start a new tradition of playing Florida in one of the greatest football stadiums on the planet Earth, Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.
— Jeffrey Trapnell
Chip Towers skewers Mr. Trapnell’s suggestion by pointing out that as long as the money’s good, the Cocktail Party ain’t moving, but what I wanted to focus on in this post is a particular assumption Trapnell makes — along with a lot of other Dawg fans — that Georgia is at some enormous disadvantage because of travel.
Quite simply, what’s that based on? Georgia flies out of Athens directly to Jacksonville. That’s what… a two-hour flight? So, we’re talking about an extra hour’s worth of difference getting to the venue between the two teams. No snark intended, but what am I missing here? It’s not like the Dawgs jump off the plane and bolt directly for the game. What’s the big edge the Gators gain here?
I’m tired of the excuse making I’ve heard out of the fan base (and Richt, to be honest) about travel to Jacksonville as a reason for the lack of success Georgia’s had since 1990. If travel disparity is such a big deal, what explains Georgia’s dominance at Bobby Dodd Stadium over the last couple of decades? Coaching and talent wins consistently; if Georgia’s come up short regularly in Jacksonville, don’t blame that on the name of the stadium, dude.
By the way, if you’re complaining about your travel to the game, imagine how Dawg fans in South Georgia feel about trekking up to Athens several times a season to watch the likes of Austin Peay play. Throwing them a travel bone once a year doesn’t seem that insane to me.
Get The Picture 
Athens to Jville flight time:
1 hour and ten minutes.
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The Cocktail Party ain’t moving any time soon. I was in the stadium in 1995, and I never want that bunch (the douchiest fan base in college football) in our stadium ever again. I want to see a stadium that has 40,000 empty seats behind the Florida bench at the end of the 3rd quarter every year like we saw this year. All this and I don’t even go to Jax anymore.
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Georgia/Florida in Jacksonville is iconic and a great experience for everyone.
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The “throwing a bone” to South Georgia fans has been a big consideration. It is “their game” and for many their only opportunity to see UGA live.
Back in the day when regular fans were important that was important. A lot of SE Georgia fans made Hartman donations just for that game.
If and when the fans are just a studio audience it won’t matter in which soundstage it is played, though.
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It is, in fact, “our game” and, as you note, when actual paid attendance was important, they drew people from all over South Georgia. The number of people I know who never (or only rarely) set a foot in Sanford Stadium, but can recall and talk about being at almost every single Georgia-Florida game from the ’50s to the ’90s, is mind-boggling.
And, as someone else said above, it is a totally unique event, unlike any other college football game or sporting event around – it would not be the same in the Dome/MBS or anywhere else. Doesn’t that count for something?
Finally, as I noted in response to one of the “scheduling” posts earlier in the week, going home-and-home does not fix our schedule. We are the “home” team in Jacksonville this year, and so without Jacksonville, we would have Florida, Auburn and Tech at home every year, and then all away the next year. The scheduling dominoes are set, and the league cannot “flip” the Florida or Auburn games without upsetting the whole scheduling matrix. The only solution/relief we might get is if the conference went to 9 conference games, which would create a lot of flexibility. Ironically, this would also make for better schedules, and actually lower costs (since its one less “pay-em” game to pay for). Of course, that makes too much sense, so it will never happen.
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While there would be other benefits, having an additional home-and-home dictated by the conference office does not fit my definition of “flexible.” Assuming that it results in 4 true home, and 4 true away conference games every year (plus Jax) we’ve still got the Tech game scheduled as a tenth game.
In odd years when we play at BDS, that would guarantee a maximum of 6 home games. You can kiss the occasional trip to South Bend or LA good bye in that scenario, because I don’t see McGarity (or any other AD) agreeing to settle for 6 home games every year.
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My Dad was a North Florida Dawg and he fits your description in the first paragraph. It was he and my Mom’s annual pilgrimage for many years.
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Look at the historic record, we still have more wins. If it did not hamper the teams from the past, then it should not affect today’s team. 51-43-2 in Georgia favor. Don’t fall for the Jedi mind trick
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I don’t care if it’s moved or not, although I have enjoyed the WLOCP quite a bit. However, we don’t know if it has hampered Georgia teams or not. Just because we have a winning record against them doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been by an even larger margin.
I just never, ever want to hear any talk about playing UT in Bristol…that would be the same situation.
