AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > September > 04 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USNew Tech AD redefines success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
The first time he met with his coaches, Dan Radakovich kept his comments brief. E-mail probably would’ve been quicker. But even the simplest mandates sometimes carry more weight when they’re delivered with eye contact.
“I met with them just prior to the first news conference,” the Georgia Tech athletics director recalled Tuesday. “I said, ‘Guys, I don’t have a whole lot of time here. There are only two things that are important to me: Win and don’t cheat.’ You can do that here.”
Tech won a football game at Notre Dame the other day. They dumped a national program on national television with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. They have raised expectations. Again.
Maybe this year turns out to be special. Or maybe the Jackets go on to lose to Maryland and Army and North Carolina, and settle into the usual secondary-bowl abyss. This much we know: secondary-bowl abyss — not going to cut it any more. Never should have.
Tech athletics seem in the midst of a reprogramming. Academic standards aren’t seen as obstacles. Nothing, Radakovich says, should be seen as obstacles.
Did someone open the window?
“There’s the way the ball bounces, there’s the way the whistle blows, there are a lot of things that go into an athletic competition that would cause a team to win or lose,” Radakovich said. “But where we are, where we play, what our school is — none of that makes that list. I look at those as being positives. Academics are a challenge here. But they’re a challenge at a lot of places.”
Why did this take so long?
For too long by too many, Tech has been viewed as this little curiosity off the interstate, an engineering school that sometimes had a pretty good basketball or baseball team — but generally was big-footed by Georgia in the fall.
It made no sense. Tech is a major school, in a major conference, in a major city. Why the minor-league mindset?
Radakovich replaced Dave Braine about 18 months ago. It was Braine who made the mistake of saying the Jackets “will never” win nine or 10 games consistently because of its academic standards. His objective might’ve been to take the pressure off of coach Chan Gailey. Instead, he cut him off at the knees. That quote probably became an opponent’s opening salvo in recruiting.
Radakovich was asked about Braine’s remarks. He didn’t hesitate when asked if he would ever utter such a thing.
“It’s not in my gene pool,” he said.
Gailey said he hasn’t felt any additional pressure to win since Radakovich replaced Braine, who hired him. But all that tells you is that Gailey has never been about settling.
If Tech football hasn’t quite been off the radar, it certainly has resembled a dot, relative to the blob in Athens. There is something inherently wrong with that. This isn’t about ACC vs. SEC, or seven-win Tech vs. Georgia’s generally richer history. Success goes beyond that. Radakovich wants winning teams, and he wants them on your mind.
Last year, he hired Wayne Hogan, the former renowned sports information director at Florida State who more recently had been the athletics director in Montana. Hogan, given the title of associate AD for public relations, understands the situation. He said it’s not much different than in the late 1970s at FSU, when Florida dominated the state’s consciousness. The Seminoles, helped by affable Bobby Bowden, became one of the most accessible, media-friendly programs in the country.
Tech, Hogan believes, has spent too long putting up barriers with the public and the media.
“Georgia Tech, from what I can gather, has been a very closed society,” he said. “We’ve been borderline elitists. We’ve spent most of our time here on the corner of Bobby Dodd Way and Techwood Drive, and that’s where I think our rival has done a better job than us. If you go out in this city and go to the sports banquets, the Touchdown Clubs, there’s Damon Evans, Mark Richt, Larry Munson. Georgia does a great job of being out there. We need to do that.”
This week, Tech hosts Samford. The game will not sell out. Georgia fans show up for Georgia. Tech fans show up for the opponent. Maybe that will change.
Winning consistently would help. Expecting to win — that’s a start.
Permalink | Comments (92) | Post your comment | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC
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By JP
September 4, 2007 8:38 PM | Link to this
Braine obviously didn’t use much of his brain when he made that comment. I am glad that he “stepped down” because who wants to support a program that has an AD that doesn’t even believe in it.
By TDone
September 4, 2007 9:01 PM | Link to this
Jeff, there are more Muttlanders that Techsters. Years after years, this creates a larger fan base. Add to that Muttlanders have not only an overflated view of themselves, in spite of the fact it rarely plays regular season games outside of the Southeast. The local media fascination with all things Muttland has not helped.
But when one talks about fan bases, yeah Muttland has it on us by a country mile. But outside of the Southeast, no one really talks about Muttland in the same category as Texas, USC, and Ohio State.
By flats
September 4, 2007 9:05 PM | Link to this
Part of the problem is Tech grads are spread all over the country, thus can’t attend a lot of the home games as would the rival’s alums who are mostly instate.
By NASCARfan
September 4, 2007 9:23 PM | Link to this
TDone… name anything that Bugland has accomplished under Gailey that would be worth the kind of media attention that Georgia has recieved under Mark Richt.
Hell, y’all haven’t won 10 games since O’Liar cheated his way to 10 wins a decade ago.
We’ll keep on winning titles in Athens, while y’all keep on whining in Bugland about this and that.
Your argument about having a small fan base is so weak. You have a small fan base because you suck.
How many Georgia fans actually went to Georgia? Maybe half? Maybe a third? Maybe a quarter?
Yeah, most of them haven’t a chance in hell in attending a single class in Athens, because it’s actually pretty hard to get into Georgia since the advent of the HOPE Scholarship.
But we encourage their fanship, unlike you elitists in Bugland? Why? Because their money is just as good as anyone else’s.
In fact, a poor redneck’s money is worth a lot more to him than a college graduate who can afford more descresionary spending.
What am I trying to say to you? Y’all should be more inclusive to the inner city folk in Atlanta.
It is possible to have non alumni fans in your fanbase. You know how you grow your fanbase TDone?
Stop sucking. And stop being a bunch of elitist @$$holes.
But it’s okay. Georgia State is about to have a football team. They’ll gain the fans that the Buglanders think are beneath them. They’ll grow their program, and soon, Bugland will have to worry about holding off Georgia Southern for third place in the state.
TDone, you are a typical Bug. Full of excuses and lacking anything resembling substance or character. Your whole fanbase is this way, and that’s why your delapadated pee wee football stadium downtown is only half full unless the Dawgs are coming into town.
Pathetic football team and pathetic fans makes for a wonderful combination.
By SanDiegoJacket
September 4, 2007 9:28 PM | Link to this
You must know how much we claim that the AJC favors the Ugagers.
Although this is a great article about us for a change, you can’t change years of abuse. Jeff, you know what y’all have done to us and you know the consequences…we no longer think you’re relevant.
I wish Wayne would pull your press passes and you never again would be allowed to cover GT sports.
I emailed DRAD and Wayne Hogan on this subject on Monday. You’re just another Homer, not worth the paper on which you’re published.
Give all the TECH folks a favor and just ignore us…it’s the greatest compliment you can do for us.
Keep following the Dawgs and their tawdry following….we don’t need nor want you. I’ll keep reading the national sports about us because you cover Auburn and Tennessee better than us…keep up the good work….we no longer need you. Get the message??
Now let’s wait for the Ugagers, to talk about gays, and tickle piles and all the other oddities your paper likes to wallow in…. it’s your level of competency!! Have a great life!!
