Redemption is S ● W ● E ● E ● T

As a senior at UGA, 2 out of 4 of my Georgia-Tennessee games have been some of the worst memories of my UGA student football experience. My freshman year, we barely beat Tennessee with the score being 35-32, even though Sanford Stadium was packed and Todd Gurley was in the prime of his collegiate career. The two years that followed screamed heartbreak and disappointment for UGA fans. This past weekend in Neyland Stadium was a complete redemption for me, the UGA community, and most importantly Nick Chubb.
Nick Chubb came to UGA as a 4-star football prospect and through hard-work, was eventually thrust into the limelight as a true freshman starter when Gurley had to be pulled out of his junior season for NCAA violations regarding merchandise. Chubb continued to have an amazing freshman year season. When his sophomore year rolled around, he was UGA's number one running back and arguably one of the best contenders for the Heisman Trophy.
That all came to a jarring halt when in October of 2015, UGA fans and players travelled to Neyland Stadium looking for a win and instead found themselves short a running back. There wasn't anything dirty about how he was tackled, so this isn't me blaming the Tennessee player who stopped Chubb. It was just such a disheartening and scary moment for anyone who witnessed or even viewed it later. Below is footage of Chubb's season-ending injury from multiple angles, so if you're not a fan of seeing someone's leg bend the wrong way, I'd highly suggest you not watching this short clip.

I remember watching Chubb fall to the ground and knew that a dark cloud had settled over Athens, GA in that moment. Throughout the past two seasons, we'd been inspired by his pure football talent, humility, and the poise with which he held himself accountable for on the football field and also in life. He was an inspiration to so many, including myself, because sitting in Sanford, watching Chubb play football in such an honest manner, reminded me of why I respect and love the game.

After a tight game in 2015 with the final score of 31-38, the football team was ready to take on UT at Sanford Stadium in 2016 and bring some sort of reclamation to the UGA football name. We were doing well under our new leadership of Kirby Smart in his inaugural season with the Dawgs and with Jacob Eason running our offense. Throughout the entire game, we were back and forth with our score against Tennessee and in the last few seconds, we somehow managed to let UT score with a Hail Mary and walk away with a 34-31 score.

This was a game we should have dominated. We should have blown Tennessee away all the way back to Knoxville. 
Chubb didn't get the dub or even some sort of validation for the UGA-UT game from his awful knee injury. But that was then and this is now.

If you're like me and didn't make the trek out to Neyland Stadium this past weekend, I hope you got to watch Chubb and the rest of the team completely demolish UT in a good ole' blowout game this past weekend! Needless to say, the Dawgs ran circles around the Vols and maybe it was due to Chubb's inspirational words to the team beforehand or maybe it's because we're finally having a great season with reason to consistently celebrate. Either way, #Chubbgotthedub
There couldn't have been a sweeter redemption than shutting out Tennessee, dressed in their tacky orange outfits, for the biggest blowout Neyland Stadium had seen since 1905 when they lost 45-0. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings for the Dawgs and I'm sure as heck ready to see them kick some Dore butt next weekend (last year's Vanderbilt game is a whole other story.)
Grit from Georgia Football on Vimeo.
Go Dawgs! Beat Vandy!

Comments

  1. I understand your frustration from last season and surmise the same may follow for many opponents this UGA team faces this season. However, in regards to your post specifically, I must admit defeating TN may be the sweetest taste of revenge this season for the program after last year's loss. Cool post, even though I am not a UGA fan.

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  2. I really like this post because of the incorporation of pictures and videos throughout. It made it easier to flow through quickly. Similarly to you, I am a Georgia fan and could not contain my excitement last weekend. I am really looking forward to watching the Dawgs this weekend in Nashville and hoping we can make it to the SEC championship. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. This post is awesome for 2 reasons! 1, I am a huge dawg fan and could read recap articles about this game all day long! 2, I agree with Allie that you did a great job incorporating images into this post; it really drew me in even more. I got to travel to Knoxville this weekend and I must admit the fans were incredibly rude. It was a fantastic feeling walking out of Neyland stadium with such a huge win, and seeing the team celebrate Chubb after his big plays was something I'll remember forever! Go dawgs!