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If UGA and UF could figure out a way to make more money on the game playing somewhere other than Jacksonville, how long does anyone really think it would take to move it? Not very long. UGA doesn’t give a crap about fans in South Georgia and tradition.
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That’s what offends me the most about the JAX thing–it’s all about the money and nothing else. B-M does it for the money and nothing else. All that other blather is just BS. I appreciate that it is way more convenient for people who live in South Georgia and Florida that the UGA-FU game is played in JAX every year. But it sickens me to hear about the “tradition” of playing that game there and all the other stuff because it is a damn lie. And it DOES fuck up the schedule no matter what anybody wants to say about it not. I costs us, the fans, seeing a major OOC opponent every other year. Hypocrisy thy name is B-M.
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People who want the tradition of keeping the game in Jax should stop complaining about the home schedule. I have been a season ticket holder for years and due to travel and other obligations have never been able to attend a Georgia-Florida game. What would be the harm in playing in Atlanta every other year? Oh and by the way if you are going to play in Jax every year then don’t play one of the kick-off classics.
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As someone else pointed out, home schedule could be fixed by going to a nine-game conference schedule. Jax isn’t an insurmountable issue.
Agree with you totally on your last point, though.
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Not playing in one of the kick-off classics (the fall-out from playing FU in JAX every year) costs the Dawgs a game against a major OOC opponent at least every other year. See my post above. Just sayin.’
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Back when I was in school and Dooley was coach it was the Florida fans who wanted the game moved. For the same reasons we’re complaining about now. Georgia Florida in Jacksonville is a great tradition is a sport that’s been all too willing to jettison tradition in favor of cash in recent years. And here’s the beauty of it, it’s a great tradition that’s also lucrative for everyone involved. That game ain’t moving until people start losing money on it. So those of you clamoring for a home and home might as well get on with getting over yourselves.
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This is one of the greatest traditions in College Football. And part of that is the venue being in Jax. While I do think it would be pretty cool to play the game in MBS in Atlanta every other year, it wouldn’t be quite the same – now would it…
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Yeah JAX is special. 70$ dirt lot parking, tailgating under highways, inhospitable locals – but golf in October! Woo-hoo!
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Despite that, they never seem to have any trouble filling the place every year. Funny how that works…
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Yes, and Sanford Stadium fills up every home game despite your complaints about the fan experience there.
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Aha! You missed the sarcasm, but caught my point anyway. Well done.
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It seems as though you caught my point.
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Think I kind of tipped my hand in the post with “…as long as the money’s good, the Cocktail Party ain’t moving”, but if you want to pat yourself on the back, be my guest. 😉
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And schedule.
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Plus, I’ve been to Gainesville, and I’ll happily take the tailgate under an interstate overpass if I never have to go back to that place again. I’d rather do a home and home with the University of Beirut.
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This right here. I was in Gainesville for that 1994(?) game. Trust me, Dawg fans, you ain’t gonna like going there, if we ever go home and home.
For one thing–it has stormed terrifically, every time UGA has played in Gainesville. I almost got struck by lightning.
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Because tailgating in a random lot along Northside Drive is so much different and better?
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Wait I thought the Spell Georgia cheer was one of the greatest traditions in all of college football.
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no, no, no, THE greatest tradition in college football is Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal. I heard it on TV.
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Gee, and I thought the greatest tradition in college football was Georgia-Notre Dame (2-0 UGA). Silly me. I wish we played the Irish home and away every damn year.
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We could probably do that too if the Georgia-Florida game were home and away. There is such a thing as opportunity cost peeps.
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I believe you are speaking to the Sanford Stadium tradition of singing the national anthem. Other schools don’t do that obviously
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They kneel instead.
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Dead on Senator, the pathetic excuses are laughable. Flight time is closer to 45 minutes, which is less than the bus ride drive for FU players. And Trapnell has absolutely no idea of how long the commute is for any fan in that stadium, whether UGA or Gayturd; we all have fans scattered all over the country, and within the states where the university is located.
Spending the night away from your own bed has been done for many home games, voluntarily. Not a bad idea to keep players together and focused the evening before the game (for many reasons), although we all might like to have our own pillows with us!
I also feel JAX is a more equal stage than the home and home would be. Also agree with ee, who wants gators in Sanford, and who wants to go to Gainesville and sit amongst that group? And who would give up such a great tradition? But those who would offer up some weak sauce in trying to make their case, irrational reasons with little/no truth. I appreciate everyone has their own opinion, but most come off looking pretty bad by stretching the truth, Trapnell is just the latest. Just say you don’t like it, don’t make statements that easily destroyed on review.
