Mark Richt & the Conundrum of the Christian Bulldog Fan

145-51.  That's Mark Richt's wins and losses, and I was there for all 51 of those losses.  In the stadium, making the death march to the truck afterward.  From the inexplicable red zone misses against South Carolina in '01 to the walk down Duval St. in Jacksonville this past Halloween night.  And the last one felt different.  I've missed 9 games that Mark Richt coached my beloved Bulldogs, but I was there for every loss (maybe it's my fault -- we always won when I missed!).  What a ride it was these last 15 years.  The Hobnail Boot in '01 and the run to an SEC title that followed a year later, finally clinching the division with the miracle on the Plains.  Finally defeating Florida in '04 and DJ's title in '05.  The miracle finish in the arm of a young Stafford in '06 and the Celebration in '07 in Jacksonville that lit the team on fire for the rest of the season.  Running this state in '09 and winning 10 striaght in '11.  The magical season in '12 including winning the toughest game I've ever seen us win at the Cocktail Party vs. the #2 Gators.  The '13 victory over LSU with Sanford as electric as I've ever seen it and the emergence of this kid from Cedartown in '14.

I saw brutal losses, too.  I don't care to mention them.  I'm trying to forget!  I always believed, though, that we'd be alright.  I gotta admit -- Halloween felt different.

Maybe I see this differently because I'm an old dawg.  I saw Herschel play his last game in Athens in '82, and I remember hearing that Coach Dooley had retired.  I was glued to the TV watching him coach us for the final time in the Gator Bowl.  I remember hearing on ESPN that Goff had been fired in '95 (even though I worked for the team then).  I remember learning that Donnan was out in 2000.  I remember the feeling walking out of Everbank Field in Jacksonville and thinking that this felt different than the previous 50 losses.  I thought I might have just witnessed the end.  I was born into Red and Black and I'll be buried in it.  And it won't much matter who the coach is -- I'll be cheering for him to win.

I want to say something to the Bulldog Nation:  take a deep breath.  I love Mark Richt.  If you don't love who he is and what he's done, well, you don't know much about people, life or football.  We won way more in the last 15 years than we lost, and way more than we had won in the previous 15.  But, Georgia Football is bigger than Mark Richt.  It's been around since 1892, and I've got pictures of Trippi and Sinkwich in my basement from the 1940s.  It'll be around after he's gone.

Mark Richt presents the Christian Bulldog fan with a conundrum.  He's a man of deep faith who truly lives it, which makes him all the more rootable.  We believe him when he says he loves a kid.  He shows it.  Any Christ Follower that is a Dawg fan wants to see him win.  Even opposing fans have to admit he's a great guy.  They even want to see him succeed when he's not playing their team.  He's molding young men, graduating players, running a clean program and impacting players even beyond graduation.  He has integrity and class.  It's about than football for him.  And it makes the Christian UGA fan proud because OUR program is about more than football.  No one wants to see a guy like that get fired.  I wanted to see him get one more year with a stellar recruiting class and a healthy Nick Chubb.  I thought he could win big next year.  But others thought otherwise, and a change was made.

I've seen comments today that of being "ashamed of my alma mater" or "we thought it was about more than football" and "looks like winning is all that matters."  Of course it's about more than football, but IT IS about football, mostly, right?  I mean, listen, I adore Mark Richt, but let's don't pretend he's the only coach impacting lives and molding young men.  Dabo Swinney is doing it.  Mark Dantonio is doing it.  David Shaw is doing it.  And they're winning big while doing it.  And there are plenty of other guys out there who can do it.  Listen, I don't think UGA will be hiring Bobby Petrino anytime soon.  That's not the Georgia Way.  I don't think this is about winning at all cost, but it is about winning more.  I'm all for winning more.  Now, that's a tall task, and we might just win less....but maybe not.  It's a gamble, a risk.  That's sports.