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  4. I enjoyed reading this! It is so cool to remember all the games and seasons that we have been through during our four years at UGA. I also enjoyed the graphics that you included.

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  5. It is so exciting to be a senior and getting to experience the football team at it's best! I remember the old Tennessee games vividly and both were horrible to watch. I wish I could have gone to the game to see it. I hope we can keep this momentum going for the rest of the season. I would love to finish up my last season the same way we have been playing!

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  6. This post is awesome! I think it is so great to be a senior (I am a senior also) and to be able to experience seeing the football team at its best! I also love that your blog mentions the years before and how hard it took to get where we are today. I think Nick Chubb sets an example on never giving up because of how far he has come since his injury. This season is a season nobody will forget. Go Dawgs!

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  7. I loved your use of pictures and tweets throughout this post. Watching our boys whoop on Tennessee this weekend was SO sweet. I feel that this is our year, and I hope it turns out to be as this is my last football season as an undergrad at this fine institution. 5-0 and the number five team in the country? Go DAWGS!

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  8. I loved your post! Last year's game against Tennessee was a hard pill to swallow so I can relate to the feeling of accomplishment this weekend brought. The tweets and media you used were great additions to share your opinion. It's an awesome feeling getting to have such a great season our senior year, I don't think we will ever forget the feelings we have after these wins. Let's just keep our fingers crossed we can keep it up!

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  9. AS a UGA student who hails from Chattanooga, TN, the outcome of this game could not have made me happier. There are strict differences in the way that two of my friend groups (those who attend UTK, and those who attend UGA) reacted to the outcome of the game this year versus the one last year. Last year, UGA lost and while sad, we rallied and took the "W" this year. The difference that I saw was in the attitude of the winners. For two Weeks post last year's game, my UTK friends paraded around bragging about their win. On top of that, they glorified the injury of beloved player, Nick Chubb, by creating and sending me the GIF whenever the conversation left an opening for it. This year, We celebrated our win as any team would, but UGA has moved on, focusing on the next game.

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  10. This is amazing! I can remember exactly where I was standing during that heartbreaking finish of the game last year. This year, things were much different. I sat back and enjoyed every single one of those touchdowns.

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  11. It must have been tough for Chubb to go back to that awful place and have to play them again. I thought for sure when he got hurt that he would forego his Senior season and just get to the NFL while he was healthy. But he took a big risk coming back and going to play against Tennessee at Neyland again. This made me realize that we are very lucky to get someone as good as Chubb to stay for his four years in Athens. Especially with all of the bad things going on in the NCAA, this could be something that we never see again. A Heisman hopeful that stays all four years even after his awful injury. Thank You Nick Chubb!!!

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  12. After such an exciting game, I loved getting to read your blog taking a trip down memory lane. The emotions of last year were completely shut out by this amazing blow out of a game. I like how you give examples of clever tweets that have been used to describe the rivalry. It is interesting to see social media being used in sporting events. I don't follow many other teams than Georgia, so often times I get information about crazy games from things like twitter or "memes" on Instagram. Go Dawgs and beat Vandy!

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  13. this post was so cool! definitely reminded me of the pain that went along with losing so badly the past few years to tennessee - but i think that's what made thi win even sweeter. i also loved the tweets you added in your post!!

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  14. Such a good win, I was at the game and it gave me so much joy knowing the only satisfaction Tennessee fans got out of that game was witnessing Peyton Manning receive an award for his achievements in the 90s. The 102,000 crowd slowly emptied out as we asserted our domination, what a good year this had been so far I'm excited to see whats to come.

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  15. As sad as it's been, we've seen Georgia football at it's best and absolute worst (especially when it comes to Tennessee), but this past weekend has definitely taken care of the hurt that has been lingering for two years now. I loved the way you laid out the recent history of this rivalry and why it has meant so much to us seniors here at UGA. Even non-students or really non-UGA or UT fans can understand and relate to this rivalry by the way you have laid out the facts and provides images and video. Certainly biased, but great article and love the win. Go Dawgs!

