AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWho decides what’s funny, what’s not?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m told this was funny, but it didn’t feel that way to me.
Last Saturday at Maryland, about 15 minutes before the game, I’m in the press box listening to my iPod. Only about the fifth time I’ve used it since it was given to me as a gift last year. Same time, I’m scrolling the internet. I read about Manny Ramirez bashing that walk-off homer against the Angels, and decide to go look for the video.
I find it, click on it, and I’m watching while still listening to the iPod. In my own world, I guess you could say. Having read the story already, and Ramirez’s comment to the affect of, “I haven’t been right all year (because of injuries), and I’m still not right, but when a guy in my condition hits a ball like that, you know you’re a bad man.”
Then, I see the home run. He absolutely crushed it, and I mutter, “You are a bad man.”
Problem was, the national anthem was being performed, and was in fact nearly over. And I realized I was the only person in the press box not standing for it. In fact, everyone within about, oh, 10 yards of me had to listen to the ESPN audio while it was playing, completely unbeknownst to yours truly, El Dumkopf. To make it worse, in an otherwise silent press box, I muttered that stupid comment, whatever it was.
Then, I look over at a colleague. He’s laughing. I’m turning red, hammering on the volume button to try to turn it down while clumsily standing up.
What a train wreck!
But I digress, yet again.
Then again, as Tech’s football season has gone the wrong direction, interest in this blog seems to have digressed as well so maybe I’m in line after all.
I read on The Hive an opinion that if not for the late fumbled punt at Virginia, and the missed late field goal at Maryland, Tech would be 5-1. Uh, not so fast. There’s no way to be sure how those games would have played out if those plays were different. By that logic, if D.J. Donley didn’t block that punt against Clemson, who knows if Tech would’ve won that game.
That’s not how it works. That may be how the minds of fans sometimes work, and I know mine has worked (if that’s what you call it) that way before as a fan. But that’s not going to cut it in the real world.
Tech is 3-3, and yes, has been whipped just once. But they’ve lost three times, and there’s no going back.
What happens going forward? If Tech goes 5-1 from here on out, a decent season. Not up to expectations, but decent, especially if the Jackets were to win a decent bowl game.
But man, is all of that a long way off. The season’s half over, but it seems like it started forever ago. And here comes basketball. My frame of time reference is all out of whack right now. I guess that fits.
Matt
Comments
By Woodrow
October 11, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this
when a team continues to be mediocre, then the blogs that precede it will continue to be recieved as “mediocre”. Its not your writing. Its Chan’s coaching that has bored the entire fan base into a deep sleep by mid season.
Heck even the guy who drives the Wreckster
By Blake
October 11, 2007 4:55 PM | Link to this
Fire chan, ir I’m a Vandi fan next year. At Vandy, any win is a big win.
By Blake
October 11, 2007 4:55 PM | Link to this
Fire chan, or I’m a Vandi fan next year. At Vandy, any win is a big win.
By BLake
October 11, 2007 4:57 PM | Link to this
I may switch to Vandy next year, where every win is a good win. Fire Chan.
By firechangailey.com
October 11, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this
We will be lucky to go get 7 wins this year with Gailey at the Helm. But then again 7-5 is ok with Braine and Gailey. One of them is gone - lets get the other one out too!
http://www.firechangailey.com http://www.firechan.com
By StingerSplash
October 11, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Winkeljohn admired Manny while the anthem played. Gailey and his cap stared blankly as the program crumbled into irrelevancy. It’s a trend.
By CrackerJacket
October 11, 2007 5:19 PM | Link to this
Matt, we could easily be 5-1. Chan is the man. Oops, I just injured one of my fat rolls doing chores for my SWMBO. Oh well, my size XXXL GT jersey will cover it. Now back to the Hive. They covet my insight.
