Can't We All Just Get Along?

I was just sitting here at Butts-Mehre chatting with another one of the writers and said the following:

"You know, I don't care whether Georgia wins or loses, but even I'm just overwhelmed by all the negativity at this point. It's just smothering."

Then I click over through my email less than a minute later and get this comment (not surprisingly, posted anonymously):

"David - you are such a 'glass half-empty' guy. Negativity drips from every word you write lately. Why don't you spend some time looking at positives? This blog has been reduced to a vent session, with you providing the fodder, and countless pissed Dawgs calling for the firing of the greatest coach we've ever had."

Two things:

1.) Please CLICK HERE. That was posted four days ago. Or CLICK HERE. That was posted over the summer.

2.) Your team just got blown out by a previously winless team in the SEC coached by the youngest (and at times, most obnoxious) coach in the SEC.

What am I supposed to write about?

My job is to be objective and analytical. At no point during this season or last have I called for a coach to be fired. In fact, I have routinely defended a number of them, including as recently as two weeks ago when I posted about the strong adjustments the stats seem to indicate Willie Martinez makes during the games. I have defended Joe Cox to the point of being called "too close to the program to be objective."

I know I'm probably speaking to the minority of people who read this blog, because the vast majority are pretty even-keeled people with a semblance of perspective, but I think there's also a fair number of folks who could take a valuable lesson from Mark Richt.

When the fervor for knee-jerk reactions and over-the-top statements is at its zenith, that's the best time for you to take a step back and regain some composure.

All is not well in Athens right now. All is not lost either. But blindly assuming players need to be benched or coaches need to be fired is silly. Blindly assuming we should ignore the problems is silly, too.

Last month, this blog had more page views by a long shot than it ever had before. That's a sign of the passion of Georgia fans (and, I hope, that I'm doing something right with the content). But as more and more passionate fans visit, and more and more of them comment, there's bound to be some negative things said, some things written that I don't agree with or that you don't agree with. The beauty of the Internet is that it is the ultimate form of free speech.

But please believe me when I tell you -- we all want the same thing here. You want information and analysis of your team, and I want to provide it for you. I have no agenda. I'm not trying to get a coach fired or keep a player in the starting lineup when he doesn't belong. I'm simply passing along the best information I can to you. At the same time, I'll pass along any other information I see that is relevant that another journalist has found.

My job is to keep you informed. If you don't like the information, you're welcome to read something else.

Your job is to remain as passionate about your team as ever. If you want to comment and share your thoughts, I welcome that, and I assure you, I read every one of them.

But please remember, we're not enemies here. We're all on the same side. I want you to be informed and passionate fans. You want to be passionate about your team. The coaches and players are all working hard, despite what the final results may show, to ensure your passion is repaid.

Everything else is simply fodder for debate, but not an excuse to be ignorant.

ADDENDUM: I didn't mean to fish for compliments with this post, although I certainly do appreciate the kind words. I simply meant it as a reminder that, for the sake of all of our mental health, maybe put down the pitchforks a bit and let's try to be a little more rational in our analysis and a little more focused in our passion. One of the things I've truly enjoyed about this blog is that the vast majority of comments have fit under the umbrella of common sense. That gets harder to do in times like this, but I'd like to think we can all make it happen.