In short Jeff, go to sleep about TECH, you’re not worthy!! Sleep well!!
SanDiegoJacket
By mike
September 4, 2007 9:33 PM | Link to this
The future looks bright.
By GTarmchairQB
September 4, 2007 9:35 PM | Link to this
Dave Braine and Chan Gailey are the worst.
By jabster
September 4, 2007 9:36 PM | Link to this
More or less right. While I would dispute the “generally richer history” comment over the last 100 years, UGA has definitely had the mindshare the last 30-40, since Bobby Dodd stepped down and Vince Dooley stepped up. Mindshare among prospective student athletes, mindshare among alumni, and mindshare among “sidewalk alumni”.
Exactly why is debatable. Tech leaving the SEC? The Falcons stealing “home team” mindshare? Bobby Dodd the HOF coach morphing into the AD from hell? Dooley’s phenomenal run while Tech went on a coaching merry-go-round? The 1980 national championship and Herschel being at the right place at the right time for UGA? Transplanted Yankees more concerned with who’s winning more RIGHT NOW than irrelevant heritage? Tech drawing more students from all over the US and the world (before UGA did) who didn’t care about the Yellow Jackets before and won’t again when they go back where they came from? The “college town” experience versus a downtown that was long abandoned and neglected by folks looking for greener pastures OTP? Celebrity worship of “dumb jocks” over “nerds”?
Anyway, enough excuses. I am glad D-Rad knows that none of them matter, and while tradition is grand, it doesn’t win ballgames and puts fewer butts in seats each year. If tradition won ballgames Tech would have been mauled in South Bend 100 to zip.
Yes, we are living in the shadow of what has been a top 25 team, year in and year out. No matter how good Tech has gotten in the last 30-40 years, UGA has usually been a little bit better.
But compared to at least 2/3—if not 3/4—of D1-A, we have a lot to be proud of, year in and year out. Bowl games, winning records overall and in conference play, stuff like that. Most of D1-A would sell unmentionable body parts for records like that! We’ll never get our props from UGA, nor should we expect it.
Yes, it pains me when they do a poll of Gwinnett County student athletes, and 1/3 of them pick UGA as their favorite—and Tech comes in FOURTH, tied with Florida at 4% behind AllBarn and the Candy Canes. Maybe D-Rad can do something about that, too.
In any case, excuses, denial, and diminished expectations won’t fix anything, and I am glad that D-Rad and his staff see that.
By ryan
September 4, 2007 9:37 PM | Link to this
what a typical uga redneck! u probably didnt even finish high school! good luck this year, and cant wait too kick ur @$$ in atlanta! go jackets! THWG
By A Tech Man
September 4, 2007 9:41 PM | Link to this
Wow, this is classic. Want to talk typical? NASCARfan is the prototypical Dawg fan.
“My team’s stadium is bigger, therefore I am a better person than you.”
Let’s see, we are “full of excuses and lacking anything resembling substance or character,” and you can tell this because “[our] delapadated pee wee football stadium downtown is only half full unless the Dawgs are coming into town.”
And what, exactly, does the size and fullness of our football stadium have to say about our substance and character? For the average Dawg fan, apparently, everything.
By jabster
September 4, 2007 9:53 PM | Link to this
Maybe we need to “ask our doctor” about our stadium…I hear they make meds for that…at least that’s what my spam folder tells me…
By LongBeachJacket
September 4, 2007 10:03 PM | Link to this
Nice article, Jeff. As another Califronia Jacket, please, w/respect to SanDiego fellow…please don’t stop covering us.
Only error is that UGA does not have a richer history than Tech.
And that is precisely why your article is spot on.
Tech has an outstanding school, tradition, facilities, opportunities and just about everything else past and present.
AD Dan Radakovich “gets it” that it is important to PROMOTE YOUR BRAND. Tech has HUGE brand equity. It has been generally underpromoted for years by athletic management folks who weren’t quite “with it” in understanding the new era of sports marketing.
A tip of the cap to our rivals up in Athens. When it comes to marketing, the do “get it”. Their website about UGA sports beats ours by a country mile!
Fortunately, astute AD Dan “gets it” on this and is in the process of revamping Tech’s entire marketing presence on the Internet.
For goodness sakes…Tech is an ENGINEERING school with a Comp Sci dept… No reason it’s website for anything…including sports…should not be second to none!
Because of what GA Tech means to the City of Atlanta and the State of GA, there is a lot of residual goodwill toward the institution that can be leveraged.
AD Dan gets OUTSTANDING marks for recognizing our needs, beginning to methodically address these concerns and set the bar high for achievement in all areas. A great hire by President Clough.
Also, I note that I am a supporter but not a large contributor, financially speaking. As such, I appreciated that AD Dan sent me a personal reply to an email I had sent him regarding the program. This proves that he is interested in listening to points of view from all fans and supporters.
I really appreciate that!
GO JACKETS!!!!
By Ben
September 4, 2007 10:19 PM | Link to this
Autumn is in my opinion the best season. The leaves change and a cool crispness starts to settle in the air. I am no less of a fan just because perhaps I want to spend a weekend camping or going to the lake rather than show up for every single Tech game. I’m not saying uga fans show up to every game either, but since there are more of them in the area, it is easier to sell out their stadium. I guarantee you that not everyone who has tickets ends up going - they often give them away to other uga fans. I loved being a tech student for 6 years (yes it took me six years - it usually does to get both a bachelors and masters degree) and am a hardcore Tech fan, but I will not apologize for wanting a little diversity occasionally on my well earned weekends - and none of us should either!
By NASCARfan
September 4, 2007 10:39 PM | Link to this
A Tech Man…
The fact that your smallish stadium is half empty most of the time says everything about your substance and character as a fanbase.
Fans with substance and character support their teams and sell out their stadiums, no matter how big or small they are, and no matter how good or bad the team is doing.
And the fact that you didn’t know that, or couldn’t figure that out on your own speaks to your supreme lack of substance and character.
I never once said my stadium is bigger and that’s why we’re better, so your reading comprehension is also something I suggest your work on.
And I love how you elitists think that because someone enjoys NASCAR, he’s a redneck.
All of my redneck friends would be insulted that you would include me among their proud number. A carpetbagger like me, a redneck? They’re laughing in their Bud Lights over that.
But hey, it’s okay. I’ll just relax here in Athens, working on my two undergrad degrees, which I’ll get after only 3 1/2 years of school, and listen to you tell me who I am.
I know who I am. Who the hell are you and what have you done for your team? Do you live, breathe, drink, and eat Bug football all day, everyday? Do you die everytime Chan’s group loses to Duke or to the Dawgs every year?
Because if you do none of these things, you are the problem. Your team needs real fans. And maybe, when you can fill your stadium with real fans, than people like me will respect your bunch of Bugs. But until that time (which I don’t happen to think will ever come), you’ll always be the urine-colored stepchild we love to beat on.
Yeah, you may rise up and strike back every ten years or so, but you’ll never be a challenge to our heavy-handed authority.
