Georgia football: National Championship Game through middle-age Dawg eyes

By Michael Collins | Jan 9, 2018

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

It’s been a long wait for Georgia football fans, and this middle-aged member of the Bulldog Nation is still in a bit of awe of the 2017 Bulldogs,

At the tender, young age of 50, I can scarcely remember where I left my glasses or why I sauntered into the bedroom on most days. But I can tell you exactly where I was the last time the Georgia football team was able to play for a national championship before today.

So, sit back and enjoy the tale of a Georgia fan who has had his soul renewed.

On January 1, 1983 Georgia and Penn State met to decide the national championship in the Sugar Bowl, in what would be Herschel Walker‘s final game as a Bulldog. Georgia came up short in a memorable and classic game, and the beginning of a long stretch of woulda-coulda-shoulda for Georgia fans took root that day.

I was 15 years old, still not even able to drive a car without a licensed driver riding shotgun, and really had no clue about the intricacies which melded the crowning of a national college football champion at that time. I knew Georgia was No. 1, and if they won the game, they’d remain there.

New Year’s Day was full of tradition in my house. Food and football were the two primary ones, while hangover cures and pinochle were others.

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While my mother scurried about the kitchen preparing ham, potatoes, black-eyed peas (and a mince meat pie for my father), I worked on preparing the living room. The top of our giant Zenith console TV-stereo (an actual piece of furniture which permanently housed the entertainment system) was adorned with Georgia Bulldogs decorations, and I dressed myself in UGA attire from top to bottom (shoelaces included).

There were posters and buttons and shakers for everyone who came to watch, all aimed at helping to bring Vince Dooley‘s Dawgs a little fan magic.

Alas, the magic wasn’t quite enough, as Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge put a spear through the heart of the Bulldog Nation.

My disappointment lasted all of about an hour. At 15, there are so many other things to preoccupy the mind, and lingering on a football loss easily took a back seat to Mattel Electronic Football, the first boombox I ever owned, riding the new bicycle, and (of course) girls.

Since 1983, along with other Georgia fans, I have watched the program ebb and flow. From the colossal lows and unexpected highs of the Ray Goff years, the hope of Jim Donnan’s era, the ups and downs of Mark Richt, to present day, it’s been an interesting time to be a Georgia fan.

From 1988-2000, Goff and Donnan had some good seasons and produced some all-time great Bulldogs. Their biggest mistake was without a doubt, losing to the big rivals (looking at you, Jim Harbaugh). The one thing which was never in play during the tenure of those two coaches was a shot at the national championship.

The highest any Georgia team was ranked in-season during that period was No. 7, the highest season-ending rank was No. 8 in 1992. No one talked about the Bulldogs as real contenders, and those of us who were becoming more wrinkled, gray and jaded began to doubt if that feeling would ever come back.

Was Georgia simply a 3-year flash in the pan riding on the coattails of perhaps the greatest college football player ever? It wasn’t out of the question.

Then, Mark Richt arrived. I remember thinking after hearing his first press conference, “This is different. There’s something to this guy, and look at the job he’s done at Florida State.”

And different it was. In his second season, Richt guided the Bulldogs to a one-loss campaign, and SEC Championship, and a No. 3 national ranking. While the excitement was at a pinnacle in the Bulldog nation, there was no playoff, and despite the single blemish of a loss to Florida on its resume, Georgia was forbidden to compete for a national championship.

That was a time when I truly believed that a run similar to 1980-82 was on the horizon, and multiple chances at a national title were on the way. But for whatever reason, I chose not to crow like much of the Bulldog Nation. Perhaps there was something hidden away inside my skeptical brain indicating it was too good to be true.

My brain apparently knows better than my heart.

In 2003, it was three losses and a No. 7 ranking. In 2004, two losses and a No. 7 ranking. Then 2005, three losses and a No. 10 ranking (despite the excitement of an SEC title). It went on and on like this for years, heartbreaking losses to rivals thwarting any chance at cracking the BCS code to a national championship.

