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3 Guys, One Blog and a lot of opinions.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Is It September Yet?
Seriously... is it?
The ACC Media Day was today, and it's a whole lotta coach speak, a whole lotta generic answers, and a whole lotta hype about the same things that have been hyped up the last few weeks.
Did you know CJ Spiller won the Heisman? And everyone's got the triple option figured out. And somehow, EVERY team in the ACC made strides in the offseason, and they've improved, but they're not where they want to be. They'll all gonna come out and work hard in the fall to try to improve each week, and they've got high expectations for themselves.
Ahh the optimism of the preseason. We're all undefeated still. A few interesting things did come out of Media Day.
The ACC Media Day was today, and it's a whole lotta coach speak, a whole lotta generic answers, and a whole lotta hype about the same things that have been hyped up the last few weeks.
Did you know CJ Spiller won the Heisman? And everyone's got the triple option figured out. And somehow, EVERY team in the ACC made strides in the offseason, and they've improved, but they're not where they want to be. They'll all gonna come out and work hard in the fall to try to improve each week, and they've got high expectations for themselves.
Ahh the optimism of the preseason. We're all undefeated still. A few interesting things did come out of Media Day.
The CJ Spiller hype machine is in full swing, and one of the big debates around the conference is who's the best running back in the league? Spiller or Dwyer?40 days...
One of them won preseason ACC Player of the Year today - last year's ACC Player of the Year: Jonathan Dwyer. And Tech was picked to finish second to Virginia Tech in the Coastal.
Apparently Virginia Tech's safety has figured out the triple option. Maybe he should drop out of school and become a triple option constulant. Worked for LSU...
And here's an interview w/ CPJ on ESPN.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Ahhhh.....Friday.
OK, I know posting a Weird Al vid is one of the nerd-ier things I could do. And I hesitate to do it since I feel it just reinforces our stereotype, but who the heck am I kidding, I'm a nerd and this video is pretty darn funny. Especially when it reminds me so much of married bliss. Fingers crossed that my Friday night will be more eventful.
R. Kelly never sounded so good.
Here's hoping we have something Tech related later.
R. Kelly never sounded so good.
Here's hoping we have something Tech related later.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Rivals, Hatred, and Stereotypes
If I hadn't gone to Georgia Tech, I'd still be a die-hard Iowa State fan (so I'd be much more disappointed much more often). I still read the occasional Iowa State blog, and this post made me think this would be fun to try out ourselves.
THANK YOU, Auburn, for hiring Gene Chizik!
Someone asked the Big 12 bloggers to answer these questions about their team and fanbase, so I thought it'd be fun to take an inward look at us Yellow Jackets from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
I hate everything that is UGA - the fans, the school, the teams, their coaches, their town. It's bred on campus. Yes, it is a bit sad. UGA wonders why we're obsessed with them, and there's definitely a little brother syndrome in effect. Iowa State has the same thing with Iowa. Every bandwagon redneck in the state loves the dawgs, and they've had more success lately, especially over Tech. We don't get the media coverage, we don't have the fan-base size, etc. - there's underlying jealousy for sure (whether we want to admit it or not). However, we are proud (maybe sometimes too much) and would still rather be a Jacket any day, but there is definitely an obsession with hatred for our neighbors to the east.
What teams and specific players do casual or die-hard fans of your team hate most?
Well, as we just covered, we hate all things UGA. Outside of hating them and laughing every time another one is arrested, I'd say we hate Miami players, mostly because they're generally thugs. And when basketball season rolls around, we join the rest of the country in hating Duke's basketball team full of pasty, arrogant douches. Over the years, I've hated some Maryland players with a passion, too. Nik Caner-Medley, Greivis Vasquez, and some otehr guy they had = douches.
As far as teams after UGA, I don't know that there's a lot of hate. We don't like Clemson, but the hate level isn't even close.
If you wanted to taunt players from your conference, who would be the biggest targets?
Hmmm, there's not really a lot of individual taunting in football I feel like. In basketball, you're much closer and can taunt, but aside from the same people I mentioned above, there's not much targeting of individuals. People like to yell at Coack K a lot...
What kind of taunts would sting the casual fan of your team the most—going after the make-up of the fan base, individual players, coach, school, or the state?
I would say taunting on-the-field results, especially the streak that just (finally) ended against ugag. At least now, we can say it's over, but shouting "45-42!" just makes us look kind of stupid. I like to point out that the Chan Gailey era is over and CPJ is 1-0 against the mutts, but until this year, telling us "we've beat you 7 in a row" left us with nothing to say.
