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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > October > 28
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
All’s hush-hush on UGA-Florida front
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Athens — The Gators weren’t amused then, and such remains the case now.
They just won’t say it. They have their own gag order.
With that little football game in Jacksonville approaching, Georgia coach Mark Richt and his Florida counterpart, Urban Meyer, don’t wish to discuss You Know What. They’ve also suggested to their players not to utter a syllable about it. According to those on both sides, that unmentionable thing is all in the past, and it is not a big deal. It is a big deal, and everybody knows it, especially those coaching, playing and rooting for Georgia and Florida.
Richt’s gag order is one of the long-term consequences of his short-term fix for the lethargy that affected his Bulldogs early last season. Remember? The week of the Florida game, Richt said he told his offensive players on the field to celebrate enough after Georgia’s first touchdown to draw an unsportsmanlike penalty. Instead, all of his players sprinted from the sidelines to the end zone for a dog pile between screaming and clowning.
The Bulldogs don’t want to talk about it. They can’t talk about it. After all, Richt might force violators to suck on Uga VII’s old dogbones. Imagine a mantra that sits between Mark McGwire (“I’m not here to talk about the past) and the Clintons (“It’s the economy, stupid.”). For instance: Offensive lineman Clint Boling joined most of his Georgia peers in shifting into automatic pilot after hearing such trigger phrases as “Florida game” and “last year” in a question.
Said Boling, politely, “Uh, we’re just worried about this year’s game. We’re not thinking about last year.”
Actually, the question wasn’t about You Know What. Neither was the one to fullback Fred Munzenmaier, who nevertheless heard those trigger phrases before responding with a chuckle, “Uh, no. We’ve been told to put that one behind us.”
At least linebacker Rennie Curran acknowledged some of the truth. Nearly as long as water has filled the St. Johns River, Georgia players have dreamt about upcoming Florida games for days, weeks and months. Now you’ve got both teams streaking inside the Top 10 of the BCS standings. We won’t even mention You Know What. This game is fairly emotional for both sides, right?
“If you need outside motivation for this game, you have, like, no heart,” said Curran, a sophomore form Snellville. “If you’re a Georgia fan or a Georgia player, this game is just everything. It’s impossible not to get motivated for this game, because most of us have coaches from high school and a bunch of friends who are Florida fans.”
What about friends who are Florida players? “Oh, yeah. I played with a couple of guys during some high school all-star games,” said Curran, before naming a slew of Gators with a smile. “There’s definitely some connections there.”
So do you talk to your Florida friends about last year’s game? “Uh,” Curran said, pausing, with thoughts of Richt and old dogbones rattling in his mind. “There really is no mention about last year.”
Uh-huh.
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