Jeez… you try and help a bunch of Bugs by pointing out their weaknesses so they can work on them and they still refuse to recognize the problem.
By NASCARfan's Daddy
September 4, 2007 11:06 PM | Link to this
Sorry folks that my son is such a loser that he has nothing better to do than read articles about a team he doesn’t like and then post stupid worthless comments, he’s on here all the time, he has no life. I wish he would go out a get a job instead of spending all his time on his parents computer.
By Ben
September 4, 2007 11:06 PM | Link to this
Wow. Basically I’m reading that someone believes the measure of a man is selling out a stadium. Seriously, go to church!
By jabster
September 4, 2007 11:19 PM | Link to this
NASCARFan:
With all due respect, since you’re a “carpetbagger” I will assume that you aren’t “Bulldog born and Bulldog bred”, as opposed to someone like me who was a Dawg fan until 1983 when I realized that I wanted to study engineering. Please forgive me if I am wrong, and call me impressed if so.
So you’ve been in Athens, say, 4 years. You’ve seen a lot of good football.
How would you like to go back to the 1970s, when UGA had some losing and .500 seasons? When there seemed to be one Tech fan for every Georgia fan in the ATL? Before Herschel Walker?
As a Tech fan, I have sat through 2-9, 3-8, and 1-10 seasons. I have sat through 11-0-1 and 10-2 seasons. I’ve seen it all, from the proverbial thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, much of it in person.
If you’re still pulling for UGA 20 years from now, I will be impressed. If you are still pulling for UGA 20 years from now, and UGA has some bad years in the interim, you will have my respect. And double that if you are still shelling out hundreds of dollars for season tickets, as opposed to getting the “student rate”.
Meanwhile, don’t assume that everything will be roses because that’s the way it’s been the last 20-odd years. Ask Bobby Bowden if you need clarification. That alone is a good enough reason to lose the ‘tude.
By r-e-s-p-e-c-t
September 4, 2007 11:25 PM | Link to this
NASCARfan,
Read your own posts a couple of times, then tell me who’s the elitist. You act like we need you to come here and tell us our “weaknesses”. Who asked you?
Why are you even here? Does a real fan waste his time reading enemy blogs and throwing insults? As a faithful Tech fan I’ve seen a lot - the 1990 championship as well as the pain of a 1-11 season. But I’ve never ventured over to the UGA blogs to talk a bunch of crap with no apparent purpose. Does that make me less of a real fan?
I simply enjoyed watching my team whupup on Notre Dame this weekend. It never crossed my mind that I needed to start posting junk on UGA pages, nor did I think I needed to start pointing out what I think are “weaknesses” with other teams’ fans.
But I will say this, with all due respect: Shut up. Go enjoy your own team’s success. I can honestly say I have the utmost respect for Mark Richt and what he has accomplised at UGA. But it’s your kind of BS that I can’t stand.
By Bill DiCristina
September 4, 2007 11:25 PM | Link to this
Jeff- Your piece was excellent. The same people who claim to be Tech Fans refuse to see the truth (Tdone,Flats, GTarmchair, SanDiegoJacket) using the same old cliches as EXCUSES. While Nascarfan, the atypical dawgfan, sees the truth better than any of the so called Jacket supporters.
Jabster and LongBeach Jacket seem to understand, IMO, the crux of our problem, as does DRAD (Thankfully).
It`s taken an “outsider” to come in and see that Tech has SO MUCH, why are we always making excuses and trying to justify mediocre athletic performance with academic excellence? I think Chan Gailey is showing NOW that the two can exist at the same school.
Chan is the first Coach to UNDERSTAND that education at Tech comes first (unlike most of his predecessors). But he also felt it was a challenge that the “right kind of student athlete” would not shirk from. And if he could have the money to recruit the country for those “real student athletes” he would build a program that both athletic AND academic supporters could embrace.
People like Darryl Richard are the epitome of that Student-Athlete. Chan has a first-class staff which has bought into his plan, and they have sold it to the kids making up our team.
It`s exciting to see these things coming together. And yet, our so called “fans” are still making excuses, blaming the academic burdens, the AJC, the small alumni base, etc. ad nauseum.
Congratulations to Wayne Clough who saw what Dan Radakovich wanted to do, hired him, and is supporting him. Meanwhile our “fans” can only talk about ticket prices going up - never quite getting it, that there are no free lunches.
It takes money to put a winning team on the field, and those who gave up their seats this season will regret it before the season ends, if they haven`t already.
By Clayton
September 4, 2007 11:36 PM | Link to this
Until Rad stops the Tickle Piles we will always be a joke. No one wants to follow a team that is the punchline of a joke. We have an overinflated opinion of ourselves especially for a school that regularly wins Girlyman Contests.
By GTNC
September 4, 2007 11:39 PM | Link to this
GT grads find lucrative jobs and actually move to all parts of the country. UGA grads drop out and move back to their respective Georgia hometowns where they have nothing else to do but hinge their lives on Richt and his keg tossers.
Look at school size/enrollment and you can’t compare apples to apples. For you UGA grads, that’s comparing similar things or objects in substance and characteristics.
Dawgs smell like Dawgs and they act like Dawgs. Go lick yourselves and lock the chain linked fence and clean your dog bowl before you go to bed. You could only wish you were involved in tickle piles. Its better than smelling each other’s arses and eating your own poop.
By gtpi
September 4, 2007 11:42 PM | Link to this
schultzy this is chooo choo here remember?
your article was spot on.
dont pay any attention to sandegio jacket. he is old school and that is why we are where we are. he is one of those that thinks he is toooo elite. boooooo booooooo. drad is doing the right thing.
nascardawg hit the nail on the head also. its a shame that he is brain dead though. sniffing to many testicles and nascar fumes are you nascardawg?
we have a whole city of millions of people with degrees and such. let the ugagers go after trailer trash like nascardawg. but lets keep an open mind on the tranplants from all over the world. there are lots of folks who enjoy college football and its atmosphere. folks with educations. folks who can read n write. folks who can count without talking off thier shoes n sox. we can go after those folks.
i am a buckeye but i enjoy the jackets too. no reason to think that other folks cant have more than one allegiance. hell look at nascardawg… he likes ugag and tabaccer.
dave braine was a major obsticle in our path. his last act though was well thought out. he helped hire an ad that will take tech to places we have never been before.
By NASCARfan
September 4, 2007 11:51 PM | Link to this
Bill DiC, thanks for the shout out. I’m not trying to be an @ss, because actually, I believe a stronger Tech team is good for Georgia. Beating a 7 win Tech team doesn’t help Georgia. Beating a 9 win Tech team does.
Yeah, I can be sarcastic, but these guys don’t want to listen to what they don’t want to hear, if you follow.
A never said a measure of a man depends on selling out a stadium. I was saying a measure of a fan.
