Richt gets political.

Georgia Coach Mark Richt went on record today during the final day of SEC Media Days and, made a statement that will no doubt shock the Conservative Republicans who make up a large part of the Bulldog Nation.






"It's time to bring our boys home."







Richt in a move that certainly goes against the party line of supporting the President and the established traditions associated with the Event Formerly Known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. This is certainly the first time that anyone directly associated with the program has even hinted that the traditional location of Jacksonville, Florida may not be as neutral as it once was. Particularly for the boys in red and black.

Oh you thought I was talking GW? Nah, I was talking about good ole MF.











Now I'm no fool. I am well aware that the reason the game has never been moved out of Jacksonville, except for the 2 years when Alltell was being renovated is, because both schools make a lot of money off the game under the current agreement. The WLOCP is a nationally telivised game every year. Not just because its two of the better teams in the SEC going head to head, but also because of the "event" the game has become. Much like practially no university president or AD will come out in favor of a playoff system, because of a fear of losing money. Neither of the schools involved in the WLOCP have ever made more than a "yeah thats something to consider" comment about moving the game out of fear of it just becoming another college game. There is also the argument that the "old money" alums are all in South Georgia and can't make the drive to Athens for a normal game. Which is a bunch of BS. If they are "old money" enough that they can afford to get tickets to what is one of if not the hardest ticket to come by every year, then they can afford a hotel room and probably a private jet to Athens for 6 or 7 Saturday's a year. Besides its not exactly a secret that there are a lot more UGA Alumi in the Atlanta area than scattered around the farms and small towns in South Georgia.

Of course the article from the AJC is just a few lines of Q and A. There may very well be nothing to the comment. The question before this may have set it up, so that Richt was speaking about a completely hypothetical situation, but for the Head Ball Coach to come out and say we should consider moving the game to Atlanta as another "neutral" site I believe it really says a lot. Maybe the coaches and hopefully the administration are starting to see that there is nothing neutral about a game played less than an hour and half from Gainesville. Say what you want about tickets being divided or the "event". There is a lot to be said for being able to sleep in your own bed and go through your basic normal game day vs having to do everything on the road. Its time that the Cocktail Party became a truly neutral event again.