The final week of college football’s regular season, also known as “rivalry week,” is always one of the most anticipated weeks of the season. Teams often participate in hate-filled games that may have no repercussions until next year other than bragging rights. This is a week of games like The Iron Bowl, The Game, and other iconic pairings to delight fans and gamers alike.
“Clean, Old Fashioned Hate,” the game between Georgia and Georgia Tech, was once on this list of the most heated rivalries. However, this game has been losing its luster for many years.
Georgia owns that series 69-39 but has utterly dominated in recent years. The Bulldogs have won 24 of their last 30 games and haven’t lost more than 1 point since 2000. In the Kirby Smart era, UGA is 4-1 and has won their matchups by averaging 36 points.
But wins and losses don’t always determine the quality of a rivalry. For example, Alabama is 10-5 in its last 15 matchups against Auburn, and Ohio State has won 17 of its last 20 matchups against Michigan. But both of these matchups are considered by many to be the best rivalries in college football.
So why is Georgia vs. Georgia Tech so boring? What made it so great once? And will there ever be a top-flight college football rivalry, or are the best days of that rivalry looking back? Before that, let’s talk about what once made this rivalry so fun.
The beginning
After the two teams played their first game in 1893, Georgia Tech claimed that Georgia fans harassed and in some cases even attacked Tech fans after a 28–6 Yellow Jacket win. This prompted Tech to create their fight song “Ramblin’ Wreck”. Which gave UGA and their fan base a sting. Thus was born the domestic rivalry.
Oh if I had a daughter sir I would dress her in white and gold
And put them on campus, sir, to cheer on the brave and bold
And if I had a son, sir, I would tell you what he would do
He would scream “To Hell With Georgia” like his daddy used to do
Both teams were originally members of the SEC and fought as conference contenders for years. During her time with the SEC, Tech managed to win 5 conference titles, including a national title in 1952.
revival of the rivalry
While the two teams struggled at the same conference for years, Georgia Tech left the SEC in 1964 over concerns about recruiting fairness. A move that seems almost unthinkable in today’s college football era. Both teams still met annually, but it was evident that the rivalry had lost some of its zest. But then, just a few years after she left. Tech made an attempt to rejoin the SEC and was rejected. Although it cannot be confirmed, Georgia Tech claims that their re-entry was sabotaged by UGA. This ignited the hatred the two teams harbored for one another, and the rivalry lived on for years afterwards.
The turning point
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At the turn of the century, Georgia hired head coach Mark Richt to improve an average Georgia program. Richt helped the Bulldogs become a consistent top-25 team, winning 13 of 15 matchups against the Yellow Jackets during his time with Georgia.
As the Georgia program progressed, the Georgia Tech program began to slide into mediocrity. Georgia Tech has only twice won 10 or more games in a season since 2000 and will hire their 5th head coach during this offseason.
Why it means less now
After reading Georgia and Georgia Tech’s annual NCAA financial statements, we realized that just in the past year, Georgia spent nearly $37 million on Georgia Tech in athletics, and we don’t even need to look at the recruiting numbers. But that gap has been widening for years and will most likely widen even further as the SEC becomes college football’s “superconference.”
So it’s obvious that these two teams aren’t at the same level as they used to be and the rivalry has suffered badly as a result. By spending more, recruiting, and performing better than Tech in virtually every single facet of the game, Georgia has pushed itself to a level Georgia Tech can’t match.
However, the primary component of weakness in this rivalry is not a team’s finances or success. It’s something that is immeasurable and frankly much more concerning. Apathy. Georgia Tech fans just don’t seem to care about losing to Georgia anymore. Their average attendance, university budget and general attitude towards their program show it. Georgia Tech football has all but fancied and conceited to the University of Georgia that they are in fact ‘little brother’ and has shown they have no burning desire to change that.
Conclusion
Rivalries are fueled by hate. For a rivalry to thrive, there must be some form of contempt for the opponent. Whether it’s inconsequential fight songs to stop your opponent from (supposedly) re-entering your conference, or even tight, high-impact matchups. “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” has been missing those elements for years and honestly, they most likely won’t be returning any time soon. It may be too late to rekindle the emotions that once made this rivalry so hateful. Even if Georgia Tech pulls off a miracle this Saturday and adds a small spark to the Bulldog fans’ hatred of the Yellow Jackets, I’m afraid it won’t be enough to matter in the long run. As the gulf between these two programs widens every year, it seems that the best days of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate are behind us.
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