Notice I didn’t come on here flaming bombs about Houston’s drug problems or Bugland being a cell for Al Qaida in Georgia. I just wanted to show the Bug elitists why their fanbase is so small, and why they’re so apathetic, and how to change that. Embrace where your school is. Embrace being an urban school. Try to bring in fans who are loyal to your school because they like the school, or the mascot, or the colors, or whatever. Their money is just as good as some dweeb computer engineer who graduated from Bugland. Be inclusive, not exclusive.
But guys like jabster, they don’t want to hear that. They think their exclusivity makes them special, when all it does is lead to half-empty stadiums and a fanbase who doesn’t live or die with every little thing their team does. We have some crazies in the Bulldog Nation, God love ‘em. Y’all need some crazies in Bugland.
And jabster, my blood runs red and black, and it has for as long as I remember. Now, my redneck friends will never let me into their “club” because of where I was born. But I grew up here. I’ve never known anywhere else. I’ve lived and died with the Dawgs since I could talk. I remember the disapointment of Dooley’s final season, when we were oh-so-close to a SEC title. I remember the ‘92 Citrus Bowl against Kirk Herbstreit, Jon Cooper, and the Buckeyes, whom we’ve never lost to. I remember the pain of the Goff years, including the 1993 UGA-Bug game on the Flats back when it was on Thanksgiving Day. I was there, in person, and watched Ray Goff get involved in the fight on the field as we whipped your butts. I lived through the highs (beating the Gators by 20 and whipping Wisconsin in 1997) and the lows (anything Quincy Carter related) of the Donnan years. And I’ve been there, as a better, more knowledgable fan through the Richt years. I’ve lived it all, red, black, and silver britches. I may have been born somewhere else, but my loyaties lie in this state to my team. Never doubt that.
And remember that good advice is still good advice, even if it comes from your enemy.
And it’s not like this is a blog, it’s a Schultz column. I like Schultz, so I read it. I don’t go on the Bug Blogs. I leave that to y’all. I just wish all the Bug spankers who won’t leave our blog would do the same.
Good night.
By jabster
September 4, 2007 11:53 PM | Link to this
If you want to know about tickle piles, ask the ND QBs (all three of them). Oops—I’m sorry. I thought you were talking about a TACKLE pile…
By r-e-s-p-e-c-t
September 5, 2007 12:14 AM | Link to this
“…Bugland being a cell for Al Qaida [sic] in Georgia…”
What’s that all about? So, we have international students. That doesn’t makes us terrorist cell. If you want to talk football, please do. But don’t be ignorant and hateful.
By RAMBLE ON!
September 5, 2007 12:54 AM | Link to this
NASCARfan is a loser 3 fold, 1st, he’s proud to be a NASCAR fan, 2nd he’s another sidewalk degreed fleabag, and thirdly, he’s got nothing better to do than to come on this blog and talk out his a$$ about crap that nobody after the 2nd of too many paragraphs, bothers to read due to the fact he’s such a moron, redneck, fleabag with endless literary vomit trying to rationalize and deny the embarrassing domination UF has on the leg humping nation in every real sport known to man. “If we could owned GT like UF owns us in everything”, keeping telling your self over and over, but you can’t change the truth, you’re a pathetic loser still living with mommy, wondering when she’s getting home to cook me some supper, and why can’t we beat UF in anything other than gymnastics? Get a job, and this time get to work on time, lard a$$!
I’m tired of my taxes paying for your unemployment check.
Nice article Jeff, that other school in Georgia, is about to get their butt kicked this year from this school in Atlanta. That school in Atlanta with one of the best recruiting class in the nation, and easily in the state. Fleabags, your unworthy arrogance and overflowing ignorance are coming to an end very soon.
By George P. Burdell
September 5, 2007 1:34 AM | Link to this
When was the last time UGA went out of the Southeast on an opening day and beat anyone of consequence?
Thats what I thought.
By George P. Burdell
September 5, 2007 1:43 AM | Link to this
I’ll give you a hint, think Baylor, 1989 or Oregon 1977. And when exactly do you plan on squaring up the series with Wake Forest? Too bad they are actually decent now, but you go on speculating about how you own them what with your losing record and all.
By surfrider
September 5, 2007 2:35 AM | Link to this
I’m sold on this New AD so far. As for Football Tech has had some really good/great teams and beaten Ga. a few times in a row. The problem is usually the coach will leave and we don’t learn anything from the model that worked. I think that is changing starting with Bobby Ross and O’leary’s tenure. Gailey now is on the right track. Reduce attrition, recruit a certain core in the south/Ga. and then go nationally for the rest before taking a B player in the south. This fan criticized the offensive scheme from day one plus the recruiting but to Gailey and the new AD’s part they have made adjustments…hiring a recruiting coordinator, hiring a new offensive coordinator and let Gailey be head coach where he was hired to be…and to be balanced on offense. Saturday’s big win is a credit to the fans who criticized for so long and also a Big Credit to Gailey and the AD for making the adjustments. Tech does’nt need to reinvent the wheel it’s in place and really started in the late 80’s and now can work big time in new ACC conference.
By DJ
September 5, 2007 3:52 AM | Link to this
I didn’t know that a NASCAR/Ugag fan would even have a computer. I’m impressed! You told us!!!! (Now go get a life.)
By buzztinloose
September 5, 2007 4:04 AM | Link to this
Most dog fans don’t get it. DRAD gets it!
“Just win, and don’t cheat”.
Simple enough, yet uga has N E V E R managed to do that.
Our two biggest scandals in the last 100 years? (Both of them in the last 10).
1) Tech player were ruled ineligible while playing (after the fact). Why? Did they fake test results? No. Did they cheat? No. Did they fail to remain eligible by NCAA standards? NO. Their big crime was neither they nor their incompetent athletic advisers were able to navigate the ridiculous and ever changing minutiae which make up GT’s arcane graduation requirement rules and regulations. Failing to make satisfactory progress towards satisfying a requirement for a degree, which nearly ALL GT students have done because it is so confusing, or going on GT academic probation (which is REALLY pre-probation, and which nearly every single GT student ALSO has been on at one time or another.) Now, when a school s (GT’s) standards are so much higher than the NCAA,s - the NCAA uses the school’s (GT’s) regulations over the NCAA’s to determine eligibility, (effectively putting GT and a handful of other schools like Vandy at a major disadvantage by creating an unequal playing field.) Especially when the GT administration can’t even figure out what’s going on sometimes a full semesters or two after the fact. “Lack of institutional control”. Translated, we don’t know what the heck we’re doing. ANY 1rst year GT student can tell you the administration over here DOES NOT know what the heck it’s doing. Thanks to DRAD, we have hopes the GTAA will be able to distance itself enough and put enough redundancy in place to police our athletes properly, because the GT admin still has no clue, and never has (at least for the last 40 - 50 years or so.) That’s WHY ALL GT students call it “getting out” and not “graduating”. Hopefully we are getting close to the point where GT’s poor academic administrative capabilities and red tape no longer threaten any student atletes eligibility, but it is STILL happening (although to a much smaller degree - we may have lost eligibility on one or possibly two athletes this semester due to the same type of issues.)