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  16. I still get chills thinking about the game where Chubb was injured. I loved this post and completely agree redemption is so sweet and love all the social media post around it. I died laughing when someone changed the wiki page to say UGA Was now the owner of the Tennessee stadium. I love UGA and how we are so supportive team on and off digital platforms and hope we continue with this amazing season.

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  17. I loveedddddd this!!! This weekend absolutely suckeddd for me besides UGA kicking some Vols booty! I remember last year leaving the game early because my phone was dead and my roommate was arguing with her boyfriend and my boyfriend was up Baxter tailgating so I left to watch the rest of the game up there in peace with a charged phone. My favorite thing about this post was probably the part where UGA is the new owner. I commented out loud and laughed and everyone starting looking at me here in the MLC. OOps! Great job!

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  18. Wow, such a good post! I made the trek to Knoxville for the game and I've never been so happy around so many Tennessee fans. I will never forget the game last year when Tennessee won with no seconds left. It was devastating and so surprising. Being one of the many Georgia fans in Knoxville was so fun, and definitely well deserved after last years game.

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  19. Hard not to love everything about this post! It's been so fun experiencing what it actually feel like to be cheering for a winning team. Not to mention beating the team that was the source of one of our most painful losses last year. I also love the visuals you included and the overall style and design of your blog. Great job!

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  20. I remember when Chubb was hurt at the Tennessee game, I think it was the biggest slap in the face to UGA fans. This past win was a great day for UGA and it's fans. It's funny that their wiki page says UGA is the new owner.

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  21. All the feels. So glad that our senior season has already brought so much redemption, and I hope that we'll just keep on rolling. I forget how funny people get on the internet surrounding these situations. It either makes the feeling so much sweeter (lol we definitely owned Tennessee) or breaks your heart all over again (the Miss Universe meme). Either way, it's evident that college football permeates the world of social media on game day, and you just have to hope that your team isn't the butt of the joke.

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  22. Love this post! Seriously, GO DAWGS! It is crazy too how social media gets such a buzz when there is a big win like this. Overall great article I love how you incorporated sports into marketing. I really feel like this year in GA Football is going to be AMAZING!

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  23. This post was so much fun to read. First and foremost, I am a huge Georgia football fan and love reading any positive articles about our team. I really enjoyed this read because you talked about how sports and marketing really do intersect in many ways. I am also a senior and LOVE that we are still undefeated. I do agree that the social media buzz is much bigger than last year because we are playing so much better. Overall, loved reading this!! Go dawgs!

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  24. AS a big Georgia Football fan, I really enjoyed reading this article and I think Nick Chubb's redemption in Neyland was as special of a moment for him and his family as well as Georgia fans across the country. Tennessee is always a team I hate to play because of the last second plays and lists of long injuries, but it felt damn good to beat them 41-0 in front of their stupid checkered bleachers. #godawgs #keepchopping

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  25. I loved this blog post because i share a lot of your same feelings. Last year was probably the worst gameday ever, but it was so nice to see us win this year! I didn't realize how big of a deal this game was until i came to uga and now its one of the most important ones to me. I loved the memes and trolls that resulted from the game. equally entertaining and hilarious.

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  26. I love the emotions you have behind your writing. Last year we left the game early think UGA was going to win and we watched in disbelief at the comeback. Then in the last few seconds our cable cut out and we didn't see the hail mary throw. We found out what happened through some nasty text messages from our Tennessee friends. So glad we did so well this year.

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  27. This post was so fun to read because like many others, I totally get what you're feeling. I love that you highlighted different tweets, and I especially loved the pageant meme - it's so relatable. Social media enhances entertainment, and I couldn't imagine the days without a live twitter feed during a great game. Go Dawgs!

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  28. I love this entire article. It was so much fun to read and I loved the pictures and tweets you included, even the screenshot of their stadium being "owned" by UGA haha! I'm so glad to be able to witness such an amazing season my senior year. I loved your take on sports marketing as I thought that was something I wanted to do for years. Loved this!!

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