In one of the more bizarre pre game exploits you will see, the Georgia Bulldogs players decided it would be a good idea to taunt the Alabama Crimson Tide players as they ran onto the field with a host of barks.
For Georgia coach Mark Richt, this is simply the latest blunder in which he tried to use some sort of motivation tactic to rile up his team (which was obviously premeditated) and just like the stunt he did against the Florida Gators in 2007, this one backfired immediately instead of the following year.
As previously mentioned in another story, I was hoping for Richt’s sake he would just let his team strap on the helmets and play some good old-fashioned football. But no, that doesn’t seem to be his style as he prefers to raise the stakes through gimmicks and ploys believing his team will respond.
You see, the reason he felt compelled to pull a stunt like this against that 2007 Gators team was he was smart enough to know they simply didn’t have the horses to compete. The 2006 team that won the national championship was loaded with talent, and many of them graduated, or left early for the NFL draft.
One would have thought he learned his lesson after Urban Meyer laid the proverbial smack down on him the following year to the tune of a 49-10 beatdown, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Coincidently, that same year, he orchestrated a “Blackout” in which their uniforms would all be black as well as the fans in Sanford Stadium, which was supposed to scare the Tide into defeat. That didn’t last long as 31 points in the first half alone shut the Dawgs up quickly into an embarrassing loss.
Fast forward to yesterday, and to quote Harry from Dumb and Dumber, “Just when I think you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this… and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!” One simply has to ask themselves: Why? Why would you allow a display such as this to even occur? Why would you release the dogs (literally) on an opponent who is built to destroy you?
The pitiful part in all of this is, while the barking ensued, it’s as if the Alabama players knew what was about to happen and didn’t even feed into it. It’s like running past your neighbors yard and hearing a pack of puppies barking non-stop as if them alone would be enough to prevent a break-in.
This latest stunt is enough to place Richt on the hot-seat yet again for failing to win the big game, and not only that, do so in humiliating and embarrassing fashion — all the while letting something as ridiculous as this take place.
Nick Saban teams have always been trained to operate in one way, and that is: Move in silence and violence (figuratively). That’s how champions play the game.
In case you missed it, take a look at this nonsense right here:
Brandon Williams is an Editor and Columnist for Touchdown Alabama. You can follow him on Twitter, @BWilliamsTDAL, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