By old gold engineer
October 11, 2007 5:22 PM | Link to this
Matt, sorry your colleague didn’t bail you out earlier. I thought we were lucky to win the Clemson game although I expected a Tech victory. Looking at the ACC conference standings, Tech is next to last in scoring (NC State is worst) at 18 points per conference game. Unless we figure out a way to put more points on the board, we’re in trouble. I don’t think we can count on holding the other teams below their averages. I would like to convince our offensive coaches that scoring is a good thing. Look what it got us against Notre Dame and Samford.
By Carter
October 11, 2007 5:38 PM | Link to this
What’s new Matt? I know you haven’t been covering Tech long, but it has been that way for the past 25 years. Tech should of, could of, would of comments….or “we almost beat them.” Stick around a little longer
By Carter
October 11, 2007 5:38 PM | Link to this
What’s new Matt? I know you haven’t been covering Tech long, but it has been that way for the past 25 years. Tech should of, could of, would of comments….or “we almost beat them.” Stick around a little longer
By ArkyTech
October 11, 2007 5:51 PM | Link to this
Tech probably is a dropped punt and a botched late drive at MD away from 5-1. Clearly GT was the stronger team in both games, but mistakes are killing them (penalties and poor execution on offense, big plays on D). All part of the game though, and why they are 3-3.
Blake, do us a favor and go cheer for Vandy. Have fun. Making “threats” like that are silly.
If you think this program is crumbling, then you must have been a GT fan since about 1997.
By AlabamaRamblinwreck
October 11, 2007 6:10 PM | Link to this
Matt: There was something wrong with yesterday’s blog. I tried to enter something around 6:30, but it never showed up, in fact, nothing showed up after that time.
Anyway, Chan Must Go!! I have laid out the reasons time and time again, but he must go!!
By flack jacket
October 11, 2007 6:51 PM | Link to this
A dropped punt and a botch late drive! I guess some fans expect a potent offense to provide enough margin where isolated mistakes don’t kill you, and others are happy with ours …
-fJ
By Burdell's Brother
October 11, 2007 6:52 PM | Link to this
…If a frog had wings it would not bump it’s a* when it jumps…
Long and the short Gailey is terrible!
By Tony A
October 11, 2007 8:27 PM | Link to this
So many times a team outplays another team with more yards,time of possession etc, however it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Turnovers also make such a huge difference.Tech continually finds a way to shoot itself in the foot while mediocre teams do whatever it takes to win those games that we are favored in.Games slip away,hearts are broken and here we go again. Heck its everybodys fault.
By Mike
October 11, 2007 8:48 PM | Link to this
Yawn…is Gailey still coaching that team? Wake me up when the nightmare’s over!
By da boze
October 11, 2007 10:18 PM | Link to this
When a coach admits he doesn’t know what’s going on it’s time to hang it up. Dave Braineless dropped a seven year seven+ million dollar contract on Chan as he sauntered out the door. There are seven million reasons that he should know what’s going on.
Radokovich needs to bite the bullet, go into Clough’s office, and end this ridiculous situation. Gailey will never lead Tech to a meaningful season. He didn’t do it at Dallas. He didn’t do it at Miami. I have no idea where he got the reputation as a an offensive genius.
He’s just offensive.
By Gailey Can't Coach
October 11, 2007 10:21 PM | Link to this
Matt, GT is 3-6 over its past 9 games…And most of those losses were the rip your heart out through your chest-type that just have a way of numbing even the most hard-core fan. But what can you expect from a coach who says he doesn’t know what’s “going on”, so he’s UNABLE to “do something about it”.
This is simply PURE Chan Gailey Football sans Reggie Ball, who was his Fall Guy for 4 years.
It would be nice if someone with press credentials (hint, hint, wink, wink) could obtain a copy of Gailey’s contract like espn.com did and just kind of let everyone know if he’s UNTOUCHABLE…It should be somewhat clear after a read through.
If he’s just THERE through 2011 no matter what happens, then I’ll simply lower my expectations and follow more interesting teams until he’s G-O-N-E…Because it’s a Law of Nature that a Gailey-coached Tech team will continually MYSTIFY and FRUSTRATE fans as he repeatedly leads us up the mountain and then shoves us off the cliff!! For example, punting on 4th down with 2 min to play in the ACC Champ Game when DOWN BY 3 is alot like being poked in the eye with the sharpest stick the coach can find…I vowed to NEVER get my expectations too high again while Gailey’s still coach. He’s a true Born LOSER!
