Richt: Classless or in a Class of His Own?

Browsing Bleacher Report as a newer member/columnist/supporter, I stumbled across an article emphatically berating Mark Richt for encouraging his players to do something worthy of a penalty when scoring against Florida.

I have no idea if this author has any ties to either football team or any understanding of Mark Richt's personal character or the way his program is run, so I will simply write this response as someone who has witnessed Richt from field level at Sanford on Saturdays and at Prince Avenue Baptist Church on Sundays.

In an era of reality TV, steroid and HGH use in MLB and the NFL, and engine infractions in NASCAR—all avid cases of cheating—how is it such a huge offense to have an organized team celebration?

Look at it this way: Florida had Georgia's goat. Not only had Georgia only won once in 17 seasons, their entire psyche in that third October game was depleting annually. The Landing was a place where Dawg fans went for tradition, lacking any sense of organized hope that a victory awaited them.

These same Dawg fans have to fend off the talks of how this game is fair because it is played at a neutral site, even though we all know the road from Jacksonville to Gainesville is just a bit shorter than the drive to Athens.

The Dawg faithful had begun to grow restless with the ultra conservative Richt, as on several occasions he asked the offense to kneel when the half was nearing in spite of having an A-plus kicker on the sideline.

Then came this "Cocktail Party"—and a party it was. It is very sad to say that most sports writers and beat journalists took the celebration penalty as cannon fodder, rather than focusing on the potency of the UGA offense, the accuracy of Stafford's throws, or the determination of Knowshon and the offensive line. Not to mention the fact that Stafford now held a 1-0 series lead on Tebow.

All I read or heard for days was how "classless" Richt was for encouraging his team to celebrate their first touchdown.

But why not celebrate?

They went out as a team, celebrated very respectfully (other than Sturdivant walkin' it out—give him a break, he's a freshman), and then left the field. The rest of the game spoke for itself and so has the rest of the season.

Richt sparked something in these Dawgs that this fan has not seen in 10 years. I saw glimpses of it in Pollack and Greene, but it was not an entire team, staff, and school movement like it is this year and Richt is the catalyst.

So, as his winning percentage increases and his recruiting classes get better, and as he continues to do humanitarian/missionary work in second and third world countries during the offseason, can we not diffuse any more attacks on Richt's character or class? I think any other major college program would gladly take a man of Richt's character and ability any day.