Our other big scandal? Oh yeah, we let over half a class of really fine athletes flunk out of GT, mostly due to the same lack of oversite and red tape. Not steal tests as happened recently at uga. Not be given “fake tests” al- Jim Harrick. Not be given “fake grades” ala the Donnan and Goff era. Not take because they were non qualifiers ala the Dooley era. Not because they were thrown in Jail ala the Richt era. But because nobody was working with them to insure they stayed in good academic standing in a system most of it’s very own National Merit Scholars can’t even navigate without help (yes, I’m guilty as well, been there, done that, it sucks.)
Since nascar dog fan is so familiar with uga football - I’m sure he realizes they have been on NCAA probation an average of once every FOUR years or so going back as far most older fans can remember. Not because their standards are higher than the NCAA’s but because of actual CHEATING.
So thanks DRAD, “Just win and don’t cheat”. I’ll take my seven wins and smaller fanbase if that’s what it means, but somehow I think that with the proper marketing, and a winning attitude (VS a whining attitude aka our last AD), GT will winning more and start getting the same recognition in state that it (and interestingly NOT uga) already enjoys nationally.
By gtpi
September 5, 2007 4:47 AM | Link to this
Nascarman…. i think that you need to go to your own blog an address your own cheating scandals before you cast stones.
last time i looked uga was the school with the pharmacy test scandal, the basketball course scandal etc.
what, its not enough that you cant educate your football players well enough to graduate but you have to let your general student body cheat as well?
bu buy and dont let the door hit you on the way out.
By gtpi
September 5, 2007 4:47 AM | Link to this
Nascarman…. i think that you need to go to your own blog an address your own cheating scandals before you cast stones.
last time i looked uga was the school with the pharmacy test scandal, the basketball course scandal etc.
what, its not enough that you cant educate your football players well enough to graduate but you have to let your general student body cheat as well?
bu buy and dont let the door hit you on the way out.
By WFC
September 5, 2007 6:51 AM | Link to this
Lost in the blather of rivalry is the most heartening GT football trend of the last 30 years and Chan (with his state of Georgia roots) must get much of the credit: GT is finally getting its share of blue chip in-state recruits. Dwyer and Burnett flashed the future against ND on Saturday. College football is all about recruiting and GT has taken a step forward under Gailey.
One only had to watch FSU-CLEMSON on Monday to see the importance of this. FSU used to be two-deep in blue chippers. No more and the results are stark and bleak. Much has been made of Weis’s “genius” at ND but GT’s dismantling of the Irish can be clearly lid at the door of Willinham’s weak recruiting class three years ago.
GT will never have anything comparable to UGA’s fan base. Just look at the number of students enrolled. No big deal.
By LazyT
September 5, 2007 6:56 AM | Link to this
Bottom Line: UGAy will almost always be better than Tech in football, becuase it’s one of the dirtiest programs around. The pathetic thing about the GA Cow College, is they’ve never had much return on their investment in football recruits. The rest of the country considers UGAy football a middle-tier program at best.
By Carlton
September 5, 2007 7:05 AM | Link to this
Both Georgia Tech and Notre Dame wear gold. Only Girlymen wear gold.
By TimeForThe Truth
September 5, 2007 7:20 AM | Link to this
And you’ll still lose to UGA.
By Jack
September 5, 2007 7:39 AM | Link to this
Uh Techies- this is a blog..not an autobiography on your opinions. Keep your posts to 100 words or less. No one cares to read your 8 paragraphs that you spent 30 minutes typing. It is a BLOG. Get a life!
By Mark
September 5, 2007 8:16 AM | Link to this
Georgia keeps on winning titles…..what titles?????? I don’t see anything since 1980??
By techwreck
September 5, 2007 8:27 AM | Link to this
Jack - you may want to direct that to one of your own.
By JustMe
September 5, 2007 8:33 AM | Link to this
Tech hasn’t always had that ‘medium’ type of mindset regarding football. GA Tech has had a long and winning tradition of a national power, but it has been a while.
The difficultly is that GA Tech insists on running a clean program with high academic standards. If you want to call that ‘snobbish’ then so be it. I call it respectable.
Is Tech perfect? No. No one and no program is perfect. But, the goal of winning and also running a clean program with high academic standards, IMHO, should be what all programs should strive to do.
While programs down the road regularly cheat and get into trouble with the NCAA and with the law, they have won more games. As a college football fan, I don’t like that and I don’t want GA Tech to do that. I feel it is possible to win and do well academically and also stay out of trouble.
Again, if you call that ‘snobbish’ so be it.
The GA Tech ‘fan base’ is small compare to ugay because first and fore most, our school is smaller…. about 1/5 as small. There just aren’t as many students or graduates walking around and so the fan base starts small. If you can’t see this, you probably do have a ugay degree.
Second, most of GA Tech graduates end up moving out of state for jobs such as with Microsoft in Washington State, or in CA in silicon valley. That further reduces our fan base locally. This may also explain why the ajc simply doesn’t cover Tech much - they just don’t have many Tech grads as customers. UGAY grads mostly end up living in GA - sweeping floors at Coca-cola or farming in near Macon.
Finally, the general citizen in Atlanta that is not affiliated with any college has many attractions for entertainment in Atlanta. GA Tech has to compete with attractions such as the aquarium or the Braves or the Falcons for their entertainment dollar. When Tech wins, the general citizen is more likely to want to attend the games - plain and simple.
UGA doesn’t have to win to have high attendence. They already have tons of graduates walking around locally wanting to attend the games.
It isn’t a mystery what’s going on with attendence.
By Tech79
September 5, 2007 8:52 AM | Link to this
Hey NascarFan F- off or ill kick your a$$
By Terrible Truth
September 5, 2007 8:58 AM | Link to this
Radakovich really upped the ante, offering free pizza instead of hot dogs like his successor, Dave DaBraine. Dare to dream Dan, dare to dream!
By m
September 5, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this
Braine’s biggest mistake…..the biggest mistake in Tech history….was hiring Chan Gailey. If we would hire a decent coach, we would be a consistent Top 15 team. Fire Chan today.
By fred
September 5, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this
I won’t go through the “when I was at Tech” dialogue, but the situation with big bowls,wins,UGA whomps, academics and reputation were at the top.
Zero EXCUSES today.
GO JACKETS!!!
By Terrible Truth
September 5, 2007 9:16 AM | Link to this
That should be predecessor Dave DaBraine. Got “essor’s” backwards.
You Nerds seem to have a good year every fourth or fifth year. Do a little research and you will find that you are not too far over .500 since Bobby Dodd retired. And that stadium used to fill up.
