Recapping Georgia's Painful Season: Say It Ain't So Dawgs, Say It Ain't So

There have been few times in my 22 years that I have been upset with how the Bulldogs' season turned out. And despite all the offense, the 10-3 record, the bowl victory, and all the memories, I am hurt. 

It isn't the kind of hurt you feel when your girl breaks up with you. It's the kind you feel when your best huntin' dog dies.

I came to campus this fall with hopes as high as the clouds above. 

The Dawgs looked more promising than any team in the nation. They finished the 2007 season second in the nation. They returned a bunch of guys, one named Stafford, the other Moreno. Another stellar recruiting class. A preseason number one. Even the cover of Sports Illustrated. 

What could go wrong? Well, how about everything.

To me, the roller coaster started when Trinton Sturdivant, arguably our best lineman, went down for the year with a torn ACL. Yeah, this can't be good.

This was only the beginning of the plague that swept through the Bulldog locker room. No fewer than 10 players in the two deep on the depth chart were lost for the season. That number does not include the players lost at any given point during the season.

These injuries left both the offensive and defensive lines, as well as the linebacker corps, decimated. 

If that wasn't enough, it got worse.

Until the Rennie Curran forced fumble in the end zone, it looked like the "Ol' Ball Coach" had gotten us again. Two weeks later, the Crimson Tide and College GameDay marched into Athens. 

Some friends of mine and I got up at 7:30 am to experience something that had not happened in Athens in 10 years. The signs around Myers Quad were priceless. The mood was awesome, until Lee Corso called UGA onto the stage only to spurn my Dawgs. The pregame tailgating was as good as the day would get.

Alabama Crimson Tide 41, Georgia Bulldogs 30. Blacked out at home.

I have never seen Athens in such disarray as after that loss. The next day on campus, not a red or black shirt in sight.

Things improved over the next month, with big wins over Vanderbilt on Homecoming as well as a beatdown in the Bayou. Then came the memory that wasn't for me—my first trip to Jacksonville actually having tickets.

We stayed across the river from the stadium and rode the ferry over. I can honestly say I have never been more ready for a game in my life. It was a battle of wits before the game. And for the most part, it was peaceful.

I sat 20 rows up, 50-yard line. No lie. These were amazing seats to watch any game from. And then the happiness ended. It ended just as fast as Blair Walsh's field goal hit the left upright. It only got worse. Until a drunken Gator fan puked on another Gator fan. Then it got even worse. Apparently in this game a much bigger problem occurred.

The Bulldogs lost confidence on defense.

This, to me, created the biggest problem the Bulldogs dealt with all year. The boys barely pulled out W's against Kentucky and Auburn, both games giving up tons of yards. It takes inspiration to play great defense. This is a trait past defenses have excelled in. Ultimately, a win is a win, and that was the consensus around campus.

Then the cold, rainy day in late November. It was doomed from the beginning. A damaged defense, a seven-year win streak, and a blown halftime lead later, everyone who had a pulse lost their Thanksgiving leftovers. That was, of course, unless your name was Johnson, Dwyer, or Jones. Or in my case, every single annoying Tech fan in the Peach state. 

It came and went like a routine trip the dentist office. You know, the one where you find out you need a root canal, and it goes terribly wrong, and then they let you go home and your cute little niece hits you in the face with a wiffle ball bat. (Don't ask.)

But a New Year was approaching, and resolutions aside, the Bulldogs needed a win in Orlando to bring momentum to the 2009 season. Admittedly, it wasn't until the third quarter that I safely let go of the remote and the threats of changing the channel on the Dawgs. It wasn't the prettiest W the Bulldogs had ever posted, but I'll take it.

And there I sat, eyes all over the web, glued to ESPN. Hell, I couldn't help it. Every second of every day, I found myself worried about which coach we were going to lose to border rivals. First Tony Ball, then Stacy Searels, and then Rodney Garner.

If that wasn't enough, there were rumors going around campus that both Staff and Knowshon were leaving for the riches of the NFL. This coupled with the fact that the Gators were playing for all the marbles forced me on medication.

Then that dreadful nightmare of a dream came true on the 7th of January, 2009. Oh what a day. Pins and needles I sat all day, waiting to find out what I had to look forward to in '09. Sure, I read all the Facebook groups dedicated to the return of 24/7, some of which read, "One Million Strong for the Return of 24/7."

I stayed curious until 3:00 pm, when I found myself and several buddies huddled around a laptop on campus watching as two of the University of Georgia's greatest offensive weapons forfeited their remaining years of eligibility for the NFL. 

That night I found myself with a very familiar pain creeping into my jaw. As I watched Brandon Spikes hold up that crystal, I longed for a quick swing of the wiffle bat to the face. Congrats to all Gators.