and how some "UGA" fans reacted to the firing. The similarities follow along the commitment of recruits and fans to Richt vs. a commitment to the school.
First, not saying that is altogether bad. For the recruits, at least, a coaching staff is their conduit to the school and the face of the institution for a kid not within easy driving distance to Athens. Moreover, the coach is the conduit to playing time at the school... and what one promises versus another is always a factor.
Second, as the parent of a college sophomore and a soon-to-be HS senior, the college choice is a difficult endeavor. Figuring out what you think you might want to be in life is a challenge for most 18 year olds. Understanding which schools have better social opportunities seems to be a much easier choice. So, the commitment - even for my kids - has not been which school would afford them the best education aligned with their 'life goal'; rather, it is 'where might I be the happiest for the next 4 years?' If a coach is selling happiness or comfort, the school is just part of the story. Hang on to that comfort thought, please.
Third, some of these kids have been seeing and hearing from the same coach for 3 years before signing day. That's 17% of their life (for an 18 year old); and more like 38% of their cognitive life if you consider they only began awareness of their athletic abilities and school potential at, say, 10 years of age.
So, when a recruit becomes attached to a coach or a previous coach, it is to be expected. When that situation changes, and the recruit's mind wavers, that is to be expected as well.
What perplexes me is the cult-like fan attraction to the previous coaching staff which simultaneously - on the one hand - has connected with the previous head coach in much the way a teenage recruit does and - on the other hand - can be so reliant on that 'comfort' notion that they are willing to overlook he coach's performance history and trends which belittle the institution they claim to value from the perspective of years of adulthood.
Why did/do fans need the 'comfort' of Mark Richt.
Perhaps at dinner parties, it was comforting to have the 'old crutch' in the pocket in case you happened upon the Bama/Gator/Vol/WarEagle/BengalTiger/Seminole/(now)Clemson fan who could boast about their program's recent success vis-a-vis football. You know, the 'old crutch' which is a.) 'Mark Richt is a good man' (no debate); and, b.) 'We're on a higher mission at UGA.' At which point, one takes on the persona of Jake and Elwood Blues... albeit in red and black. The lack of significant wins, or championships, or NC rings at that point rendered moot and/or base pursuits.
It's like the cognitive dissonance where you recognize you're married to someone who prefers to lie on the couch and eat bon-bons and charge it off to a thyroid condition. I don't get it.
Thank goodness those days are over; at least for now. I wonder if the same nuttiness will follow to Thug U where the expectation for NC rings is much higher and less likely than UGA?
Kirby Smart can succeed or fail... but at least we've made the decision to try harder as an institution. The 'old crutch' is gone. The conversation has become more digital. More about the W's and L's, now.
And, if you're gonna keep score... that's how it ought to be.
First, not saying that is altogether bad. For the recruits, at least, a coaching staff is their conduit to the school and the face of the institution for a kid not within easy driving distance to Athens. Moreover, the coach is the conduit to playing time at the school... and what one promises versus another is always a factor.
Second, as the parent of a college sophomore and a soon-to-be HS senior, the college choice is a difficult endeavor. Figuring out what you think you might want to be in life is a challenge for most 18 year olds. Understanding which schools have better social opportunities seems to be a much easier choice. So, the commitment - even for my kids - has not been which school would afford them the best education aligned with their 'life goal'; rather, it is 'where might I be the happiest for the next 4 years?' If a coach is selling happiness or comfort, the school is just part of the story. Hang on to that comfort thought, please.
Third, some of these kids have been seeing and hearing from the same coach for 3 years before signing day. That's 17% of their life (for an 18 year old); and more like 38% of their cognitive life if you consider they only began awareness of their athletic abilities and school potential at, say, 10 years of age.
So, when a recruit becomes attached to a coach or a previous coach, it is to be expected. When that situation changes, and the recruit's mind wavers, that is to be expected as well.
What perplexes me is the cult-like fan attraction to the previous coaching staff which simultaneously - on the one hand - has connected with the previous head coach in much the way a teenage recruit does and - on the other hand - can be so reliant on that 'comfort' notion that they are willing to overlook he coach's performance history and trends which belittle the institution they claim to value from the perspective of years of adulthood.
Why did/do fans need the 'comfort' of Mark Richt.
Perhaps at dinner parties, it was comforting to have the 'old crutch' in the pocket in case you happened upon the Bama/Gator/Vol/WarEagle/BengalTiger/Seminole/(now)Clemson fan who could boast about their program's recent success vis-a-vis football. You know, the 'old crutch' which is a.) 'Mark Richt is a good man' (no debate); and, b.) 'We're on a higher mission at UGA.' At which point, one takes on the persona of Jake and Elwood Blues... albeit in red and black. The lack of significant wins, or championships, or NC rings at that point rendered moot and/or base pursuits.
It's like the cognitive dissonance where you recognize you're married to someone who prefers to lie on the couch and eat bon-bons and charge it off to a thyroid condition. I don't get it.
Thank goodness those days are over; at least for now. I wonder if the same nuttiness will follow to Thug U where the expectation for NC rings is much higher and less likely than UGA?
Kirby Smart can succeed or fail... but at least we've made the decision to try harder as an institution. The 'old crutch' is gone. The conversation has become more digital. More about the W's and L's, now.
And, if you're gonna keep score... that's how it ought to be.