By yellowblood
September 5, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this
NASCAR FAN shows a lot of vitreol that is not apparent on his UGA blog posts. On the UGA blogs he’s talking to his “family” as some Dawgs use the UGA blogs for free conversation among themselves and run right off topic. Jabster is correct. I grew up in GA, attended Tech, and know the atmosphere going back to the 50’s. UGA was then a joke going back to the Wally Butts days. The Dawgs won the ‘80 nat championship which they well deserved and they became convinced that football had been invented in Athens. Since then, nothing. But the hype, or PR if you will, has been that it is still 1980. Tech has done poorly in that category. Tech wins the 1990 championship and it’s not even noticed. Another key point in this is that we are an ACC school. In the ACC, basketball is a mega-sport and we have to adjust to that. Even though the GA fanbase is football oriented, we have to adapt. If you live in North Carolina, as I did for 20 years, you will know what basketball means. We have a bigger challenge that UGA because we must market ourselves as a 2 sport ( even three with baseball) school
By Techie
September 5, 2007 9:37 AM | Link to this
NASCARFan…get a clue. UGA has more alumni in Atlanta than Georgia Tech has alumni on the planet.
Georgia Tech has been awful at public relations and way too stingy licensing its logos for products, but don’t you think that statistic also may have something to do with the larger number of GA fans?
By yellowblood
September 5, 2007 9:48 AM | Link to this
I’m not sure even Radokovich has it correct. He said “win,without cheating”. He could have said ” win,without cheating, and graduate players”. Thats what the program should be about and is. I don’t care who goes to the NFL. The Calvin Johnsons will always be one in a million. I respect those like Joe Hamilton who was second in the Heisman voting (another point which we rarely even recognize) and who think enough of themselves and their schools to graduate.
By jabster
September 5, 2007 9:54 AM | Link to this
No excuses. Points on the GT side of the scoreboard and butts in seats. No excuses.
George P. Burdell (NOT!) Look it up—except for the CrimiNoles—we have a .500 or better record against EVERY ACC team. Including Auburn With A Lake (45-24-2). Including the Candy Canes (8-4). Including the Hoagies (2-2). Including BC (4-1).
Including (especially!) Wake Forest (20-8).
Terrible Truth: Over the last 20 years, we have had the following losing seasons: 1987, 1988 (Bobby Ross’ first two years), 1993, 1994 (thank you, B—- L——), 1996 (O’Leary’s only one). Count ‘em on one hand. NO losing seasons since 1996. Go back to 1982 and you only add one more.
By dead on
September 5, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
This article is right on.
As a native Atlantan and Tech alum, I have always felt this way. We have a tradition, facilities, location, and school that 90 % of D-1A schools would be proud of. I will put up our national titles, bowl wins, all-americans, and overall tradition up against almost anyone. UGA isn’t even close in this department. Most UGA fans don’t even know the team existed before 2001. They are on one of their greatest runs in history right now, and their bandwagon is at an all time high. But we will compete, Tech is closing the gap, just look at the last recruiting class and the last three games against Georgia.
By gt2nash
September 5, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
Based upon the article, Radakovich has the right mindset, “Tech is a major school, in a major conference, in a major city.” Certainly, the rest of the leadership at Tech needs to catch a clue, starting with President Clough, whom I never saw in person until I was walking across the stage at graduation. Tech’s leadership needs to wake up to a new day, recognize that Georgia Tech is a UNIVERSITY, and quit operating Georgia Tech like it’s an Area 51 lab.
By Erin
September 5, 2007 10:13 AM | Link to this
Go Jackets! We could have a great year this year. Kepp pitchin’ Tashard hte ball, he’ll get it done. Taylor needs to work on his accuracy when throwing downfield and our O line needs a little work. Defense looks fantastic. For Georgia fans, you might not have it so easy this year… Reggie is gone.
By Bob
September 5, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this
I am a UGA grad and Dawg fan. I would never claim that idiot NASCARfan as a Georgia fan. His moronic posts appear on the Georgia Blog and the Braves Blog all the time.
I want Tech to be good. My dad taught there and I was Tech fan until I went off to college. Just happened that I was more into History than Math.
Tech looked great on Saturday and I don’t care what anyone says, pounding Notre Dame in South Bend is a great accomplishment regardless of how good the Irish are. We beat a very good offensive football team on Saturday Between the Hedges, but I suspect their defense was less than stellar.
I think Tech’s new AD has the right attitude. I would love nothing more than for both teams to be in the Top Ten when we meet at Grant Field at season’s end.
By New York Jacket
September 5, 2007 10:39 AM | Link to this
Dave Braine never got it. He never understood that great athletes can also be great students. He never had an appreciation for the tradition and history of football played at Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech was a nationally recognized football power when Virginia Tech was still a small military college in Southwest Virginia.
When living in the Blacksburg area some years ago, I was invited to attend a Virginia Tech game in the President’s Box and when I walked into the room I saw a bigger than life photo of Jim Breland, a Georgia Tech football teammate in the early 60’s. His father was a professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Shortly after that we got Braine from Va Tech and he almost destroyed Georgia Tech’s proud football tradition.
Dan Radakovich is a breath of fresh air. And, Chan has learned how to be a really great head coach. I had the good fortune to watch his current team absolutely dominate a very good Notre Dame team this past weekend in South Bend.
Bobby Dodd made a very big mistake when he pulled Georgia Tech out of the SEC. He did it because of the imposition of scholarship limitations and the perceived need to play intersectional teams from across the country to help with national recruiting. However, recruiting was hurt more than it was helped. Getting into the ACC has helped with recruiting. A kid can now come and play with the Yellow Jackets and line up each week against top flight competition in the Southeast as well as up the eastern seaboard. Playing for a conference championship and more are great goals. The improvement in our recruiting is a result. The ACC has 8 great schools in the Southeast, the same number as the SEC.
The AJC can continue to believe the myth that the SEC is superior but it is only a myth.
The future is now. Go Jackets.
By Carlton
September 5, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Tech have more National Championships then Georgia. I agree Georgia gets more publicity, but there is nothing second-rate about Tech. Tech’s last title was more recent then Georgia’s.
By Carlton
September 5, 2007 11:04 AM | Link to this
Could “NASCAR” fans please not speak unless spoken to! You only understand barking and “pretty colors!”
By Ramble ON!
September 5, 2007 11:10 AM | Link to this
NEW YORK JACKET AMEN BROTHER!!
I will say Braine stood by Chan like he did with Beamer and the results are starting to show. I know it’s only one win against an average ND team but look at the talent we have this year with some great recruits being red shirted or impacting immediately. Dan R. is the breath of fresh air we needed. The future is bright!
Let the fleabags stay in denial, but we should have won with inferior talent the last three years (B.S. fumble recovery for TD last year). Now we have as good of talent if not better than them.
By A Real Fan
September 5, 2007 11:10 AM | Link to this
—-George P. Burdell—- “When was the last time UGA went out of the Southeast on an opening day and beat anyone of consequence?” OKIE State and Boise State 2005 I would not consider them anything but of consequence. As for the DUMBA@@ who asked what titles, SEC 2002 and 2005. And you LOST THE ACC last year with Calvin Johnson and Bennett…now go cry your techie tears!
By Joshua Barlowe
September 5, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this
Jeff - It’s Tech that has the tradition edge and the football history. Georgia only has it in the small space between their ears. Yes, they’ve been better in the 70s and 80s, but the 90s were good to Tech and we’re turning the corner now.