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The flight time argument is dated, but based in truth. Until semi-recently, the team did have to bus to Hartsfield to fly, making it a measurably longer trip than UFs
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if the game is in G’ville, the Dawgs get 10,000 tickets and not 40,000 in Jax.
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But get about 80K when it is in Sanford, but about about a wash. This is all about the Athens business owners every other year, they would be the only ones who gain anything. But CFB loses another great tradition.
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I have never been to the WLOCP.
But I think the game in Jacksonville is beyond stupid. Forget the money, it hurts playing UF on a “neutral” field that isn’t truly neutral.
Suggestions of alternating JVille and Atlanta make sense to me.
I also like home and home.
But playing in that stupid stadium in the state of Florida every year has always rubbed me the wrong way. Money be damned.
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If you’ve never been, how can you judge its neutrality?
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Yeah, I went to Gainesville back in the 90’s. Pretty sure we didn’t have half the stadium for Georgia fans.
When the stadium is split 50/50, it doesn’t matter where it’s physically located. It is neutral.
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“I have never been to the WLOCP.”
Then with all due respect, you have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.
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Well said.
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Why does alternating make sense? You wouldn’t go anyways.
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As Father Guido Sarducci said , Jared…..”you no playa the game….you no maka the rules” Great traditions should not be criticized by those who have no experience in said tradition. Personally, the years UGA didn’t go to the game in JAX caused me great emotional distress .
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“isn’t truly neutral”. Now that is funny. No one can name one single way the game isn’t “neutral”, not one.
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Well, let’s start playing UT in Nashville every year then. And Auburn in Birmingham. Yeah…and when we play LSU let’s always play them in New Orleans–that’s a fun trip. This playing at one location every year is a great idea. Let’s do it for ALL our games.
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Some folks just gotta bitch about something, or else their day’s not complete.
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Like the home schedule?
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What about it?
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Any fan has the right to complain and this guy makes his points which is fine as long as he doesn’t overstep into team issues. I don’t get why people forget that the players are young men. If you don’t think these kids get a real kick in the pants by flying around the country to play football you’re nuts. The travel is part of the awesome experience for them. I’m sure they don’t love bus rides but I don’t think they do it often.
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I love the game in J’ville and I live 75 minutes from Athens. The idea of giving up 10,000 seats to play in Atlanta doesn’t make sense. I guess they want to tailgate on Marta.
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Georgia – Florida in Jax is the only regular season game that has a Bowl Game atmosphere. You can feel it in the air as soon as you get there. That, along with the tradition is hard to beat.
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BIG Bowl atmosphere…it’s really hard to describe.
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As a South Georgia resident, I wholeheartedly agree with all the points made by Chip and Senator.
The complaints about home schedule shouldn’t be directed at this game. Any anger should be laid at feet of the dickheads who decided that it was totally ok to play both auburn and tech home or away in a given season. Sorry Kentucky, but Kentucky nor some second tier triple option warmup team is not a compelling home slate finale. We should sacrifice one game of ticket sales and offer to play tech at bds twice in a row (I recommend UGA should Black out Bobby Dodd)for a better home slate year in and year out thereafter.
PS- Dibs on the “Black Out Bobby Dodd” T-shirt should these things ever come to pass.
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Forgive the double negative above.
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The issue is that when the league went to 14 teams with one permanent and one rotating crossover, Georgia-Auburn was the only permanent crossover that was “off schedule”- changing 1 game was obviously easier than changing 5 others, so that’s why we got flip-flopped in 2013.
Again, Florida is our “home” game this year, so going home-and-home would only exacerbate the unbalanced schedule (from Georgia’s perspective).
Until the league goes to 3 crossover games, there is zero schedule flexibility to swap any other games (i.e., if we flipped Kentucky now, they would have an unbalanced schedule, so they would have to flip another game (say Scar), Scar would be unbalance and have to flip one, dominoes, etc.). But if we added a ninth-conference/third-crossover game, we could have an additional West home game this year (which gives us 4H, 4A and 1N), and next year we would have one West home game (along with Mizzou, Scar and Kentucky from the East).
And again, having an extra conference game each year is cheaper (we don’t have to pay them) and makes for better matchups (so presumably more AIS’).
