Making the Excuse "XYZ Team Didn't Want to Be There."

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
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I didn't mean to imply the phenomenon doesn't exists, but that it shouldn't exists. To fail to prepare and then say "we didn't want to be there" isn't the respect your fans and school deserve.

Do I think the team that played us would have probably beat UT last night? Yes, very likely. I'm saying Georgia missed a great opportunity to take their frustations out on Texas, go out with a bang and set the stage for a run next year.

It's not apples to apples, but what we did in the Capital One Bowl against MSU a few years ago set the following year's fanbase in a frenzy for what was to come.
 

deliveryman35

Hall of Fame
Jul 26, 2003
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Ok, I accept that it is a reason and not an excuse. But then why even participate if your team really doesn’t want to be there and won’t be motivated? Without giving your best on the field, you’re really cheating the fans and the bowl sponsors of a good experience that they’ve paid to see. But I know the answer— millions of dollars in Bowl revenue are at stake and conferences probably require their teams to accept the invitation. At that point it’s all about the money.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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That's my beef with the excuse...where's the pride of representing the jersey/school/tradition?
It's not like that with 18-22 years olds. Not anymore. Some get it, but a lot don't see it that way.

And it goes back to preparation. As Coach Bryant once said, "It's not about the will to win. Everyone has that. It's about the will to prepare to win that counts." Georgia didn't. Texas did.
 

CraigD

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Aug 8, 2006
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Yes it did...to the millions of fans. This is the very problem I'm talking about. It SHOULD matter.
It sounds to me like your argument or premise has shifted or perhaps wasn't stated well in your original post. In that original post you said that you "don't buy it" (the excuse that "Team X didn't want to be there."), indicating that you don't believe that motivation (or lack thereof) is a legitimate factor or a possible cause of a team playing poorly.

Now it seems as though you're saying that you acknowledge that it's a possible reason, but you don't think it's the way things ought to be.

Which is it?


I think you're making two different points that have been confused or misconstrued:

1. Motivation is (can be) a real factor in how a team performs in a particular game. A better team that is unmotivated can play a dud of a game and get beaten by a lesser team. I think it happened last night. I agree with this item.

2. It *shouldn't* be this way. Coaches should all be magicians that can effectively brainwash 19-22 year old kids to perform their best even when year-long dreams are ripped away just a few weeks earlier. I don't think this is realistic.



I think you're now arguing what *should* have happened or how things *ought* to be
 
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CajunCrimson

Moderator (FB,BB) and Vinyl Enthusiast
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Mar 13, 2001
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Yes it did...to the millions of fans. This is the very problem I'm talking about. It SHOULD matter.
The game happened either way. The fans got the experience of the game.

I get your point -- but my point is this: It's an exhibition game. UGA had no motivation to play. LSU's motivation was to shut up UCF. Florida's motivation was to regain the status of being the State's best. UGA didn't have anything to play for...... If they had lost a couple of more games, it might have been different -- as they would have been motivated to get ready for next year.....

They haven't moved past the SECCG yet.....thus, they still feel like they should have won the game, and feel like they deserved to be in the playoff --

Thus, they treated the game like it didn't matter. So, to them, it didn't.

Fans still got a game....
 

Mystical

All-American
Sep 28, 2009
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If this were the playoffs does Deandre Baker play? If you answered yes to that question than you know all you need to know about Georgia's motivation.
 

Blindside13

All-SEC
Oct 22, 2011
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Uga looked like Bama did against Utah in the 09 Sugar bowl and the 14 Sugar Bowl against the Sooners. That bowl might has well have been the Liberty bowl to them. Fromm even mentioned in a interview leading up to the game that he thought the focus on the game was more individual than team. Basically saying some players were ready and some not so much. Going into the game like that against a team like Texas, which used that game as a we are back statement was a perfect storm for the dawgs last night.
 

