Georgia Fans, Give Thanks to Mark Richt for Resurrecting UGA Football

The University of Georgia Bulldogs, along with the Bulldog Nation, should be excited to be ranked at the top of the preseason polls for the first time in school history—but we all know it is not the preseason poll that matters.

One request to those who bleed red and black: Please wait until after the BCS National Championship game before you start running down the street with your pants around your ankles singing “glory glory to ol’ Georgia.”

Trust me—the thought has crossed the minds of many within the Bulldog Nation.

Instead of celebrating something that guarantees little to nothing (the preseason poll), take this time to celebrate the resurrection of Georgia football and give thanks to the man behind the resurrection: Coach Mark Richt. 

Times were different before Coach Richt.  UGA fans remember the feeling of being nationally irrelevant.  The feeling of irrelevance was an all too familiar feeling in Athens during the Goff and Donnan eras, but thankfully times have changed. 

Yes, Donnan beat the University of Florida once, and Goff headed the attack of “Air Georgia” which was lead by the right arm of Eric Zeier, but neither coach was able to do what Coach Richt has done.

Coach Richt has made Georgia football relevant outside of the South once again.  

Expecting to end the season ranked within the top 10, expecting to compete for an SEC Championship, and expecting to play in a BCS bowl game are all expectations that Georgia fans did not have before Coach Richt came to the University of Georgia.

Some may be reluctant to give all of the credit to Coach Richt.  To those people, I ask you to notice the decline of the Florida State football program since the departure of Coach Richt.

Coincidence?  I think not!

Coach Richt is not without flaw, but no coach is flawless.  Mark Richt’s track record as a person and as a coach speaks for itself.  He leads his program based on the same high moral values with which he leads his life. 

Georgia fans, be thankful—and do not forget how it felt to be irrelevant.