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If we go to 9 game conference schedule and 3 ‘cross-over’ games, I wonder if fans would support dropping the annual permanent game against Auburn. We would still play them often and it would allow a quicker rotation with all western teams.
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No. There would be even leass reason to drop the permanent crossover if the other two rotated.
Playing Auburn every year is part of the essence of Georgia football. Getting rid of yearly rivalries such as that one chips away at one of the few sacrosanct things in college football.
Its bad enough Texas and Texas A&M don’t play, or that Nebraska and Oklahoma don’t play.
But getting rid of UGA/AU unecessarily is an obekectively terrible idea, especially so we can play teams like A&M, Ole Miss, Miss. St. and Arkansas more. Who gives a hot damn.
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No. Have you seen our record against AU?
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Fdif we are going to quit playing Auburn every year, we should just quit playing, period.
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The better option is to one-time the Tech game to MBS to get the transition to what you want.
But Tech will never agree to it because that would put us and Clemson as home games in the same season for them, creating a void in the other seasons.
FWIW, would also mess me up because my entire custody schedule is based on Tech being played in Atlanta in odd years.
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My 2 cents. I favor leaving Jacksonville from the selfish standpoint of having a better home schedule, but truly appreciate the tradition. As for neutrality, the game is neutral, but the town is not. Spurrier made it a point to control Jville, and combined with them dominating us for a while, and frankly, a large percentage of Georgia fans staying on the Georgia coast, shifted that balance greatly in the Gators favor. I imagine if we stay on the trajectory that Kirby seems to have us on, that will begin to shift back.
Moving the game to Atlanta, again my opinion, is ridiculous. Let’s still give up a home game but also kill the tradition aspect.
I commented above on the travel argument.
One thing I would like to see change, (and maybe it has…I’m just getting old and forgetful) is to allow the teams to recruit at the game. I think Kirby would be devastatingly effective given that opportunity.
The one thing to watch is Shere Khan with the Jaguars. He could potentially hold the city hostage over keeping the franchise there, and get concessions to control the stadium. Rumors swirl that he is not a big fan of the game being held there every year. Possibly conjecture, but nonetheless something to keep in the back of your mind if the Jags continue to be a presence in the AFC.
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Couldn’t agree more. I think it’s ridiculous McGarity has given away a recruiting opportunity like that.
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Good comment here and nice Shere Khan crack.
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Thank you Senator. I went for 17 straight with the 1994-95 being the exception. It was our worst stretch in the series but I always had a great time and looked forward to it. My wife and I miss it terribly and can’t wait for our next trip to the WLOCP!
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At least the people that want the game move, want it moved because they believe it will help UGA win. People who want it to stay, want it to stay more because of the fan experience. The game isn’t going anywhere, but kudos to the people who want it to move because they think it will help UGA win more games. I think the flying has helped with the travel. Though people forget the time to drive to and from the airport, security, etc. Still, since UGA generally goes on Thursdays (or did later in the CMR years), I am not so sure it such a disadvantage as it was when we use to ride a bus down.
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Trapnell doesn’t use the word “win” a single time in his comment. You need to try harder if you want to slander part of the fan base.
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If it wasn’t for the fan experience Senator, would you argue so hard to keep it in Jax? During the streak, winning was a big reason some fans wanted it move. I have family in Jax so I enjoy the game being held there. But I get why many fans wanted a home game… for them it was about winning. For some others, its about convenience.
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I would, because I think the CP is something close to unique in college football. And that would be the case whether I attended or not. 😉
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I like it there too. The extended family use to take the days festivities in even if we didn’t have tickets. Though we found out a long time ago that if you wear your colors, getting tickets isn’t that hard if you walk among the football faithful.
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Ummmm, UGA is winning. Georgia has more wins that UF in the series. If that is the logic UGA should only play GT at Bobby Dodd.
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Exactly. We lead the series by a healthy margin. We’re .500 this decade. The 90’s and 00’s were bad because of Spurrier and Corch. The 70’s and 80’s didn’t seem like such a hassle on the team.
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The idea that we’d win more if half the games were in Gainesville is laughable. We have a chance to dominate that series again and one reason why is that we won’t have to play a true away game in the series.
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This decade, the series is tied 4-4. How much better would that be for UGA if it had been played on a home-and-home basis?
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Hell if I know but I do know that playing in Jax every year is better for us than playing in Gainesville every other year.
