Over and above all that is the financial side of things. Smart is definitely “The Man” at the moment and he has done some great things to raise the football program to another level. But he still answers to a president, an AD and a board of directors. And the facts regarding the Florida game are this: Georgia (and Florida) get $3 million a year to play in Jacksonville in the current deal that runs through 2021. That means they clear — all their expenses are paid — $6 million every two years.
To play that game home-and-home, Georgia would make $3.2 million when it plays at Sanford Stadium but lose about $500,000 when it played in Gainesville. So that’s $2.7 million every two years as opposed to $6 million…
Math is hard, but it ain’t that hard. The game stays in Jax as long as the city is willing to pay for the privilege of hosting it, pure and simple. So quit wasting time and energy explaining otherwise.
Get The Picture 
The money argument is just a convenient fact on your sides behalf. If it wasn’t, there would be fruitless cries about tradition.
What if I said, “the powers that be get more money because they don’t pay athletes”. So quit wasting time and energy explaining otherwise.
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I must have missed all the lawsuits and court decisions about moving the game from Jax.
Cool analogy, though.
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Good point. Maybe there should be. 😉
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Knock yourself out, Mayor. I’m sure you can make as convincing a case in court as you do here in the comments. 😉
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Touché. 😊
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I missed the part about all analogies being equal so long as the courts involved. Your caveat is only recently valid, due to the time and energy wasted for years otherwise.
But my degree isn’t in law and yours is so I’m not surprised you went there.
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Let me try again. It’s not a waste for me to expend energy on player compensation because I’m arguing against a practice that has been found to violate federal law. That’s not the case with regard to the Cocktail Party, in that there’s not some third-party agency that threatens to wrest control away from McGarity and Stricklin.
As far as “Your caveat is only recently valid, due to the time and energy wasted for years otherwise” goes, if it’s been validated, how was the effort wasted?
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I took your comment to mean all the lawsuits that would arise from the city of Jax, and all those condo owners on St. Simons and Amelia Island denied their right to destroy property.
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All I’m saying is its not a waste now, hindsight is 20/20 etc… The Boz sure felt like his efforts were in vain?
At some point if someone plays the victim card and tries to argue the game should be moved I guess its only validated if they win at lawyering in your opinion? I know what side of the argument you are on, I’m probably pissing up a rope.
Revenue is growing for certain conferences regardless of how you feel about expansion and playoffs. “so quit wasting time and energy explaining otherwise.”
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I don’t understand your reasoning. What argument are you proposing that trumps the cash flow?
Look, if Congress grants schools an antitrust exemption, my days of discussing amateurism are over. What would be the point? Until then, there’s a legit debate because the NCAA isn’t in control of the outcome.
The difference in the case of Jax is that Florida and Georgia are in control.
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My argument is “fan satisfaction”. Same as Hating the playoffs (we agree here) and conference expansion (we agree here). Regardless, money wins right now.
Its not a waste of time (to me) and your syntax seems to sort of suppress opinion. Cause ‘Murica and all that. Ill stop regardless if you respond cause I don’t want to wander into pigpen territory. I love you and your blog #nohomo.
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I like more than anybody to catch Senator in an inconsistency across his arguments – but I don’t think he was saying “regardless of how you feel” quit complaining – after all , this blog is at least 25% complaints about stuff none of us control.
I think he was saying (as usual) it’s all about the money , and anything you hear from the brass about tradition or fan experience or the like is BS – and they need not waste their time giving us that lip service because we are not buying it –
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🙂
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I did think he was sending a “regardless of how you feel, shut up” message. I could be wrong. Doesn’t matter, my argument isn’t in anger to him.
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In other words: The Georgia Way is still alive and well.
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Or:
The way of the world is still alive and well.
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I think the game should stay in Jacksonville. I don’t buy the recruiting disadvantage either. If coaches don’t point out that it is like a mid season “Bowl Game” then that is their fault.
I attended the game yearly for over 3 decades and had a blast even when we lost. Nothing like a week at Amelia Plantation playing golf – drinking – eating seafood and topping it off with a football game.
Oh yeah – there is that “Tradition” thing.
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^^Exhibit A in support of my long-standing argument about Georgia fan support for the location of the game in JAX. A fall fun time at the beach is more important than winning the game.
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Mayor, did you say the same thing in the 80s when we were beating the Gators consistently and having a good time doing it?
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Well, actually….no. 😉
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At least you’re honest. So we just need Kirby to run off a few Dooley-style streaks on the Gators to extend our series lead back to 20+ games like it was for years.
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Exactly. That’s what these guys really care about.
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We’re sure not going to have input on this. I suspect that if Kirby has continued success, then if Kirby wants the change, Kirby will get the change.
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Not unless he’s willing to take a pay cut to make up for the financial loss.
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I’m afraid we’ll just have to disagree. As You have seen over Kirby’s tenure already , the penchant to spend to make the program better. The more Kirby is successful, the more he’ll get what he wants. Couple of more SEC champs, a Natty somewhere and if he wants a home and home with UF, he will get it. That’s my definition of what success would be and Jimmy Sexton May have a piece of that negotiation.
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If Kirby continues to recruit, and perform, at the current pace for a few years, he will be able to personally pay the differential to move the game to his backyard if he chooses.
Nah, JAX will continue to up the ante as needed, and those who love the current tradition will continue to prevail. By then, both home fields will have returned to their 50K capacity roots, and the Mayor will abandon his crusade because UGA will have been dominating as in the Dooley years.
