Internet Exists. Georgia Fans Respond Predictably.

I don't read sports blogs and I graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
It's days like today that make me celebrate both of those facts.

I don't read sports blogs. I do, however, dabble with social media, which occasionally leads me to some of the less palatable corners of the Internet. It being Hate Week, I saw a number of mentions and re-posts of this gem of an article about Georgia Tech fans responding to Aaron Murray's season-ending injury against Kentucky. By now you may have gathered that I made the mistake of reading this inflammatory excuse for a blog post and, although I can't in good conscience recommend that you do the same, I admit that it would help to put the rest of what I have to say in context.

As previously noted, I don't read sports blogs. Maybe the fine folks at DawgSports are new to the Internet. I wouldn't know. Perhaps this is the first time they've ever booted up the ol' desktop computer and experimented with these magical "hyperlinks". I'd love to believe that was the case. It would make this easier. We could write them off as misinformed rather than willfully misleading. Deluded rather than deceptive. Yet even a cursory glance at their site shows tens, if not dozens, of hyperlinks! Clear proof of a high level of proficiency with the Internet! They should know better. They do know better. Shame on them for stooping to the level of the people they attempted to vilify.

If the point of the article was just that human beings should not rejoice when other human beings become injured, then... duh. Let's not pretend that's revolutionary. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone to disagree with you who's not hiding behind the anonymity of a username. Aaron Murray seems like a good guy, and even if he weren't, no sane person would wish him harm. It would be a fairly worthless basis for an article due to how painfully obvious it is, but at least it would be accurate.

Worthless, but accurate.

If the point of the article was just that crazy people say crazy things on the Internet, then... double duh. Go read the comments on literally any YouTube video if you need a quick refresher. But they don't need a refresher! They're Internet people; the Internet is their home. They're all too familiar with the drivel that's posted on message boards and blog comments every day. So once again, that would be a weak foundation for a post, but at least it would be true.

Weak, but true.

But that's not the point of the article and accuracy and truth play no part in it (one of the reasons I don't read sports blogs). The clear point is that this is just what Georgia Tech fans do. That this is who we are. And that's where they crossed the line, as surely as any one of those crazy StingTalk message board posters. An obvious fringe element was presented as the norm in an attempt to disparage an entire fanbase. What's that? No, including two posts from Tech fans who are decent human beings and mentioning somewhere down in the comments that you were really just attacking the few bad eggs doesn't magically transform the overarching theme of your article. It doesn't erase the repeated and hackneyed generalizations of our fans as "worthless" people. And the multitude of anecdotal comments about how you hate to say it, but in your experience that's how most Tech people are, sure doesn't help support your position either. Frankly, to suggest that the article was not an attack on Georgia Tech as a whole is laughable.

Then again, so was the entire post. Bet it drove some page-clicks though, huh?

You claim that you just haven't seen Georgia fans act that way. Really? Remember that this is the fanbase that egged the very same Aaron Murray's house after a loss to South Carolina. You have fans that treat your own QB like that, but can't imagine that you have fans that treat your rival much worse? Maybe it's just willful ignorance on your part, but here's a couple of examples that took under 5 minutes to find.

Article about GT QB Josh Nesbitt's Season-Ending Injury in 2010:

Article about Aaron Murray's Injury:

I assume that you would be okay with a sweeping generalization being made about Georgia fans based on this limited selection of information? We could also throw in some cute anecdotal evidence about some really mean Georgia fans who hurt our feelings that one time to add some perceived validity. Or mention how 80,000 Georgia fans (not 6 Internet usernames) got so intensely excited every time Alec Ogletree choke slammed a Georgia Tech player onto his head or neck in last year's game. Where was the concern for player safety then? The biggest cheers in Sanford Stadium didn't come after big defensive stops or even after touchdowns. They came after hits that left an opposing player lying injured on the ground. You love to call yourself the "big brother" in the rivalry, which is true if you're talking about Macaulay Culkin's character in The Good Son.

Full Disclosure: I grew up a Georgia fan in a Georgia household. Both my parents and my sister graduated from Georgia and my brother is there now. I only went to Tech because they had the major I wanted to pursue, but it ended up being one of the greatest decisions I've ever made and now I'll be a loyal Tech grad 'til I die. Because of this, I know better than to lump all fans of either school into one group based on the postings of a sick minority. Maybe DawgSports doesn't. (They should). I've interacted with loyal, respectful Georgia fans and Georgia fans who use the words "asshat" and "butthurt" when they write articles. Maybe DawgSports has only interacted with the Tech versions of themselves. Either way, no one should take their article for anything other than a desperate attempt to generate page views. Any true Tech fan is pulling for Aaron Murray to recover quickly, even if we are relieved that we don't have to play against him. If you're so in need for ammunition this week that you have to use that DawgSports article, then you're not doing Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate right.

And remember, you should always treat trolls like Jimmy Kimmel does.
Laugh at them.

- Matthew Beaver

mbeaver6@gmail.com
@mbeaver6