I’d say home and home is better for the lesser program though. You could argue that we’d have won more between 1991-2003 if we played half at Sanford, but for me the idea isn’t to try to win 2 or 3 games a decade because we’re at home 5 times. For me the idea is to get good enough to win 9 of 10 because they’re all at a nuetral site. If we were home and home 7 of 10 is probably your ceiling in the best of times.
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I’m tired of hearing. UF has won 21 out of 28. This game runs in 20 yr. cycles of winning dominance for one team. Has since the 30s.
I’m sorry Senator, but the decade ends on the 10s, which means we’re ahead in this cycle 4-3. WOOOHOOO!!
I see us jumping further ahead in the Kirby era.
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The home and home crown on the WLOCP seem to forget that we actually performed worse against UT in the 1990’s. Not even a single W. Pretty sure that was home and home.
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Waaaaahhh! We need to move the Tennessee series to Athens every year!
😉
Excellent point, Derek. Playing the game in an evenly split stadium is no advantage to either team, regardless of where the stadium is located. As Notre Dame.
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Take a hike with this “21 of 28” shit. I am so sick of seeing this nonsense from Georgia fans. Why on earth would any of you fall for this dumb Florida trap of starting the timeline at 1990? What relevance does that have anymore?
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My bad. I may have read your comment wrong. Just tired of the media and our fans constantly referring to 1990 as the origin of relevancy in this series. It’s beyond ridiculous now that we have made the series competitive again. UT-UF is the series that is the true laugher.
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My argument is emotional not rational. I swore to never return to Jacksonville until we won back to back games.
Last time we were there we tailgated next to 8-10 UF fans who alternated between shots of jager and snorts of coke. Not a pleasant experience to say the least
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So you went in 2014?
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Glass houses on the coke…
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“A long ride back from Jacksonville
500 miles from a game we should’ve won
Man we ought a burn down that stadium”
Love that song.
Maybe the game could be moved to a really neutral site like Shreveport!
I don’t care where we play, as long as we beat their jort wearing asses 42-7 every freakin year.
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^^ What he said.^^
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I personally love the St. Simon’s/Jacksonville game experience and I’d never vote to discontinue it, so I’m biased. I’m also looking forward to another winning streak down there.
I don’t think I’m being biased when I point out that it does not necessarily follow that we’ll get more compelling home and home matchups if the game is pulled out of Jacksonville. If Butts-Mehre wanted to do those games, they already could be. I wouldn’t hire Damon Evans to be my marriage counselor but he certainly seemed to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide and his administration seemed to be able to keep UGA’s bank accounts in the black while taking the Dawgs to a lot of other Power Five campuses. Do you really think Greg McGarity wouldn’t smile at you every other year and talk about what a great home schedule it is with the Gators coming to Athens while charging you the “premium” game price for it and inviting Furman to open the season between the hedges? I’m sure he’d also be glad to schedule a mid-level ACC team in Atlanta every now and then, too, when Gary Stokan does the heavy lifting for him.
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I’m an agnostic on this issue. Spurrier insisted having the game in Jacksonville was an advantage for the Gators. Far be it for me to question the wisdom of one of college football’s coaching giants, but I think his argument might have been a bit overstated.
Even if we grant that the location of the Cocktail Party gives UF a marginal edge, we’ve had no trouble winning in true road environments like Auburn, Knoxville, or Atlanta over the last couple of decades. Fact is, the Gators were just a lot better than us from 1990-2000, and from 2001-2015 we had a coach who, frankly, often seemed intimidated by Florida.
Once Kirby strings together a good run in Jacksonville against an inferior Gator program, this conversation will dissipate in a hurry.
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SOS Zplayed mind games with our Zcoaches on the location…he also had the better team the majority of his tenure at UF too…he’s gone…
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ZHuh. I feel Zfunny…..like maybe there waZs some sort of Zmind control/ ublZiminal messaZge in one of the Zposts…..
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You guys are big Adrian Zmed fans aren’t you?
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No edit…have no idea what zhappened.
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He needs some cheese.
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The perennial “we ought to move the game out of Jacksonville” is an exercise in curmudgeonry.
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As a general rule, I don’t see older people calling for the game to be played outside of Jacksonville.
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cur·mudg·eon
kərˈməjən/Submit
noun
a bad-tempered or surly person.
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An ill-tempered (and frequently old) person full of stubborn ideas or opinions.