RollTide_HTTR

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2017
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Thought I saw somewhere that UGA had to bench starters in practice or something because they weren't taking it seriously. I agree there is no excuse for the team or coach but at the same time I think there is context that is needed if you want to compare UGA vs Texas to the UGA that we played.
 

imauafan

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Mar 3, 2004
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Didn't Holly Rowe report during the game that Kirby had to demote some players to second string to get their attention early on during bowl preparation?
 

imauafan

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Mar 3, 2004
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Feel like I saw somewhere that UGA had to bench starters in practice or something because they weren't taking it seriously. I agree there is no excuse for the team or coach but at the same time I think there is context that is needed if you want to compare UGA vs Texas to the UGA that we played.
You beat me to it. Yes I heard that and it was obvious that UGA was not nearly as motivated as Texas.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
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It sounds to me like your argument or premise has shifted or perhaps wasn't stated well in your original post. In that original post you said that you "don't buy it" (the excuse that "Team X didn't want to be there."), indicating that you don't believe that motivation (or lack thereof) is a legitimate factor or a possible cause of a team playing poorly.

Now it seems as though you're saying that you acknowledge that it's a possible reason, but you don't think it's the way things ought to be.

Which is it?


I think you're making two different points that have been confused or misconstrued:

1. Motivation is (can be) a real factor in how a team performs in a particular game. A better team that is unmotivated can play a dud of a game and get beaten by a lesser team. I think it happened last night. I agree with this item.

2. It *shouldn't* be this way. Coaches should all be magicians that can effectively brainwash 19-22 year old kids to perform their best even when year-long dreams are ripped away just a few weeks earlier. I don't think this is realistic.



I think you're now arguing what *should* have happened or how things *ought* to be
I might not have stated it well...I don't buy the fact that it is a legitmate excuse that some seem to OK with and I don't like it because it dismisses what Texas actually did.
 

TNElephantitis

1st Team
Nov 30, 2015
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Memphis, TN
If this were the playoffs does Deandre Baker play? If you answered yes to that question than you know all you need to know about Georgia's motivation.
^^ This! Plus what everyone is saying about how their practices leading up to the game clearly show where UGA's motivation and preparation were at. Texas, on the other hand, probably practiced great, looked prepared, and dominated. If you're trying to infer that we are trying to discredit Texas by stating facts about UGA then you're logic is actually a fallacy.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
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I probably saw a part or all of 6 UGA games this year due to them being on outside of our time slot so often this year. The game they played against us was easily their best performance from a running and hitting perspective all season. They played a bit above their ability on the OL and DL too. UGA's iffy line play in the Sugar Bowl could've been predicted by some of the sloppy moments they had against overmatched competition and that resounding thumping at the hands of LSU mid-season. Frankly, I expected a much easier game against UGA than we got in the SECCG because they looked about 10-14 points worse than us on film. Motivation sometimes gets forgotten about when analyzing a game. I underestimated it in the SEC Championship and I think many other people did too. This led many people including myself to overate where UGA stood in the pecking order.

This UGA team lost to every competent opponent - at the time they played them - on their schedule. They deceptively struggled with Florida and Kentucky. Might've lost to each of them if they fielded a slightly more functional offense. I think they should look to replace their offensive coordinator. I've said repeatedly that he's a close third behind Tua and Jalen for MVPs of these comebacks. I'll never understand his love for the first down wildcat or gadget quarterback play. This tendency has set us up for convenient 3 and out chances repeatedly over the last two games. Taking the ball out of your quarterback's hands (when he's got a hot hand) on 1st down is ridiculous. Keep that run or pass threat alive on first downs. In this Texas game, with a chance to tie it up late, he calls 3 straight dropback bombs against aggressive blitzes that would be burned with ease by a RB slip screen. Their OC is a choke artist in big games. He's called some great first halves against us, slowed down a bit in the third, and outright seizes up in the fourth quarter. Last night he didn't even bother with the great first half.
 

cuda.1973

Hall of Fame
Dec 6, 2009
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Allen, Texas
I might not have stated it well...I don't buy the fact that it is a legitmate excuse that some seem to OK with and I don't like it because it dismisses what Texas actually did.
1.) Ok with it? We are "ok" with jawjuh doing a jawjuh. Why they do it is their problem. And it is a big problem. Been that way as long as I can remember. (Spend some time in Atlanta, and you will understand why so many of us can't stand them.)

2.) Yes, Bevo was ready. Saying UGA wasn't takes nothing away from Bevo. The score may have been close, due to garbage time scores, but UGA was never going to win that game.

If Bevo had also "mailed it in", then it might have been closer. They didn't, and it wasn't.

And now we have to live with the Whiny Orange mouthing off for the rest of the year. Thanks, UGA.
 

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