July 28, 2008

Meyer's revenge on UGA

"You tell them I'm coming. And Hell's coming with me you hear!"

Any western buff remembers those words uttered by Kurt Russell in Tombstone, but now it seems that Florida coach Urban Meyer has uttered his own version.

The Orlando Sentinel's resident Gator homer Mike Bianchi highlighted comments in his blog where UF's Meyer has vowed to serve up UGA coach Mark Richt a payback for last season's Dawg shenanigans after Georgia's first score of their game with UF.

In his new book (due out this September), Meyer vows to "handle it.":

"That wasn't right," Meyer said in the book, which was written with sportswriter Buddy Martin and will be out in early September. "It was a bad deal. It will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. We'll handle it and it's going to be a big deal.",

Richt has repeatedly conveyed regrets of initiating what was supposed to be a celebration by the 11 offensive players on the field and turned into a bench clearing hoedown that drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for the Bulldogs.

Richt once again stated his apologies and regrets at SEC Media Days Thursday:

""I had no intention of our team clearing the bench," said Richt, explaining that he thought just the 11 players on the field would celebrate. "I called Coach Meyer (after the game) and told him I was a coach desperate to try to get some enthusiasm and willing to take a 15-yard penalty. In hindsight, I asked the team to do an unsportsmanlike act and I shouldn't have done it. It could have easily turned into a big, stupid brawl."

Bianchi goes on to state that the antic injected "some much-needed intensity back into the rivalry" and that Richt's move might have been the move that "rejuvenated Richt's entire coaching tenure at Georgia."

This could not be any closer to the truth.

The series had in fact begun to grow stale as the Bulldogs have struggled to win five games in the annual Jacksonville contest over the last twenty years and Richt receiving only two wins in his seven season's as the top Dawg at UGA; a glaring reversal of his fortunes "versus the Gators while guiding the offense as the OC at Florida State from 1990 -2000"; which also included two national championships and two heisman trophy winners in that time span.

In many years, Georgia was considered to have the better squad coming in only to leave the game formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in bitter disappointment.

"The Celebration" sparked a great finish for the Bulldogs last season that was capped with a severe drubbing of undefeated; but overmatched and overrated; Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

The former WLOCP will in fact be one of the most anticipated matchups of the season as a key game not just for the SEC East and subsequent SEC Championship Game berth but also to possibly keep BCS title game hopes alive for both teams.

Between last season's Dawg dance party and now Meyer providing a little UGA bulletin board material through his book, this rivalry should be cranked up to a full throttle of hatred for years to come.

Posted by gatorhippy

Comments:

Meyer's revenge on UGA
"You tell them I'm coming. And Hell's coming with me you hear!" Any western buff remembers those words uttered by Kurt Russell in Tombstone, but now it seems that Florida coach Urban Meyer has uttered his own version. The Orlando Sentinel's resident Gator homer Mike Bianchi highlighted comments in his blog where UF's Meyer has vowed to serve up UGA coach Mark Richt a payback for last season's Dawg shenanigans after Georgia's first score of their game with UF. In his new book (due out this September), Meyer vows to "handle it.":
"That wasn't right," Meyer said in the book, which was written with sportswriter Buddy Martin and will be out in early September. "It was a bad deal. It will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. We'll handle it and it's going to be a big deal.",
Richt has repeatedly conveyed regrets of initiating what was supposed to be a celebration by the 11 offensive players on the field and turned into a bench clearing hoedown that drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for the Bulldogs. Richt once again stated his apologies and regrets at SEC Media Days Thursday:
""I had no intention of our team clearing the bench," said Richt, explaining that he thought just the 11 players on the field would celebrate. "I called Coach Meyer (after the game) and told him I was a coach desperate to try to get some enthusiasm and willing to take a 15-yard penalty. In hindsight, I asked the team to do an unsportsmanlike act and I shouldn't have done it. It could have easily turned into a big, stupid brawl."
Bianchi goes on to state that the antic injected "some much-needed intensity back into the rivalry" and that Richt's move might have been the move that "rejuvenated Richt's entire coaching tenure at Georgia." This could not be any closer to the truth. The series had in fact begun to grow stale as the Bulldogs have struggled to win five games in the annual Jacksonville contest over the last twenty years and Richt receiving only two wins in his seven season's as the top Dawg at UGA; a glaring reversal of his fortunes "versus the Gators while guiding the offense as the OC at Florida State from 1990 -2000"; which also included two national championships and two heisman trophy winners in that time span. In many years, Georgia was considered to have the better squad coming in only to leave the game formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in bitter disappointment. "The Celebration" sparked a great finish for the Bulldogs last season that was capped with a severe drubbing of undefeated; but overmatched and overrated; Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. The former WLOCP will in fact be one of the most anticipated matchups of the season as a key game not just for the SEC East and subsequent SEC Championship Game berth but also to possibly keep BCS title game hopes alive for both teams. Between last season's Dawg dance party and now Meyer providing a little UGA bulletin board material through his book, this rivalry should be cranked up to a full throttle of hatred for years to come.