People east of us also like to ignore Tech's football history. While I admit I wasn't alive for most of it, they act like they've always been much better, which just isn't true. We have more national championships and a more recent one. We just had many mediocre years while Gailey was here.
Attacking the fan base and calling us nerds doesn't hurt. A lot of us are nerds. I'm not, and the ones that care about football aren't. Attacking CPJ may get us pretty mad, as long as he's the celebrity he is around here right now.
In 100 words or less, best describe your team's fan base
Small. Georgia Tech fans are almost all people who went to Georgia Tech, have family who did, or have some association to the Institute. We're not the big state school, so we don't have all the bangwagon, fairweather fans other state schools do. Tech is kind of a public school with a private school feel. Along with that comes a bit of arrogance... we were a 7-win team every year Gailey was here but one, and we definitely thought we were better (but we were). <- see what I mean? As a whole, I really like Tech fans. We're not that nice to opposing fans, but that's southern football. We're definitely nicer than most of the SEC schools surrounding us, and we're definitely smarter (but totally not arrogant...).
What are the common stereotypes associated with your team's fan base and the school in general? In what ways are they true/false?
Let me act out every conversation between a ugag fan and a Tech fan:
Nerds. Tech students are labeled as nerds, and there definitely are a ton there. Most of these aren't interested in football at all, though. There are plenty more normal students at Tech than we're given credit for.
Girls. The ratio is improving, albeit slowly.
Smart. Tech is a hard school to get into, and most majors are really difficult. Since most Tech fans are alumni, most are smart. We like to hold it over uga, but I imagine if we have a 7-year win streak of our own, the bragging will turn to football.
Can't sell out home games. Sad, but true. We have a small fan base to begin with, and a lot of it's scattered, but we could still pack out our football and basketball stadiums for conference games. Hopefully continued success will fill seats, but there's nothin' to say about this one... we don't usually sell out unless uga, Clemson, or FSU's in town.
Obsession with uga. True. The little brother syndrome. I'm ecstatic that we beat uga last year, but we're coming off as an annoying little brother always shouting/typing "45-42!" I like how CPJ said he didn't take any of the hedges because he acts like he expects to win, and he'll be back. This rivalry should be back closer to 50/50 in the coming years I would think, so shouting out the score may sound less dumb a few years from now since the other team won't be able to counter with "we just won 7 in a row."
So there ya have it. We're a bunch of nerds obsessed with uga, but proud of our team. The "obsession" will die down now that the long streak is broken. Fans are already talking more about ACC championships and bigger things in the next couple of years.
What do you guys think I left out?
THANK YOU, Auburn, for hiring Gene Chizik!Someone asked the Big 12 bloggers to answer these questions about their team and fanbase, so I thought it'd be fun to take an inward look at us Yellow Jackets from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Who do you consider to be your team's biggest rivalry?
I hate everything that is UGA - the fans, the school, the teams, their coaches, their town. It's bred on campus. Yes, it is a bit sad. UGA wonders why we're obsessed with them, and there's definitely a little brother syndrome in effect. Iowa State has the same thing with Iowa. Every bandwagon redneck in the state loves the dawgs, and they've had more success lately, especially over Tech. We don't get the media coverage, we don't have the fan-base size, etc. - there's underlying jealousy for sure (whether we want to admit it or not). However, we are proud (maybe sometimes too much) and would still rather be a Jacket any day, but there is definitely an obsession with hatred for our neighbors to the east.
What teams and specific players do casual or die-hard fans of your team hate most?
Well, as we just covered, we hate all things UGA. Outside of hating them and laughing every time another one is arrested, I'd say we hate Miami players, mostly because they're generally thugs. And when basketball season rolls around, we join the rest of the country in hating Duke's basketball team full of pasty, arrogant douches. Over the years, I've hated some Maryland players with a passion, too. Nik Caner-Medley, Greivis Vasquez, and some otehr guy they had = douches.
As far as teams after UGA, I don't know that there's a lot of hate. We don't like Clemson, but the hate level isn't even close.
If you wanted to taunt players from your conference, who would be the biggest targets?
Hmmm, there's not really a lot of individual taunting in football I feel like. In basketball, you're much closer and can taunt, but aside from the same people I mentioned above, there's not much targeting of individuals. People like to yell at Coack K a lot...
What kind of taunts would sting the casual fan of your team the most—going after the make-up of the fan base, individual players, coach, school, or the state?
I would say taunting on-the-field results, especially the streak that just (finally) ended against ugag. At least now, we can say it's over, but shouting "45-42!" just makes us look kind of stupid. I like to point out that the Chan Gailey era is over and CPJ is 1-0 against the mutts, but until this year, telling us "we've beat you 7 in a row" left us with nothing to say.
