By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Georgia football fans would have given just about anything for the kind of success we’re enjoying today.

Georgia fans dreamed of national championships, hoped for SEC titles, and celebrated 10-win seasons like we’d just won the lottery.

These days? UGA wins a game by two touchdowns and fans spend the next three days complaining about the offensive line.

Somewhere along the way, Georgia fans have become spoiled rotten. And I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably one of them.

It’s amazing what a couple of national championships and nearly a decade of Kirby Smart will do to a fan base.

Think about it. Before Kirby arrived in Athens, Georgia was a good football program. Sometimes a very good program.

Mark Richt gave us plenty of memorable seasons, some terrific players, and a couple of SEC championships. But there was always that nagging feeling that Georgia couldn’t quite get over the hump.

We watched Alabama collect national championships like they were frequent flyer miles. We watched Florida enjoy its moments of glory. We even had to endure Auburn winning a national championship, which is something no Georgia fan should ever have to experience.

And through it all, we kept saying the same thing. Just give us one national championship. Just one, and we’ll be happy.

Well, Kirby gave us one in 2021. Then he turned around and gave us another in 2022.

And apparently, that wasn’t enough.

Now, if Georgia doesn’t win by three touchdowns, somebody wants to know what’s wrong with the offense. If the defense gives up a couple of big plays, we’re wondering whether the coordinator knows what he’s doing.

And heaven forbid we actually lose a football game. You’d think somebody had canceled Christmas.

The truth is, Kirby Smart has created a monster. Not necessarily on the football field, although opposing coaches might disagree, but in the stands and living rooms of Bulldog Nation.

He’s made winning so routine that we’ve almost forgotten how difficult it really is.

There are more than 130 teams playing major college football, and practically every one of them would love to have Georgia’s problems.

We’re complaining about whether our team looks impressive enough while other fan bases are just hoping to become bowl eligible. That’s a pretty good problem to have.

And let’s not forget that college football has changed dramatically. The transfer portal, NIL money, revenue sharing, and constant roster turnover have made maintaining a championship-caliber program harder than ever. Coaches aren’t just recruiting high school players anymore. They’re practically rebuilding their rosters every offseason.

Yet somehow, we still expect Georgia to line up every Saturday, dominate from the opening kickoff, and win comfortably enough that we can relax before halftime.

I remember when beating Florida was enough to make an entire season feel worthwhile; when winning the SEC East was a major accomplishment; when we spent the offseason convincing ourselves that next year might finally be the year.

Now we’re disappointed if Georgia isn’t in the national championship conversation by October. Don’t misunderstand me. High expectations are a good thing.

Kirby didn’t build this program so we could be satisfied with mediocrity. Georgia should compete for championships, and fans have every right to expect excellence.

But maybe we ought to enjoy the ride a little more. Because one day, Kirby Smart won’t be standing on that sideline. One day, this incredible run will end.

And when it does, I suspect we’ll look back and wonder why we spent so much time complaining about the occasional ugly win instead of appreciating just how special these years really were.

So, the next time Georgia wins a game that wasn’t quite as pretty as we’d hoped, maybe we should resist the urge to criticize every missed block, dropped pass, or questionable play call.

Maybe we should just smile, enjoy the victory, and remember how badly we once wanted to be exactly where we are today.

Of course, if we lose to Florida this weekend, forget everything I just said.