I'm ready

I have two people that I talk to on the phone almost every day (my brother and Brent). Even in the dead periods like March or early June, those conversations inevitably turn to UGA football at some point.

Lately, my part of the conversation consists primarily of two words: I'm ready.

I'm ready to put the window flags up.

I'm ready to wear the same shirt to work every Friday for the next three months.

I'm ready to get little to no work done on Fridays and Mondays, as office conversation invariably centers on what's gonna happen this weekend, or what just happened over the weekend.

I'm ready for the tailgate.

I'm ready to be at the Dawgwalk a week from Saturday, letting these young men know how much we love, appreciate, and support them.

I'm ready to take my daughter to see Russ during the pregame festivities.

I'm ready to hear the Redcoats live, not just on the CD that I've started listening to every day.

I'm ready to hear the opening solo of "Glory, Glory" from the South end zone, with my Georgia hat upraised and tears in my eyes...every single time.

I'm ready to see if Coach Grantham can coach football as well as he can talk it.

I'm ready to appreciate the last season Between the Hedges of the best wide receiver in the country, and the best one the Dawgs have ever had.

I'm ready for Justin Houston to become a household name.

I'm ready to watch the quarterback that all of Dawg Nation was beside ourselves with excitement over when he committed to the Dawgs over his hometown gators.

I'm ready to stop reading message board posts about how Aaron Murray is apparently a dwarf who can't throw the ball more than five yards downfield.

I'm ready to hear Scott Howard, and I'm ready to imagine I can still hear Munson telling me to "Get the picture".

I'm ready, believe it or not, to get irrationally angry at ESPN and their idiot "analysts".

I'm ready, believe it or not, to have weekly heated discussions over whether SEC refs are crooked or too stupid to be crooked.

I'm ready to tell Paul Finebaum where he can stick his hot seat.

I'm ready to watch an offense with more weapons than I can ever remember the Dawgs having at one time.

I'm ready to watch Marlon Brown blossom into the player we all know he can be.

I'm ready for Brown to join AJ, King, Durham, Wootentheballcarrier, Charles, and White to form the best group of receivers and tight ends in the SEC.

I'm ready for Caleb King and Washaun Ealy to RUN THE SEC the way we RUN THIS STATE.

I'm ready to watch a big and nasty offensive line be big and nasty.

I'm ready to watch the Dawgs go to Columbia and put the "sleeper team in the SEC East" to sleep.

I'm ready to send Bobby Petrino scurrying out of the state of Georgia with his little rat tail stuck between his legs...again.

I'm ready for the Dawgs to avenge their embarassing loss to the Evil Hillbillies from Knoxville, and I'm ready for the staff to show no mercy while doing so.

I'm ready to go through a season without having to use fancy uniform tricks to fire the team up for a rivalry game (fingers crossed for this one).

I'm ready to hear the Chapel Bell ringing.

I'm ready to watch the deepest and most athletic group of safeties ever compiled on one team unleash their collective fury. Rambo. Williams. Ogletree. Hamilton. I'm ready to hear those names a LOT.

I'm ready to celebrate a win in Jacksonville (Please, Lord, make it so).

I'm ready to get one for the thumb against the War Tiger Eagle Plainsmen.

I'm ready to show the gnats from North Avenue that they are still the little sister, and always will be.

I'm ready for an epic showdown in the Dome between the Dawgs and the Sabanites.

I. AM. READY.




GO DAWGS!!

SEC suspends officiating crew - now what?

So, the SEC suspended the Marc Curles crew that has been the talk of the blogosphere (for all the wrong reasons) for the last couple of weeks. Obviously, I applaud the move...anything intended to hold these officials accountable is a definite plus.

Then I got to thinking...what kind of slippery slope is the SEC headed down? If they start suspending crews every time they make ridiculous calls, they may be out of zebras by mid-November.

I'm only half-kidding.

Consider this hypothetical...Would you agree that there is at least a 50% chance that some boneheaded official (let's call him Wynn Pagers) makes a typical stupid call this week in the Alabama-Tennessee game that affects the game? OK, let's say that next week, Wynn is assigned the Cocktail Party, and he calls unsportsmanlike conduct on Caleb King for daring to cross the goal line against the Gator defense. Will not all of us Dawg fans be all over the interwebs and call-in shows calling for...nay, DEMANDING that Mr. Pagers and the rest of his crew face similar disciplinary action? I know I would...in fact, I may take the week off work solely for that purpose.

You see, now that Commish Slive has made a public effort to hold his officials accountable, it is now HIS office that will be held accountable. If he thinks that making this one move will quell the increasing public outcry regarding the repetitive incompetence of his officials, well...that's a sweet notion, but I don't see it happening.

By the way, I thought this particular quote from Slive was just a real side-splitter:

"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews...I believe our officiating program is the best in the country."

So, from that I gather that the commish is busy doing other things on Saturday rather than watch the football being played in his conference, because...that is just RICH. Those calls were EXACTLY the standard that I expect from SEC crews, so I don't really know what he's talking about.

Anyway...what I hope happens is something similar to what I outlined above (except for the penalty against the Dawgs, of course). I hope there is an outpouring of criticism and demands for suspensions every week, and the storm gets so intense that the conference is FORCED to do something about their embarrassing tradition of inept officiating. Make the refs full-time, hold them more publicly accountable, just do SOMETHING.

And, while you're at it, petition the NCAA to stop making rules up that are impossible to enforce, like "excessive celebration". Leave it to the NCAA to outlaw happiness.