And just like that, the 2022 College Football season comes to a close for the Georgia Bulldogs. What started in the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and ended in SoFI Stadium in Los Angeles, California has now been celebrated in the form of a rowdy parade had through the heart of campus followed by statements from coaches, players and others inside Sanford Stadium.
It was a moment that we don’t realize is rare. Not the winning and whole back-to-back deal that’s going on. We should understand that these are extraordinary times. Really, it’s rare listening to Kirby Smart speak in full with emotion the way he did. There was no pressure. He had done his job, and he was there truly celebrating his work and the people that fought to get to the mountain top with him.
Usually, you hear Coach Smart speaking at a presser, and when you got him like that, it’s like talking to a robot. It’s the same couple answers for every possible question. He’s always “hopeful” for anyone coming back from injury, and every team they’re about to face is really “physical” or have put on a “tremendous” performance thus far. But yesterday, you could see Smart let go a little.
He gave an anecdote telling how his wife came up to him after the National Championship his wife, Mary Beth, came up to him saying:
“After the National Championship game, my wife came runnin’ on the field. She found me… She said, ‘Why did you worry so much for ten days? This was gonna be so easy!’ And I said, ‘Baby, I didn’t know it was gonna be like this!'”
He’s just living right now.
On the other end, the face of the team, Stetson Bennett had some heat thrown at him for the way that he spoke, but you can’t do that to the man after everything he’s done for this place. So, what he’s not the best behind a mic in front of thousands of onlookers, not many are. That’s why the big wigs get paid good money on ESPN, and the people complaining about Bennett’s final address are doing so from their couch.
Regardless, we got to see the guys relaxed. We got to see this team let loose. We got to see a team who had successfully completed the job and was happy doing so. They deserved that more than anyone in attendance.
The Dawgs are on top yet again. University of Georgia President Jere Morehead made sure to emphasize that those in the crowd should take a second to appreciate the now and that it wasn’t always like this. Do that. Revel in the glory that is the Georgia Bulldog’s sitting on what may be the precipice of what some call a dynasty.
Glory, glory to ole Georgia, and Go Dawgs!