The media doesn’t help this imbalance. You know that a large mass of rednecks makes more noise and buys more papers than a group of well behaved Tech fans who have lives outside of football.
So what if every game isn’t a sellout? Does USC sell out every game? Miami? NO, not even close.
The UGA/Redneck mindset = quantity is better than quality, bigger is better - size matters - just look at their 4x4s.
If that’s your way of thinking - God bless you.
Go Jackets!
By Pitbull
September 5, 2007 11:26 AM | Link to this
Tech had a good football program when gas was 30 cents a gallon. When Dooley arrived in Athens 43 years ago and beat Tech for 5 straight years, Bobby Dodd “decided to retire.”
Tech left the SEC around 1966 and the program went to hell in a handbasket. Tech had won 5 SEC titles during its 33 years in the SEC. Nobody wanted to show up to see Air Force, Navy, and Furman after having a regular diet of Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, etc at Grant Field.
Tech came back with hat in hand in the early 1980’s when their program was almost broke (like it is today from what I read) asking to be let beack into the SEC. They were voted down and told to take a hike by the schools they thought they were too good to play when they were in the SEC, especially Mississippi, Mississippi State, LSU, and Vandergilt.
Then they acted like they were doing the ACC a favor by joining them a year or so later. Tech has been in the ACC for over 20 years now and have 1 ACC championship, 1 ACC co-championship, and 1 ACC division title that no one else appeared to want. That is pretty much the same low results they had in the SEC over 33 years.
The only reason Tech goes to bowls now is that there are about 25 of them, so 50 teams get to go. The ACC is sloted for 7 or 8 bowls, so the Emerald Bowl, the Seattle Bowl, the MPC Bowl, the Silicon Bowl, and the whatever it is callled in Charlotte Bowl are nothing Tech should be bragging about.
Tech beat a bunch of losers at Notre Dame last week and will beat up on Samford this week. They will also beat the same ACC losers they beat every year: UNC, NCS, Duke, VA. But Tech is nothing to brag about and not worth the price of admission. That is why people do not show up. In fact, if Tech just opened the gates and did not charge for admission, Grant Field would still be only half full.
UGA has a much better program than Tech, and Georgia Southern will soon be superior to them again with their new coach. Georgia State will probably play in the dome and will pack it with alumni and urban residents that Tech looks down on (actually they look down on everybody if you can believe that). Then Tech will fade into college history like Sewannee.
Good riddance. Your AD said “win and don’t cheat.” There is a reason for him saying it. Prior to his arrival, Tech had done just the opposite. That is why you are on probation and go to such “bowls.” Only an idiot would be proud of such a program.
By Pitbull
September 5, 2007 11:40 AM | Link to this
Dear Carlton you idiot: nobody has an NCAA national championship at the Division 1A level. And Carlton, that includes GT too, although you idiots think the rules do not apply to you like they do to everyone else. Otherwise you would not be on probation.
Which is why your stadium is always half full because no one wants to associate with a bunch of conceited, out of touch with reality butt brains. Carlton you must be thinking that GT is a division 1AA school which does have NCAA championships. That is an entirely understandable mistake considering the quality of football played at the Flats.
My apologies go out to Appalachian State, Furman, and Georgia Southern for the above statements if they have offended you. Your programs are totally superior to Tech.
By PHIL
September 5, 2007 11:46 AM | Link to this
UGAYS better worry abou their master coming to town this weekend. Spurrier will embarrass Richt. This year he has the talent to do it—u will all see. The thing I hate about about UGA is that they act like they are some perrineal powerhouse, but if you leave the state of Georgia—NO ONE talks about them or fears them. Its not like they play in National Title games. People in Texas dont even know that an overfed mut is their mascot.
By Chris
September 5, 2007 11:52 AM | Link to this
I think that Tech has done great so far with Radakovich. He has said all the right things so far and seems to have it headed in the right direction. I think the most important thing will happen when he has to hire a replacement for one of the big 3 coaches hired by Braine. All have been good hires for Tech, so it will be interesting to see if Radakovich can hire well.
I think it’s good to see a strong Tech, makes for more entertaining rivalry. Hopefully Tech can continue to step it up in football as UGA seems to be doing with basketball and we can make this rivalry known in the nation.
Go Dawgs!
By phil
September 5, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this
Hey Pitbull——-My Rottweiler can eat your pitbull!!!!!
By Ramble ON!
September 5, 2007 12:12 PM | Link to this
NASCAR IDIOT is now PITBULL hey moron, if you want to make a point try to make it quick. After the second sentence of your stupid diatribe, everybody quits reading. Get a life and a job.
Good luck with Vandy this year, you’ll need every bit of it.
By Navigator
September 5, 2007 12:17 PM | Link to this
Tech fans stop whining! When tech field was close to 60,000, Bobby Dodd had that many to most every game, no matter the opponent. He cultivated the Atlanta Scene to make Tech the place to go for the city. He also didn’t have to compete with the Falcons (they weren’t here), but that just a small obstacle to getting out, and getting the locals to become Tech fans. Thank goodness the AD is stepping to the plate and saying what should have been said a long time ago.
By phil
September 5, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this
Hey Pitbull——-My Rottweiler can eat your pitbull!!!!!
By Rotts eat Pitts
September 5, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this
Spurrier wanted me to tell all u DAWG fans out there to get ready to OBEY YOUR MASTER!!!!!!!! I CANT WAIT TO SEE STAFFORD GET CRUSHED BY BRINKLEY!!!
By Chris
September 5, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this
Isn’t it nice that college football games are on the weekend? That way, UGA fans don’t have to ask their Tech-grad boss for the day off to go drink themselves into oblivion, pee in public, and act like a totally classless subspecies.
If you UGA fans want to shout from the hilltops that there are more of you than there are of us, feel free. But don’t be upset when we shout from the hilltops about possessing qualities such as character and class, two things severely lacking in the UGA fan base.
By jabster
September 5, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this
Pitbull:
Tech got 5 SEC championships during their membership in the SEC. During that same time, UGA only got four. What’s UGA’s excuse? Wally Butts?
Also, if it is so easy to go to a bowl game, why have only six teams (including Tech) been to one each of the last 10 years? As I recall, the others include Florida, F$U, UGA, and Michigan.
And if Ga. Southern is so good, why don’t they move up to D1-A like everybody and his brother have?
By HKL
September 5, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this
SIX IN A ROW……SEVEN ON THE WAY!!
By A Real Fan
September 5, 2007 12:41 PM | Link to this
Just do all you stupid tech fans who think you are so smart know. I have a tech grad working for me and my UGA degree.
I will laugh when you get your butts handed to you buy a team that actually has a QB. Last time I looked ND didn’t have one.
It really feels good to invade your page since you always feel the need to out your 2 cents in on our page. No worries it will be 7 years in a row. It always is nice to RUIN your season, year after year, after year, after year, after year! I just can’t think of a better way to spend my Thanksgiving weekend! GO DAWGS!!!!!!
Feels good to invade your page since you always feel the need to out your 2 cents in on our page. No worries it will be 7 years in a row. It always is nice to RUIN your season, year after year, after year, after year, after year! GO DAWGS!!!!!!