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Well then don’t play any kick off classic games then. Simple
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I’m quite fine with this. I would much prefer home-and-homes with big name, OOC opponents, while keeping the WLOCP in JAX. Bringing Notre Dame to Sanford Stadium – and sending the Dawgs to South Bend – was one of the best things McGarity has done as AD. I want more of the same.
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Bingo!
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If I recall it was someone else other than McGarity that initiated the Notre Dame home and home. It was McGarity though that rolled over and approved us playing at Auburn two years in row with no return game in Athens. It’s for the good of the conference he said as he grabbed his ankles.
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https://fbschedules.com/georgia-notre-dame-schedule-2017-2019-football-series/
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https://www.dawgnation.com/football/georgia-notre-dame-series-came
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That would be nice but UGA doesn’t see it that way. They recently signed up for 3 of those (2020, 2022, and 2024).
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I know they’ve all been OOC games to date but why not a UGA v UF kickoff classic?
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Maybe Jacksonville can build a recruiting lounge for both teams and absorb the expenses of hosting recruits as part of the next negotiation if they want to keep the game. 😉
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While I like having the game in Jax….But if it’s all (well, mostly) about the money why not put the game up for bids?
Atlanta might outbid Jax, and so may other cities…Hell, put all the games up for bids years in advance so people can make their plans.
A preposterous argument I make with my point being that there IS much more to the WLOCP than profit margin.
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Good point in that closing sentence. We would be fools to ignore the profit angle totally but the game would go to a home and home if it was just a million or two dollars without other intangibles, imo. Move it to ATL, or any other location because of money and I would support going home and home instantly.
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The money from Mickey, CBS and other marketing rights will make the the 3 million over 2 years like pocket change (currently its approx 2% of total revenue). The game will stay or go based on the large MaGill donors wishes.
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Keep the game in Jacksonville (I bet CBS wants it to stay there as well) and I don’t even go any more. I have no desire to see the game move to Atlanta or to campus (and I have season tickets). The unique nature of this game sells to recruits whether we ever host a single high school kid there or not. For those who go, it’s a great trip.
It’s probably one of the few fan friendly things we have left.
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Agree. When it comes to regional and national attention, the Jax game sucks all the publicity air out of the room. It’s equivalent to a prime time New Year’s Day bowl in the middle of the season. CBS has it circled in red on their calendar every year – it’s their top game.
It would be truly foolish to reduce it to just another home-and-home game on the schedule – and that’s what most of the world would see it as.
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CBS snatches up that game for TV first every year.
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I think it’s contractually obligated to be the 3:30 game that week.
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I think that is a key point. To GA/FL people the game will always be a big deal, no matter where played. But to the rest of the world it will go from a nationally recognized special thing (one of two traditional neutral site games) to just another game. It would be wise to recognize the value lost if it becomes just another game to the broader world.
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I think Kirby is posturing for recruiting at the WLOCP. If I remember correctly the problem is tickets for the recruits and their families.
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Let’s play pretend:
“Neutral and Neutral”
One year in Jax
One year in the Benz
If Jax is shelling out the clams for the WLOCP, then one imagine what the Atl/Benz might pony up
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You don’t have to play pretend. The last time the contract came up, Atlanta made a pitch, but couldn’t match Jacksonville’s offer.
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Should have sought a bid from Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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I could see Tennessee and Clemson playing there.
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Looked to me like the view in Bristol sucked. If there’s ever a game scheduled for AMS I want the binocular concession.
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I was at the Bristol game. And I had the worst seats in the house (my wife got them, go figure)–endzone in the turn, first row. I was literally behind the goal post, cross bar level, 110 yards away from the CLOSEST possible action. Imagine sitting in row 1 of the east endzone at Sanford and watching a football game occurring where the Bolton dining hall now is—that’s about what it was like. We went back to the tailgate, got drunker and passed out in the car at halftime.
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LOL!!
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That one game pays almost half of Kirby’s salary.
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Good hear that the Georgia Way is working in favor of keeping an awesome tradition in place despite many UGA fans that would damage tradition.
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mic drop
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It will be interesting to see what happens with that stadium and this game if/when the Jags move to London.
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I think the factor that could eventually take it home and home is if interest declines in season tickets. Then the math changes and it becomes more about protecting the larger cash cow that is season ticket holder and contributions, which is much larger than the annual check from Jax. That hasn’t happened yet, but the trends are not favorable nationally on that either.
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That covers it.
Thanks!
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The potential wild card with Jacksonville in my opinion would be crime. Remember the huge police presence at the game this year? That a direct result form 6 people being shot just a few weeks prior just a few blocks from the stadium. If that were to creep into the game site, or if there were some incidents over the weekend. The freak-out factor could kill this tradition.
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Fine by me. I prefer it in Jax. Capitalism rocks.
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This is somewhat irrelevant. This doesn’t take into account the economic impact to Athens and Gainesville which is much larger. So figure out a way to get the local tax money to pony up. I promise you those towns make much more in revenue than $2.7 mil.
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Don’t forget the BM staff gets a paid trip as well.
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Money talks y’all. And not just the money from the city of Jacksonville, though that is extremely significant. Some of the money you’re not taking into consideration is the money from donors who live in south Georgia and Northeast Florida. The capital of Georgia is Atlanta but that’s not necessarily where the power and money are.
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