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I normally associate that word with old people … like myself
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I suspect this complaint will be muted soon. A few more beat downs tends to shift the narrative, just like in the 70′ and 80’s (when traveling was much harder).
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Our home schedules are terrible. Jacksonville is meh.
And there’s no tradition or charm in playing at that NFL cookie cutter stadium that is TIAA Bank Field.
Play the game on campus.
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The complaint I have about the game as it is currently played is at minimum the home team can’t host recruits.
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and that is the only complaint I have about playing in Jax, if a coach or admin wants the game moved, I want them to move jobs.
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Great points on both account, Otto.
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Stat Dawg needs to update her numbers and include the cost of a WLOCP ticket every other year.
Think about it. Auburn and Alabama don’t pay extra for tickets when the game is home. It’s part of the season tickets and a large part of why people buy season tickets.
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I’ve known Trapnell since his SAE days at Georgia. I’m fact he married a girl from my hometown. While a nice guy, Jeff represents the typical whiney Atlanta bitch that thinks the entire world rotates within the confines of the 285 perimeter.
My advice is two-fold:
1. Get over yourself
2. Toughen up and make the 50 minute delta flIght to JAX where you’re another 30 minutes to Ponte Vedra and a world away from Atlanta.
It’s a tough life for guys like Jeff.
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I was wondering if it was that Jeffrey Trapnell.
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I like Jeff – he used to be my broker at RH and is generally a good dude. But he’s an Atlanta guy and that’s who he always be – the good and the bad.
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I resemble that remark. 😉
I graduated high school with Trapnell and lived there most of my life until I moved south to Perry about 10 years ago.
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He moved to Athens, fwiw
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I don’t often like to admit that I’m wrong, but I have no qualms admitting that I’ve changed my viewpoint on this substantially from just a few short years ago. Previously I was all for moving to a home and home, but after looking at things a bit more rationally, I don’t think UF enjoys any inherent advantages over us than I previously thought.
The fact that the team can now flight directly out of Athens for a 1 hour wheels up to wheels down flight to Jax pretty much squashed any previous travel related arguments, in which the team had to bus to Atlanta and then fly down. Both teams also stay in hotels the night before the game as well. And while Jacksonville is still a dump with little redeeming qualities, the overall tradition is so entrenched that it makes no sense to move it from its current spot.
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Anyone else think neutral site games in NFL stadiums suck?
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Not the WLOCP but games in a Dome do.
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No, IF Kirby likes the idea, I’m all about UGA playing in them. He seems to think they help recruiting…he may be on to something.
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At least you’re consistent. A lot of the Jax defenders whine about how they don’t like playing in neutral site games in NFL stadiums. They think games on campuses are much better.
It doesn’t get much more hypocritical than that.
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I’m not so sure Kirby likes the idea of playing in JAX.
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Y’all have discussed it, eh? 😉
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I think playing the Gators in the Gator Bowl is a disadvantage. To claim otherwise requires some serious rationalization and requires ignoring the very real evidence of Auburn and Bama ending their neutral site game. Auburn was always the smaller fan base in Birmingham. When they went home and home, Auburn’s record got a lot better. If it were up to me, I’d follow their example and move to a home and home.
That being said, Georgia doesn’t do a whole lot to give itself any advantages. If we were really looking to stay nationally relevant and have as many advantages as possible, we could just leave the SEC for an easier conference. Or at the very least, not play Auburn as our west rival every single year. Playing in Jacksonville is just part of the deal for us. At least it’s a fun experience even when we lose.
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We lead the series, and we’re at 4-4 in this decade. I suspect Kirby is about to go on a serious ass whipping streak. The stadium has very little to do with it. Just like when Florida was whining to move the game in the 70’s and 80’s.
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I don’t buy tickets thru the AA so I’m not sure how it works, but wouldn’t it let more fans get tickets for the game if this series were on campus because then you’re guaranteed to get a home game every other year? On the other hand in Jax, my understanding is you would have to have donated much more. Not that it prevents people from getting tickets in the aftermarket but I’ve always thought it’s just a matter of who whether you put this game out to all or to some. It wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the home slate were better but that’s another thing.
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I used to be on the home-and-home train but it really is one of those traditions that you would kick yourself over ending once you finally did. In an admittedly self-absorbed line of reasoning, the fact that much of the college football world looks at the Cocktail party with a minimum of intrigue at the mystique to downright jealousy at its unique traditions tells me all I need to know about whether we should keep it.
