Bulldawg Nation: Lousy Fans Or Just Lousy People?

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

As a true fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, I am always trying to find the positive in every situation.

I may come up with every excuse possible in order to disregard a problem. Unfortunately for Willie Martinez, my excuses ended on Saturday—get him out of Athens.

After Joe Cox had a poor showing in the game against Oklahoma State, it infuriated me when Bulldog fans everywhere were calling for his head and ordering that he be benched. I knew that in only a week or two, Cox would have a breakout game and everyone would love him.

And lo and behold, after a five-touchdown game at Arkansas, Cox is suddenly the man.

The guy that can make up for our defensive woes, and the guy us Dawg fans "knew he was all along."

Well, Bulldawg Nation, I'm calling you out.

Are you fans so lousy that you don't get your facts before you come to conclusions? Or are you just lousy people that can easily rip to shreds a student-athlete?

One thing many Bulldog fans didn't know is that Cox lost nine pounds and didn't eat for a week while he had the flu. During that week, he was also expected to lead his team to a victory in Stillwater and thus, establish himself as the next DJ Shockley.

Sounds easy enough, right?

And, as if that wasn't enough (after his less-than-stellar performance), in one almost unanimous bark, the fans of the Bulldogs begged for Cox to be benched. Lucky for us, Cox had enough resolve to basically say "screw you" to those fans and improved drastically in two weeks time.

I am glad to say that I am one of those fans that never gave up on Cox.

Now, if he was still putting up the same numbers as Week One, I would be worried (and we would probably be 0-3).

But he isn't.

Cox tied the Georgia record for touchdowns passes in a game, and is finally figuring out how to be that game-manager we all wanted him to be.

I think it's time that Bulldawg Nation look at itself in the mirror and decide what kind of fans we want to be.

Do we want to support these players—who put their hearts and souls into this game we love—regardless of whether they have an off game? Or do we want to tear them down and potentially push away future recruits?

We need to remember that this is still just a game, and these guys are student-athletes, not pros.

Go Dawgs!!!

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