By GoldenDomer
October 11, 2007 11:01 PM | Link to this
If not graduating half of your student body is proof of your “toughness” than isn’t losing half your games the same thing LoL
By razorjacket
October 11, 2007 11:07 PM | Link to this
I’m watching the Wake Forest - FSU game, and WF is running out the clock. And they are MIXING THE RUN AND THE PASS AND GETTING FIRST DOWNS, instead of just running it into the line over and over again. Hire Grobe!!!
By saddlecreek
October 12, 2007 5:21 AM | Link to this
What kind of morals could a person have to accept this kind of money and perform this kind of miserable job. Any decent coach can beat Chan with equal talent. Aside from the patsy this year, he is 2-6 over the last 8 games WITH his players. I feel sorry for the players who have been deceived into believing that they have come home to daddy and this family to win football games. He is the worst coach in any division of football. He proves that during each game.
By A Tech Man
October 12, 2007 5:27 AM | Link to this
Matt,
Don’t give up, dude. Yeah, you lost a lot of fair-weather fans when Tech failed to live up to the hype, but I and many other actual fans still appreciate your hard work.
Don’t people realize that every team loses sometimes? We won a few we shouldn’t have last year. So far this year we’ve lost a few we shouldn’t have. It’s part of what makes college football fun. And these ‘fire Chan’ tools act like every loss is an insult to their personal dignity. Jeez, fellas, it’s a GAME. Played by TEENAGERS. By all means, go be a Vandy fan or whatever.
By Joe Colvin
October 12, 2007 7:03 AM | Link to this
Matt,
When I saw the title of this piece, I actually thought someone was going to write positive comments.
You may not feel a “few” plays should make a difference but they do.
This team is solid. And, the season can be very good.
The Tech “fans” that write in this blog remind me of the Texas fans of years ago that insisted that their coach be fired because he lost to Okalahoma one too many times. So, Texas fired the coach with the best won/lost record in the old Southwest Conference. But things did not get materially better.
The reason they didn’t is because every Division I program puts good players on the field each week. A team wins or looses as a team. One or two plays will cost a game unless the other team is clearly inferior.
Tech has great players and is well coached. And, that has not always been the case.
By Chan is Good
October 12, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this
You guys who say Gailey is so bad. Wake up. Tell me which coach over at the “Hot Seat” is a better coach for the money? What about Ty Willingham? 4-8 last year, 2-3 this year. Gets paid 1.4Mil. He’s 43rd while Chan is 10th. To me, that makes no sense. Today’s day of “what have you done for me lately” really irritates me about sports. Now that 4 or 5 chanels have to hire 70 -100 analysts to re-hash everything bad each team/player makes…its enough to make you want to quit watching sports. So we are 3-3. You think we should hav epassed more? Wake up! We have for al intensive purposes a Freshman QB. Look at what happened at Miami last week under the all coveted Nix regime, according to you Gailey haters. They were out of the game by half b/e even Wetherford (who I might add is a much more accurate and experienced passer) got killed by UNC’s defense! They were out of the game 27-0 by half. So, there is a case in point for your complaining about more conservative play calling. It has helped them 1 game of 3 (Texas Tech) when everything went right. Miami’s game against Duke would have been a loss against any team that’s not in the bottom 5. I think part of the conservative nature is the fact that we haven’t had a quarterback who could throw for 300+ yards a game every game and not come away with so many mistakes he cost us the game. I think he is a fine coach and doing what a coach does, play within what he has got and put the heat on himself and not a quarterback who has played in/started in less than 10 games. Go look at the list. What other coach is making $1Mil or less that would do better? The lowly Maryland program we just lost to pays Ralph $1.4 Mil, so before you talk about how bad these programs are look at what those schools are putting into it. The thing I like is that we are not getting whipped on the field. And I think Chan brings in excellent coaches when he needs to filla void. I think the program is moving in the positive direction. Maybe we are not winning as much as I’d like, but these other coaches you compare us to have had 1 or more losing seasons. And the recruiting is getting better as a whole. So, I say, reserve your judgement for after the next round of QBs is done. Look at the list. There is not another 1 million dollar man I’d rather have. And I don’t think Tech is going to lay out 2 million for a replacement.
