Bulldogs celebrate another title, Bennett raises eyebrows
ATHENS — Traditionally Saturdays in Athens consist of football, but on this day Bulldog Nation gathered for a very different reason.
Thousands of fans and media members rushed to campus on a bitterly cold January morning, some arriving as early as 5 a.m. to get the perfect spot so they could have an opportunity to see their favorite Bulldog make their way towards Sanford Stadium for this back-to-back National Championship Celebration after Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU last Monday night.
The parade started at 12:30 p.m. on Lumpkin Street and proceeded to Sanford Stadium. When the Bulldogs arrived outside of Sanford Stadium, they geared up for a traditional Dawg Walk at 1 p.m., which led them inside for the formal program, which started around 2 p.m.
Due to ongoing construction on the South side of Sanford Stadium fans were limited to seating on the West, East and North stands, which also reduced the seating capacity for the event.
In front of a crowd of over thirty thousand quarterback Stetson Bennett, offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran and defensive back Christopher Smith (Three of the four captains for the national championship game) had a chance to speak at the celebration. For Bennett and Smith, this would be their final goodbye to Bulldog fans as they attempt to blaze their own path to the NFL, but for Van Pran that decision has yet to be made.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also spoke, he commended his team, his staff and the entire athletic department for what has suddenly become second nature in the Classic City. Smart cited a quote from renowned UCLA basketball coach John Wooden when he stated that winning the second straight national title for the first time in school history was more difficult than ending the Bulldogs’ 41-year title drought in 2021.
“Winning takes talent,” Smart said, before adding, “but to repeat takes character.”
“We can’t wait to see what lies ahead for this team,” Smart also stated. “This team will have to be hungry because a lot of this team is coming back.”
But it wasn’t Smart’s statements that caught everyone’s attention, those comments would come from Bennett. Bennett, who was the only Georgia Bulldog not in his College Football Playoff media jumpsuit made his way towards the stadium with a red sweatshirt that read “Them Dawgs Is Hell.”
When D.J. Shockley asked Bennett what he was most proud of, his answer was: “The thing I’m most proud of,” Bennett began, pausing as though he was unsure of what to say next. “Man, y’all burned us, y’all kept telling us how bad we were. And we kept winning And kept embarrassing people.
“It was 49-3 (vs. Oregon), 65-7 (vs. TCU), and y’all didn’t want to believe it. Screw it, we got two rings.”
Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken both said that they underestimated his ability, only to come to love his tenacity and playmaking abilities. Bennett also commented on Monken’s playcalling.
“It ain’t the X’s and O’s,” Bennett said. “It’s the Jimmy’s and Joe’s.”
Fans quickly took to social media to give their thoughts and criticism about Bennett’s comments but were torn with how they feel. Bennett has an opportunity to once again prove the doubters wrong and attempt to take his talents to NFL.
For someone like Bennett, who was named Offensive MVP in the CFP Peach Bowl Semifinal and CFP Championship
Game and then tied a record by accounting for six touchdowns in the 65-7 win over TCU last Monday, that the path to the NFL should be an easy one, but experts have other opinions.
The SEC Coaches and AP media declined to vote Bennett first-team ALL-SEC, with Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Alabama’s Bryce Young both drawing a great deal of that attention. The NFL has also questioned his talents, to the extent Bennett has not been ranked among the top quarterbacks in the upcoming draft, and he has yet to receive an all-star game invite.
Also attending the celebration was College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock. As Hancock handed Smart the national championship trophy, he stated: “There’s only nine of these and you have two of them.”
Among others that spoke were SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and University of Georgia president Jere Morehead who called the celebration of back-to-back championships “an unimaginable moment.”
“Enjoy what has been created and be a part of what is coming in the future as this dynasty continues to develop,” Morehead said.
What’s next for the Bulldogs? Georgia has eight players in the transfer portal, a handful of juniors who have declared for the 2023 NFL Draft and a couple of others who are riding the fence.
“I am concerned about our season next year,” Smart said. “The entire flight home, I’ll think about things we can do right now. W-I-N (What’s Important Now) — that’s our motto.”
“There will be time to take off, it’s just not today because decisions are imminent.”
For now, fans can enjoy the Golden Age of Georgia Football that they are living in. They can worry about next year later.