When I was a student at Georgia the football team sucked. The actual game was just an excuse to party outdoors. The game on the field had at best a 50/50 shot at entertaining you. Then we'd all head back to the dorms to drink some more, order a pizza, and discuss the quarterback controversy.
For the record, I was a Preston Jones fan.
Anyway, in came this hotshot Eric Zeier. That dude had an arm. And holy shit we were winning some football games. Should've even won in Jacksonville! Damn. But then reality sunk in that 1) my parents were no longer going to subsidize my education and 2) Goff had squandered the best quarterback Georgia had seen in years.
However, word started to spread of this kid with a funny name - Mike Bobo. Word was his dad was a coach and the kid also had an arm. A coach's kid with a good arm sounded pretty good to me.
Well, I'm not sure he was as good as Zeier, but this new guy knew where to put the football. We won some games we shouldn't have. He threw the ball all over the field. Mike Bobo was a damn good quarterback. I remember the night we went toe to toe with Auburn in 1996 - Miracle on the Plains. Bobo didn't always amaze, but he made play after play. The Mrs. and I made her mom and aunt wait two-plus hours before we would sit down to dinner, because Dammit! The Dawgs might just win this thing after all!
Fast forward to the night news broke some guy named Mark Richt would be the next head coach at Georgia. We all gathered around Nama's computer because it was connected to something called the internet, which is what told us of all the assistants Richt was bringing to Athens. The only one we recognized was that kid named Bobo. "Y'all remember him from the Outback Bowl a couple years ago right? Nice to have a damn good Georgia man on board!"
Now, fast forward to last week. That's the same guy who served 14 years on staff, who recruited his ass off for UGA, and won ball games with actual points on the board while his bosses were giving raises to the defensive coordinator that just pulled his pants up. Same guy AD McGarity let fly off into the sunset last week to interview in Colorado.
WTF?
Mike Bobo, the one time phenom that helped keep a program relevant and then helped it score many, many points, was allowed to leave on a plane to friggin' Colorado without even an offer of a raise. I don't think I'll ever get over that. Ever.
Ever.
No, I'm very happy for Mike Bobo. He's past due for a shot as a head coach and even more past due for a raise in pay. He'll do well out yonder where he'll recruit circles around everyone else and surprise a few with how prepared his team is. Most of those teams will lose the game.
I'm happy for Mike Bobo. I'm just very sad for Georgia football.
Very.
