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Photo Credit: Brant Sanderlin / AJCSome of you saw that turn early, some late. Maybe it was the time Reggie threw the ball out of bounds on 4th down against UGA? Maybe it was only scoring 6 points in an ACC Championship Game when Calvin Johnson is on you team? There were moments when I felt the dread, the dread that only comes with the lack of hope. The hope that things will get better. Coach Paul Johnson has been here almost two full years and at sometime during these last two seasons you may have gotten a glimpse, a ray, a twinkling of what the future could hold. Maybe it was watching as Roddy tight-roped the sidelines in Athens last year? Maybe it was storming the field against FSU last year? Maybe it was taking a hacksaw to the goalpost after the VaTech game this year. Moments that define the experience. It's really what you live for, those single moments.
Well, I was taking a break to check out the musing of the message boards today when I ran across a single solitary sentence that for me, shows the corner being turned. After discussing the recent controversy that VaTech has stirred up regarding GT's apparent "illegal" blocking schemes the topic has a habit of turning to Johnson's perceived response to said controversy. Waiting the see what Coach Johnson is going to say is a joy and lead to this message board response that tales the tale.
"I can't wait for PJ's call-in-show tomorrow night."
Simple, elegant, truthful. A fan excited about more than football. More than tailgating, more than wins. A fan excited about a 1 hour Q&A session with our head football coach just based on the anticipation of what he might say.
Corner. Turned.
5 comments:
Extremely well written. Be proud of your words, they are strong!
I entered Tech in 2001, and unfortunately that meant that the majority of my sentence at Tech was under the Chan man. That Reggie Ball 4th down against U(sic)GA completely stands out in my mind as one of the lowest moments in recent history. Oh yes, and being the team to break Duke's ACC losing streak. Oh, and the whole 7 game losing streak to U(sic)GA, especially 51-7. Luckily during those dark times, we at least had some guys who were fun to watch (PJ Daniels, Tashard Choice, Calvin Johnson, etc.)
Just about the only time I saw Chan man get animated was his last game against UGA. I remember commenting to my wife "He better be angry, this game determines whether he gets to keep his job."
Something about CPJ's triple option is just so much more fun to watch than the plain vanilla pro-style running plays. I can't quite put my finger on what it is.
CPJ's comments regarding the Virginia Tech accusation of low blocking are great. I loved the fact the he points out that GT used the same blocking style when VT won last year and no comments were made.
You are starting to see a real change in things at GT. The coach is a strong, forceful person and his team is taking that mentality onto the field.
It is a thing of beauty.
I had my doubts during the 2002 season (I thought we had good talent that year), but 7-51 convinced the program was going in the wrong direction. I agree that the corner has now been turned.
BTW, one of my favorite GT basketball players (the first Brian Oliver) was a fantastic 2 guard was put in the uncomfortable position of having to play point guard due to circumstances he had no control over. He made some mistakes that cost us some games, but fortunately and deservedly maintained the respect of the true fans.
I bring this up because I read a lot where people associate players of the early to middle part of the decade with the failures of the former coach. Reggie Ball always did his best and played his heart out for our school. It is not fair to hold him in low regard because of the position he was put in. He was a four year starter and, IMHO, did a lot to keep GT respectable when our program could have collapsed.
The point at which Tech fans I think finally got fed up was Brain's comment about us not consistenty being able to win 9-10 games. Put that on the back of a very mediocre run during the Gailey era and it was just a very blah period to be a Tech fan. Now contrast that with what you see on the message boards, what you hear in the office, what you hear when we go to non-conference games ... we've got a ton of pride going and people respect what we're doing. There are a couple of games I look to as corner turning (Clemson last year and this year) but whenever it was, we're there, man. Corner turned, sir-ah! It's a great time to be a Yellow Jacket!!!
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