Georgia sports has brought nothing but pain and suffering to its fans over the last 30 years. Before last year, the state’s most recent title came in 1995 courtesy of the Atlanta Braves.
This precedent ended last year with two championships being brought home first by the Braves in November 2021 and then by the Georgia Bulldogs in January 2022. Both came as a shock as the Braves struggled to stay at .500 for most of the season and the Bulldogs played with a quarterback that was nobody’s first choice.
With the Georgia sports curse broken and hope returning to the hearts of fans all across the state, fans are already starting to wonder when another title can be expected.
“I’ve always wanted a UGA title for my entire life so I’ll be happy either way. But of course, I would love to keep winning titles…”- Brandon Waterfill, junior communications major at UNG.
The wait may not be all that long as the Braves and Bulldogs are primed to make another run at their respective title games this season. The Braves are in a very contentious race for the National League Eastern Division, currently sitting on a one-game lead over the New York Mets.
Hayden Little, a senior marketing major, feels that locking up the division and the extra rest it would give the team would be massive momentum for the Braves. With just three games left to play the Braves have their playoff spot secured, but are looking to win their division for the fifth time in a row and secure the second seed that comes with a first-round bye.
Logan Jackson, a senior agricultural business major at UGA, explained that he feels something in the air surrounding the teams. “They both look like solid contenders in their respected sport,” said Jackson.
Jackson feels good about the players the Braves returned from their championship-winning roster and confident in the call-ups the team has made throughout the season. He feels that the team needs to focus now on remaining healthy and hunkering down for their remaining games.
“…the Braves need to really dig deep to remain focused for their upcoming postseason, “ said Jackson. Another aspect of the game that he felt was the most important was the mental side, focusing on staying motivated and encouraged.
In the case of the Bulldogs, Jackson expressed the importance of grit for this team. The Dawgs lost 15 players from last year’s championship team, many of them from the defense.
The Bulldogs have no shortage of talent so replacing the players is not the issue, it is the leadership and experience of those players that can not be replaced. “The true question will be how does this defense grow throughout the year…” Jackson said.
Five games into the season and the Bulldogs could not have asked for a better start. The defense has outperformed everyone’s expectations and the offense is as good if not better than expected.
Starting off hot against their first three opponents, the team has hit a little bit of a speed bump in its last two games. Beating Kent State (2-3) 39-22 and barely surviving Missouri (2-3) with a final score of 26-22.
The defensive growing pains were extremely evident in the last two weeks and the offensive woes are surprising for the amount of production that returned on that side of the ball.
Jackson said though the team has struggled these last two weeks, there is still a lot of football to be played. “For this Georgia team to repeat, they really need to lean on leadership, discipline, learning from mistakes that they will have, not listening to the media, and they need to be gritty,” he said.
