A Message to the Georgia Dawg Pound: Settle Down!

Ok Georgia fans, now that I have your undivided attention, please listen up!  No, I don't really want you to settle down, on the contrary.  I think you guys should keep up the intensity until the final second of the BCS Championship game ticks away.  No, this is not a lecture. This is, however, some sage preseason advice from some rabid LSU fans that were in your shoes exactly one year ago!

So, last year your Bulldogs didn't make it to the SEC Championship game even though you swore that they were the best team in the SEC East, right?  Then another SEC team makes it to the BCS title game, thus placing your Dawgs in the Sugar Bowl where they routed a Hawaii team that probably didn't deserve to be in a BCS Bowl. 

Now almost every "expert" has UGA ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in their preseason polls.  Sound familiar?  It does to LSU fans, right down to their Sugar Bowl beat down of a Notre Dame team that probably didn't deserve to be in a BCS Bowl to cap off the '06 season.

Need more parallels?  Ok.

In the summer of 2007, LSU fans got the heartbreaking news that their beloved and long time mascot, Mike V, had passed away.  Shortly before the season began, LSU procured a gorgeous new Siberian Bengal tiger named "Roscoe."  He was huge.  His head is about the size of a Volkswagen.  By the time the season got into full swing he was coronated as "Mike VI" and everything in Baton Rouge seemed back to normal. 

This past June, Georgia fans suffered a similar emotional blow when it was announced that their long time mascot "Uga VI" had passed away.  "Uga V" had endeared himself to me when he snapped at an Auburn wide receiver that got too close while playing between the hedges.  Fortunately, the Seiler family has promised that "Uga VII," will present for the Bulldogs' home opener against Georgia Southern.

There are few things more exciting than knowing in the summer that your favorite college football team will be going on a championship run in the fall.  Well, here's a six pack on me!  Here are six survival tips from someone who has been there recently:

1)  Don't criticize your players on the message boards if they make a mistake or even lose a game.  No matter what anybody says, the players read those message boards and being young and competitive you know they take every word personally.  I know it's a tall order, but the administration should try to keep the crazies off your boards!

2)  If you absolutely feel the need to criticize someone on the team to quell any frustrations about a shortcoming you may have in life, then criticize the coaching staff.  It won't always be easy since Mark Richt is one of the best coaches in all of college football. However, when a player sees his coach being burned, it usually fires the player up and makes him play his heart out.  Reverse psychology my friends!

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