Even in 2012, the last time Georgia was even close, I found myself simply not ready to accept the Dawgs were that good, or that bad. They were just on the cusp, but never taking that next step. Blame it on coaching, player execution, the BCS, whatever you like…Georgia was on the outside looking in.

Every crushing loss seemed to linger, not just because it was a loss (regardless of opponent), but because every loss fed the frustration of the Bulldog Nation, and the in-fighting and bickering would fester year after year. The wounds never had a chance to heal themselves. It was almost worse than simply being a bad team.

Almost.

I was heartbroken when Richt was fired, as was much of the Georgia fanbase. We wanted him to be the one. He was going to deliver this program back to its rightful place. Richt was so beloved, and such a good and decent person, it was unfathomable that he would not be the one to bring Georgia back (as opposed to almost back).

*Cue the ‘Depression’ piano music from Stripes*

After 34 years, it was just customary to experience disappointment in December and January. Empty bowl wins. Meaningless rankings. Arguments over what needed to be fixed and how to fix it. These were the hallmarks of a Georgia football winter.

And then, do you know what happened?

A miracle. A perfect storm of a program re-energized by a new (well, second year) head coach, a group of seniors returning specifically to finish what they had begun, and a fanbase who suddenly seemed to find an appetite for excitement.

Georgia was winning, and more and more, people were beginning to believe it was real.

Fast forward to January 1, 2018.

I chose not to watch 2018 Rose Bowl in a public setting. I knew better. I wanted to truly experience Georgia’s first time in the College Football Playoffs, not just watch it. I wanted to immerse myself into every play of the game. The distractions of a bar setting weren’t appropriate for me that night.

After only a few minutes, I even signed off Twitter for the night, limiting any social media activity to an occasional Facebook post.

It was emotional as I think I’d ever been watching a sporting event, with maybe the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team victory over the Soviets coming in first. There was even a part of me who could hear Al Michael’s bellowing “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” in my head as Sony Michel scampered into the end zone in the second overtime.

Georgia in the national championship game. Against Alabama. It was almost a surreal thing. There was a euphoria floating around the entire state (well, except North Avenue in downtown Atlanta of course). Even fans of teams who were normally Georgia’s rivals got on board with the Dawgs.

I guess “anyone but Alabama again” was a common theme around the country.

Enter the dream-crusher, Nick Saban.

Alabama again it was, and it was even more painful to watch than the 1983 loss to Penn State, because the win against Oklahoma had been so cathartic that everyone in the Bulldog Nation felt like there was no stopping this team.

Georgia teased with a sizable first half lead (13-0 against Alabama is nothing to sneeze at). Georgia teased with some big plays. Alabama helped continue the tease by missing what would have been a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation.

Overtime? Don’t the Dawgs live for this?

It sure felt that way, at least briefly…and then it all ended as quickly as it did for Oklahoma a week ago.

Now I’m sitting in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The sports fan and journalist side of me is thrilled the championship game – an overtime Alabama win with a little bit of everything – was a good one. I guess “good” is a subjective word in this case.

As for the Georgia fan side of me, it stings a little more than it did in 1983, and I’m sure the memories of that DeVonta Smith touchdown catch in overtime will linger quite a lot longer than an hour.

Georgia fans will hear it all over the next few weeks and even months.

“They’ll be back”

“Georgia is ahead of schedule”

“This is just the start of big things for Georgia”

And all of those things will do little to bring comfort to Georgia fans, even the 15-year-old fans. But that’s okay. Comfort isn’t what these fans want right now. They want rings. They want trophies. They want confetti falling in their team’s colors.

There’s no doubt in my mind they’ll get it.

Next: 3 Takeaways from Alabama's National Title Win

For those young fans who may be reading this, don’t give up. I don’t think you’ll have to wait 34 years for your next shot. It will happen.

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