People east of us also like to ignore Tech's football history. While I admit I wasn't alive for most of it, they act like they've always been much better, which just isn't true. We have more national championships and a more recent one. We just had many mediocre years while Gailey was here.
Attacking the fan base and calling us nerds doesn't hurt. A lot of us are nerds. I'm not, and the ones that care about football aren't. Attacking CPJ may get us pretty mad, as long as he's the celebrity he is around here right now.
In 100 words or less, best describe your team's fan base
Small. Georgia Tech fans are almost all people who went to Georgia Tech, have family who did, or have some association to the Institute. We're not the big state school, so we don't have all the bangwagon, fairweather fans other state schools do. Tech is kind of a public school with a private school feel. Along with that comes a bit of arrogance... we were a 7-win team every year Gailey was here but one, and we definitely thought we were better (but we were). <- see what I mean? As a whole, I really like Tech fans. We're not that nice to opposing fans, but that's southern football. We're definitely nicer than most of the SEC schools surrounding us, and we're definitely smarter (but totally not arrogant...).
What are the common stereotypes associated with your team's fan base and the school in general? In what ways are they true/false?
Let me act out every conversation between a ugag fan and a Tech fan:
Bubba: NERD!And scene. It's all in there, really.
Tech fan: Yeah, well you're gonna work for me someday.
Bubba: Yeah, well you like Star Trek. NERD!!! And there aren't girls at your school.
Tech fan: When I'm making 6 figures, I'll have a trophy wife while you deliver pizza and marry your sister.
Bubba: Well at least my DAWGS have one of the best football teams in the nation every year! Your team can't even sell out your high school stadium, NERD!
Tech fan: 45-42!!!
Bubba: Yeah, we'll let you have 1 out of 8... NERD.
Nerds. Tech students are labeled as nerds, and there definitely are a ton there. Most of these aren't interested in football at all, though. There are plenty more normal students at Tech than we're given credit for.Girls. The ratio is improving, albeit slowly.
Smart. Tech is a hard school to get into, and most majors are really difficult. Since most Tech fans are alumni, most are smart. We like to hold it over uga, but I imagine if we have a 7-year win streak of our own, the bragging will turn to football.
Can't sell out home games. Sad, but true. We have a small fan base to begin with, and a lot of it's scattered, but we could still pack out our football and basketball stadiums for conference games. Hopefully continued success will fill seats, but there's nothin' to say about this one... we don't usually sell out unless uga, Clemson, or FSU's in town.
Obsession with uga. True. The little brother syndrome. I'm ecstatic that we beat uga last year, but we're coming off as an annoying little brother always shouting/typing "45-42!" I like how CPJ said he didn't take any of the hedges because he acts like he expects to win, and he'll be back. This rivalry should be back closer to 50/50 in the coming years I would think, so shouting out the score may sound less dumb a few years from now since the other team won't be able to counter with "we just won 7 in a row."
So there ya have it. We're a bunch of nerds obsessed with uga, but proud of our team. The "obsession" will die down now that the long streak is broken. Fans are already talking more about ACC championships and bigger things in the next couple of years.
What do you guys think I left out?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Cink wins the British Open
me this weekendI was in New Orleans this weekend drinking hurricanes and eating alligator, so I missed what sounds like a pretty awesome finish to the British Open on Sunday.
A lot of people wanted old man, Tom Watson, to pull out the victory, but former Yellow Jacket, Stewart Cink, wouldn't let it happen. Attaboy, Stewart.
Here's CNN/SI/Golf/Time Warner/Planet Earth's article on the outcome.
Stewart Cink this weekendWednesday, July 15, 2009
To Tide You Over
It's a non-busy time in Tech sports and a really busy time in life, so I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Getting married takes up more time than studying for Jim Harrick's Basketball 101 Final. Gotta get the Ramblin Wreck cake right and get the real Wreck there at the right time...
Here are some things keep you going until football practices begin:
AJC Player Interviews
Brad Jefferson
Jonathan Dwyer
Austin Barrick
Robert Hall
CPJ chats online - Don't worry; he doesn't really use smilies. Someone typed his answers while he dictated. If he did use smileys, I totally would, though.
The new video board at BDS is coming along.
CPJ tops Sporting News' list of coaches who have their eye on being the tops in the nation.
The AJC's Mark Bradley puts him at #9 in the country, one behind our neighbor to the east...
I'm cooking up some big, actually thought-provoking posts, but in the meantime, let these tide you over.
Here are some things keep you going until football practices begin:
AJC Player Interviews
Brad Jefferson
Jonathan Dwyer
Austin Barrick
Robert Hall
CPJ chats online - Don't worry; he doesn't really use smilies. Someone typed his answers while he dictated. If he did use smileys, I totally would, though.