But you don't have to pick a side here.  Love Mark Richt.  Appreciate him, thank him.  He has loved UGA, and we have loved him.  Then love the next guy and cheer like crazy for him.  You're not changing the Athletic Department's mind because you're mad or disagree.  And you're not really making any friends by taking pleasure in the dismissal of such a fine man.  But I can tell you this:  I hope we go 15-0 next year. I hope we become the first team to have a coach win the national championship in his first year.  And if you bleed Red and Black, don't you hope the same?  Nick Chubb will be out there along with Terry Godwin, Dominick Sanders, Isaiah McKenzie and Sony Michel.  Lorenzo Carter and Trenton Thompson will be out there along with Jeb Blazevich. I think I'll cheer for them, no matter who their coach is -- because they chose to attend the school that I did, and I love them for it.

And when we shock the world, I hope Richt gets a little credit for helping build it.  Should he coach somewhere else, I'll be cheering hard for him because he's a great man who did so much while in Athens.  But there won't be a question who I'm pulling for if he ever plays us.  UGA made me a Mark Richt fan, not the other way around.

And can I close to say something?  We don't know what the next guy will do until we see him do it or not do it, so can we give him a chance to do it?  Kirby Smart might be the next Will Muschamp, but he might be the next Bob Stoops, who was also a DC who got his first head coaching job at Oklahoma.  Tom Herman might be the next Urban Meyer, but he might be the next Tommy Bowden.  We just don't know.  He might even be the next Mark Richt, and you could be called a lot worse.  None of us are happy about this.  A fine man lost his job.  Can we be sad and hopeful at the same time?  Yes.  You don't have to pick sides, Christian Dawg fans.  You can love Jesus, love Mark Richt, love UGA and cheer your guts out for the next guy, too.

Thanksgiving thankfulness

I hope you are gearing for a great Thanksgiving with friends and family.  I hope you'll be able to make it back for worship on Sunday as we'll continue "Pointing to a Promise" by talking about David.  We have a lot to learn about character from him.  You might even hear some Christmas songs!

Thought for the Week
"I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."  Psalm 69:30

I've made it a custom the last few years to make a list each Thanksgiving for the things for which I'm most thankful.  I'll surely leave a host of blessings out, but here's the ones that come to mind this day.

I'm thankful for...

• The blood of Jesus that covers over my multitude of sins.
• The grace of God that sustains me each and every day.
• My sweet wife, Emily.
• My four wild boys, Morgan, Tanner, Walker and Brooks.
• To still have my parents with me, because I know so many that don't.
• Parents and in-laws that support us so much
• Our brothers, sister-in-laws, nephews and niece.
• My church family.  What a gift to serve a risk-taking and outreach-focused community of faith.
• For not having Christmas Eve services in high school in a month.
• For new friends at Harmony Grove that we didn't know a 18-months ago.
• For the faithful who have bled and cried with me for any part of the last 10 years in planting a church.
• For safety.  In this day and age, every day is a gift.
• to Disney for bringing back Star Wars and giving me and my boys the chance to see one in the theater together.
• For Southern winters that don't really start until about mid-December and end quickly.
• For the sunshine...for a while there I thought it had disappeared.
• To the mentors that have poured their cups into mine.
• For the light at the end of the tunnel in my school work.
• For pastor friends to laugh, cry and celebrate with.
• For Jeremy Pruitt, Jake Ganus and Sony Michel.  It would have been a long fall without those three.
• For Mello Yello Zero and Coke Zero.  
• For Pop Tarts -- I love those things.
• For my health, notwithstanding the pop tarts.
• For the opportunity to talk College Football each week on WJBB 107.1 in Barrow County.  It's been a blast.
• For coffee.
• For sleeping in.
• For warm socks.  I'm really starting to appreciate good socks in my old age.
• For the chance to do life every day.
• And I'm thankful for you.  It's people that make this world great and people that have so blessed my life.

In Christ,

Carter