What about Charlie Weiss? He’s 1-5 and paid a ton of cash. I’d rather have our problems. And, that season for ND last year was with Ty’s players. We see what the Weiss talent has done.
I just don’t want to run off a very good coach and lift the bottom of the barrel and have a B Lewis again. I like that we have winning season consistently. And in 2 to 3 years, you might just be surprised.
Really glad some coverage has emerged on GT hoops! Can’t wait to see the round ball in action this year. But if Hewitt does not have at least 10 wins in the ACC (which he has never done) then I am sure you guys who want to fire our coaches will call for heads to roll. Pathetic in my opinion.
I think GT sports is on the right track. I think both programs are exciting to watch and I believe that a couple of more years may show just how good these guys are. I could be wrong, but if either one leaves or is dismissed then you will really watch the programs go into a tailspin. It is really tough to compete these days. And living up to SEC standards for football is not realisitic. WE can’t even sell out 45,000. Basketball shows empty seats on National TV b/c corporations have these great seats (I hope these aren’t true Tech fans showing more than 20 empty seats on national TV when Duke or UNC is here)and people never show. So, if you are the top talent in Football, where would you want to go? An SEC school that puts 70-100K people in the stands game in and game out, or Tech or Maryland where the stands are empty at the corners of the 2nd level. Same goes for hoops? 20,000 SCREAMING fans in NC, or 8,000 of our 9,000 capacity who mostly are quiet unless its really intense?
The last point I want to make about Chan is that he is geting a reputation of being able to prepare players for play on Sunday. And that will get you talent. Just get another guy in here and see if we are getting the level of talent Chan is starting to get. I doubt it. And look at what we do with that talent. We may not have won as many games as we would have liked, but we do not get blown out that often in the past 3 years. Infact, only once per year, which to me is much better than before. Our program was not a UF waiting on a Spurier. But I think in 2 more years we may be able to truly compete with college gridiron elite. And I think we have an excellent chance of Chan breaking that UGA stat…..Bagel for 5.
Very excited about hoops and those guys who do not show up at these games, please sell your tix to scalpers. it is embarrassing to see Maryland and others on TV and empty seats.
But he is knocking on the door.
By dadgum
October 12, 2007 9:45 AM | Link to this
Folks Gailey has a guaranteed contract through 2011. Unless another team pro or college buys him out. Not likely. GT may elect to fire him. Yes they can fire him. However the money is guaranteed. 4-5 mil guaranteed.
If this team loses 6-7 games including GA again I don’t think Gailey survives regardless of his contract. Remember the contract guarantees the money not the job. We’ll see. In the meantime let’s just kick butt and run the table. The Emerald bowl should be enough of a motivator. Not to go that is.
By gt45
October 12, 2007 9:57 AM | Link to this
Matt, Just because we don’t always post, doesn’t mean we’re not reading. I think a lot of us are in a wait and see mode. We still have a good chance at a real good record. There is not a team left on our schedule that scares me the least as far as being able to beat. We are certainly more than capable, but I can’t stop having doubt, and that is what I think everyone is tired of, the underlying doubt. It is because of the consistent inconsistency. We know we have the players to be good day in and day out, so what is the problem? That is what needs to be addressed to get and maintain fan interest.
By Mike
October 12, 2007 10:40 AM | Link to this
Being a Georgia Tech fan is like watching a old movie over and over again. Example; Old Yeller, great movie, very sad ending. Not much to blog about. :(
By m
October 12, 2007 10:45 AM | Link to this
Tech football is being destroyed right now, by the worst coach in the history of college football. ENOUGH is ENOUGH. FIRE CHAN TODAY!