The way to better the schedule AND keep Florida is to go to a division-less 3-5 format where we permanently play UF, AU and either UT or SCjr. Nobody will bitch about any of this if we could get Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt into rotating games instead of permanent games.
Easy on the SAE hate brahhh.
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Good point on KY, Vandy and Mizzou…they have nothing but a passing interest in fielding a competitive football team.
That said, the folks that continually whine about our schedule need to take a look at our rivals… AU has been known to have 8 home games, with 4 of’em being patsies of the highest order. Who big does Bama bring into their home stadium that is OOC? In fact, what OOC Power 5 type team have they played at home in the last 20 years?
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That’s incorrect. Auburn always play 1 OOC Power 5 team. And they usually play the games on campus. In the last 10 years, they played 4 in Auburn, 4 on the road, and 2 neutral site. Here they are:
2017 – at Clemson
2016 – vs Clemson
2015 – Louisville in ATL
2014 – at Kansas State
2013 – vs Washington State
2012 – Clemson in ATL
2011 – at Clemson
2010 – vs Clemson
2009 – vs West Virginia
2008 – at West Virginia
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Still not as many as UGA…but I stand corrected, they have done more lately.
Any research on my Bama comments?
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Anytime an out of state team comes in town it should help their image and future recruiting. No reason to invite the gators to Atlanta for any reason. And I was there when sos hung 50 on us in Sanford. Never let those assholes back to the classic city either. Keep beating them in Jax and keep cherry picking their recruits. A tradition we all can agree on.
And destroy some property while we are at it.
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What about the disadvantage of practicing all week several hundred miles north and then having to step off a plane and get in all that humidity?
Everyone knows plane travel can dehydrate and that, coupled with a foreign dew point, can wreck an 18/19 year olds system.
And then, have to go play a football game? That’s insanity.
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LOL! Well played, I almost believed you for a second. 😉
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You forgot, the sun comes up a few minutes earlier on the coast. That can really mess up an 18 or 19 year old’s circadian rythym and the lost sleep can be very disruptive to their 4th quarter stamina.
Best to plsy this one home and home.
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My two cents.. Dooley had no problems in Jax.. and some of us Dawgs live in Florida.
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I think the Auburn game should be played in dove season in a millet field so when that cooch releases that 6 lb chicken to fly to his handler we can all get some practice with our 12 gauge.
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No games at the stupid MB Stadium in Atlanta. Play Florida in Sanford Stadium if its going into the state of Georgia.I’ve been told that if the SEC goes to a nine game conference schedule then strong considerstion will have to be given by both schools agreeing to a standard “home & home” arrangement.
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Why? I fail to see how 4-4-1 every year is better than 5-4 one year and 4-5 the next (or vice versa)…
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It’s fun for the kids. Isn’t that enough?
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I have been going to Athens every year since I got to move back home to this great state, but never had been to the WLOCP until last October. I am very angry at myself for staying home for Halloween all these years . It was a blast and I plan to go back next year and the next. If you have not been… go. Fine women and friendly drunks as far as the eye can see.
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Living in Florida and being a rabid DAWG fan having season tkts for 25 years, it’s fun going to JAX and a home game 3 hrs away vs 7. Haven’t been to Athens in 3 years and tkts go to waste. Not this year, gave $100 to keep JAX game and new fans can have my expensive unused tkts.
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I remember Erk singing the Florida alma mater at the Thursday night pep rally at Herty Field in 1968 before the Florida game. If he had become HC, I can see the team traveling to Jax. in a caravan of buses along a publicly announced route thru small cities and towns along the way with each town having a massive turn-out of gater haters to cheer for the team as they rode by. The closer the buses got to the Florida line, the bigger and more intense the crowd would be.
Might be some more 51-0 whoopins.
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Honestly it is a unique venue. I travel up from Tampa and its a 3 hour drive for me. If I lived in south Georgia and drove to Athens…its a 4 hour drive through many very small towns and speed traps. So theres that. For the team 1 hour and change flight. The BL in this modern age of travel…the affect isn’t what it was in the past when we drove. Also does traveling to Knoxville or Lexington or Columbia Missouri any different. We have won in all those venues.
Travel for the team is a non-issue IMO. Winning cures all. I personally love driving back to Tampa with my Bulldawg swag on my truck as I pass through Florida strongholds…funny that all my neighbors are Nole’ fans and pull for us against them.
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