The new video board at BDS is coming along.
CPJ tops Sporting News' list of coaches who have their eye on being the tops in the nation.
The AJC's Mark Bradley puts him at #9 in the country, one behind our neighbor to the east...
I'm cooking up some big, actually thought-provoking posts, but in the meantime, let these tide you over.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Past It's Relevance but Funny Still
I know that I should allow last season's glory to seep away but I can't. I am still a bit giddy about UGA fall from the top of the college football world. And so it is with great glee that I found this image. Enjoy!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Basketball Team is Top 10
...at producing NBA talent. That's a good thing, but it's kind of disappointing to see the success most of the other teams on the list have had year in and year out while Tech has had only the occasional flash of brilliance.
Of course, this begs the question we all asked when Chan was here: Would you rather be above .500 every year or go to the Final Four/BCS game every once in a while while having a few subpar seasons? Funny enough, the grass is always greener on the other side. With Chan, we all wanted at least an occasional great season, but with Hewitt, everyone begs for some consistency. I can conclude one thing from this: I'm glad I'm just a fan and not the coach.
Back to the list. Here are the top 10 NBA-producing schools (of current NBA talent):
10: Kentucky
9. Texas
8. Florida
7. Georgia Tech
6. Arizona
5. UCLA
4. Kansas
3. UConn
2. North Carolina
1. Duke
The top 5 are very good almost every year. Arizona and Kentucky have seen some tough years (by their standards), but Kentucky hadn't been under .500 for years until this past season. Florida, who's just below Tech on the list, won 2 consecutive national championships (we're still talking about basketball - not football).
Georgia Tech, as we all know, had the Final Four run 5 years ago, but hasn't done a ton since. We've made the tournament two more times and won one game there in 2005. The other three seasons since were sub-.500.
Here's how we made the list:
Morrow, Bynum, and West all being undrafted at least somewhat supports the argument that Hewitt hasn't done enough with his talent. Those are 3 players the NBA feels are worthy of playing in the league, but they didn't see it in them based on their time at Georgia Tech.
The 2006-07 Yellow Jackets had 3 NBA players (West, Young, and Crittenton) and barely squeaked into the tournament as a 10-seed. No, they weren't superstars, and two were freshmen, but find me another team with 3 players that would be on NBA the next year. I'll tell you where to look - the Final Four.
Hewitt's got his best team (talent-wise) in years - maybe ever - this year, so we'll see what he can do. There will be two first-rounders down low, and who knows who else may end up on an NBA roster?
Despite the ranting, it's nice to see Tech on this list. Now if we can just be in the real Top 10 more often... Mark Bradley says we should be this year.
Of course, this begs the question we all asked when Chan was here: Would you rather be above .500 every year or go to the Final Four/BCS game every once in a while while having a few subpar seasons? Funny enough, the grass is always greener on the other side. With Chan, we all wanted at least an occasional great season, but with Hewitt, everyone begs for some consistency. I can conclude one thing from this: I'm glad I'm just a fan and not the coach.
Back to the list. Here are the top 10 NBA-producing schools (of current NBA talent):
10: Kentucky
9. Texas
8. Florida
7. Georgia Tech
6. Arizona
5. UCLA
4. Kansas
3. UConn
2. North Carolina
1. Duke
The top 5 are very good almost every year. Arizona and Kentucky have seen some tough years (by their standards), but Kentucky hadn't been under .500 for years until this past season. Florida, who's just below Tech on the list, won 2 consecutive national championships (we're still talking about basketball - not football).
Georgia Tech, as we all know, had the Final Four run 5 years ago, but hasn't done a ton since. We've made the tournament two more times and won one game there in 2005. The other three seasons since were sub-.500.
Here's how we made the list:
Morrow, Bynum, and West all being undrafted at least somewhat supports the argument that Hewitt hasn't done enough with his talent. Those are 3 players the NBA feels are worthy of playing in the league, but they didn't see it in them based on their time at Georgia Tech.
The 2006-07 Yellow Jackets had 3 NBA players (West, Young, and Crittenton) and barely squeaked into the tournament as a 10-seed. No, they weren't superstars, and two were freshmen, but find me another team with 3 players that would be on NBA the next year. I'll tell you where to look - the Final Four.
Hewitt's got his best team (talent-wise) in years - maybe ever - this year, so we'll see what he can do. There will be two first-rounders down low, and who knows who else may end up on an NBA roster?
Despite the ranting, it's nice to see Tech on this list. Now if we can just be in the real Top 10 more often... Mark Bradley says we should be this year.
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