By Chris
September 5, 2007 1:46 PM | Link to this
HKL, I’m guessing your degree from UGA was in creative writing, correct?
By Ramble ON!
September 5, 2007 1:51 PM | Link to this
A real fan/idiot I will laugh too, when you get your butts handed to you by Vanderbilt two years in a row.
One more thing, since you brought up stupid in your quote “Just do all you stupid tech fans who think you are so smart know.”
If you want to try and convince someone that you really are a boss over someone, much less a GT grad, learn to compose a sentence, especially if you’re going to call someone stupid in it.
I believe you do have a job though, which is better than your buddy NASCAR Idiot and/or PITBULL.
By Pitbull
September 5, 2007 1:52 PM | Link to this
Well, it looks like I got some of you Tech guys to get your little yellow panties in a wad.
The truth really pi$$es you off, doesn’t it?
PS: UGA has 13 SEC championships to Tech’s 5 SEC and 2 ACC championships, dumb butts.
By Chris
September 5, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this
Sorry, KHL. That last one by me was directed at A Real Fan.
A thousand humble apologies.
By Chris
September 5, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this
And Pitbull, when was UGA’s last national championship?
When was Tech’s?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
By romyoh
September 5, 2007 2:31 PM | Link to this
This article is spot on. Georgia Tech has had a bush-league mentality for too long. The Athletic Department could start by adopting a policy of answering every letter from alumni, no matter the content. Up until now, if you wrote them anything critical, they’d just blow you off and never bother to respond. Same for the president’s office. What they don’t seem to understand is that critics can also be loyal fans.
By A Real Fan
September 5, 2007 2:35 PM | Link to this
Sorry I typed to fast while at work managing all 30 of my employees and yes I do have a couple of tech grads on my staff. My degree is in Marketing from Terry College of Business 2000. Sorry that I typed do instead of to. And while I am in here let me just say this only in a techies wet dream would UGA lose to Vandy this year, Stafford is a totally different kid this year and I guess you missed our game since you failed to notice how good our team looked Saturday. And for a file point, what does it really say about Tech or your conference when UGA loses to Vandy but beats you in the same year? I guess that just means UGA and the SEC is a better.
By Chris
September 5, 2007 2:48 PM | Link to this
A Real Fan, it’s not about your spelling, genius. It’s about structuring a sentence so that it actually makes sense grammatically. A UGA grad shouldn’t need a Tech guy to explain such things, but such is life.
So are you saying that sense you lost to Vandy but beat Tech, that Vandy is a better team than Tech?
Since you so obviously enjoy living in the past, do you remember 2005? That was the year that Tech beat Auburn, who then went on to beat UGA, as well as 8 other teams?
I’m trying to figure out where you’re going with your silly little “arguments,” but for the life of me, I can’t seem to force my brainpower to descend to such a level.
By Citi slicker
September 5, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this
this is ga as big as football is here i think we should have 4 d1a progams ga.tech needs to step it up the heisman trophy is named after your former coach uga needs to step up too they aint did nothing since 1980 ga.southern in ga. state should be on the verge to d1a. n.carolina has atleast 5,texas has about 8,fllorida,california and ohio all has about 6. if ga is such a football state y we cant have atlest 4
By Mike
September 5, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this
Tech in my opinion is WAY too concerned with what goes on in Athens. Now, I know UGA is their biggest rival, but they should not be the defining moment of every Tech season. I think this is a limiting mindset and just the sort of thinking that keeps schools like Tech, Virginia, Oklahoma St., etc from stepping up to the big time for real.
Tech RIGHT NOW has a chance to move up to the ACC championship level and higher on a yearly basis. The situation reminds me of VA TEch in the 90s. While Miami was on probation, they stepped up in the Big East. They siezed the opportunity and the momentum, and have really never let it go even in the transition to ACC.
Tech can do the same. Win the ACC, and the recruits will keep pouring in. If recuits know they have a shot at conference or national titles, they will come. Atlanta is a cool place to be, so that can only help.
AIM HIGHER THAN UGA!!!!
Oh, and start turning out for games regardless of who Tech plays. I hear this has been better over the last few years since Tech has been consistently going to bowls, but it still needs improvment.
By A Real Fan
September 5, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this
2005?? The year we won the SEC..Last I saw you LOST the ACC last year. Just remind everyone how great your team was in 2005 after your big win against Auburn. GT always has one big win, but always loses a bigger one later in the year. 6 in a row and you can’t argue that.
By Chris
September 5, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this
A Real Fan, you are tlaking in circles. So Tech’s win over Auburn was just a “big win,” but Vandy beating UGA LAST YEAR, and UGA beating Tech means that Tech and the ACC suck?
Yes, 2005, the year you won the SEC. But UGA lost to Auburn, and Tech beat Auburn, so by your rationale, Tech was better than the SEC that year, correct?
You have proved yourself to be an absolute moron. I will now take my leave of you.
By yellowblood
September 5, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this
Tech is no more concerned about beating UGA than UGA is about Tech. If UGA loses 3 or 4 times in 5 years to Tech,watch what happens. If Chan can’t beat UGA he needs to go.
By matt
September 5, 2007 5:28 PM | Link to this
Hey, NASCARFand and other Ugags…. Stick it in your ears, and MAYBE you will develop some gray matter! You are the reason these “response columns” offered by the AJC are so SENSELESS and ASSinine.
By matt
September 5, 2007 5:28 PM | Link to this
Hey, NASCARFand and other Ugags…. Stick it in your ears, and MAYBE you will develop some gray matter! You are the reason these “response columns” offered by the AJC are so SENSELESS and ASSinine.
By Tech Fan
September 5, 2007 6:16 PM | Link to this
We just whupped Notre Dames a$$ in their own backyard. Bring it on!
By One win and ...
September 5, 2007 7:01 PM | Link to this
Maybe Tech will regain their swagger (and their fan base) one day, but this column shows how lowly they’ve fallen: One win over a once-fabled, now-crumbled team on the road and we’re ready to throw a parade in downtown Atlanta. Beat a Clemson team in a few weeks that looks stout and then proclaim you’re on the road to being back. Otherwise, Tech fans need to save their excuses for someone who cares! Stop comparing yourselves to UGA—you’re never going to be UGA. Find your own identity and be proud of it. You heap insecurity on your head by the way you act. It’s really quite sad and unbecoming to any engineer.
By George P Burdell
September 5, 2007 10:40 PM | Link to this
Dear “A Real Fan”, we are all so impressed you have “30 employees working for you”. Never realized the employee to supervisor ratio was that high at Papa John’s.
By falcon80
September 6, 2007 12:00 AM | Link to this
By the way, anybody hear Joe Hamilton on the radio the other day? Says Tech wasn’t really harder to get into than any other school. ‘Course we already knew that thanks to Reggie Ball. You’d think that if you can recruit and start idiots at QB than you should at least win. Hypocrites! I should never hear another Tech apologist whine about their “standards”.