Conversion Therapy: BullFrawgs
Jon Nebus has been a friend of mine for about a week, dating from the instant I told him to "f### off." (In fairness, I did request that he do it "kindly").
I have long made it known I consider Twitter to be an "infernal site," not least on those sports pages in which fans congregate in all manners of trash-talking, one-upping, two-timing, three-speaking and verbal four-square.
So I was less than impressed when, out of the red, a tenacious member of the first group popped up on my timeline to point out that my "How To Watch" article, predicting TCU would be National Champions, didn't age well. It was then I offered him the imperative alluded to above.
Fortunately for both of us, he was little inclined to humor me. And over the course of shared barbs and measured wits, he mentioned I should interview him, and I said, "Okay. I'll interview you."
Within a matter of sentences we were fast friends.
I have read that many of our fellow Horned Frogs were most impressed with the politeness and good sportsmanship of those fans who watched their team bury us. Needless to say, I consider Jon a testament to the spirit and character of that school.
As for Jon, he is funny, inclined to self-deprecatory jokes. He is clearly a man of deep enthusiasms. I have found him both genial and more than willing to be helpful in the following interview, conducted by email.
"How long have you been a Bulldog fan?"
"I have been a Bulldog fan as long as I can remember. My grandparents met at the University of Georgia in the 50s, and it was something that got passed down. When discussing college football in Georgia, it honestly comes down to two teams: Georgia and Georgia Tech, and the two are like oil and water!"
"What made you so committed?"
"Family, for sure!!! I actually worked at GT during the football games when I was 13-14 years old, first as a “hawker” selling ice cream in the stands and eventually got a job doing “security” (very loosely put), taking tickets and standing on the sidelines at Bobby Dodd stadium, making sure people weren’t trying to come down onto the field and whatnot. I played football when I was probably 7 or 8 years old, but I’d be lying if I said it was a factor in my love for UGA. As I got older I started to get more interested because my dad loves college football. Period!!! I’m damn proud to be a Dawg!!!"
"What is your favorite aspect of Georgia's culture?"
"Commitment 100%!!! We support and represent our team wherever we go! We will travel in droves to see them play, and whether we win or lose, we will ALWAYS stand by our team!!"
"I see you have three kids. What are their names? Do you hope they go to Georgia?"
"We have three boys, Silas, who who’ll soon be turning 8, and 3-year-old twins Maddux and Porter. They’re what I would think most kids are, crazy and uncontrollable. Haha. They’re typical boys, getting into everything and stressing me the hell out! Silas has played most sports at this point and is currently playing basketball. Porter is Silas’ “mini me”, always copying and mimicking everything that Silas does. Maddux is unpredictable and unfortunately for me has one of those cute kid faces that nobody can say "no" to. I have the non-fun job of being the disciplinarian while my wife is the saint that all three turn to when they want anything! Haha.
If they were to decide to go to UGA I think that would be great, but I would be happier if they had the intellect and desire to go Georgia Tech! I’m a realist, and while I love Georgia football, I want my boys to succeed in whatever they choose to do. As long as they are good productive members of society (I know that sounds robotic) along with being kind and helpful to others, then I’ll consider myself having done an ok job as a parent."
"I see you have provided a photo of a lady I assume to be your wife. Did you go to school together?"
"My wife is who holds this family together. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth! We have been together now coming up on 17 years. We originally met at the Dogwood festival in Atlanta in 2006 while standing in a beer line. She was with a mutual friend that I hadn’t seen in number of years and we had some casual conversation. She didn’t want ANYTHING to do with me and made it obvious, but that didn’t deter me. I had just gotten out of the Navy a few months prior and after that first meeting we started frequently running into each other while hanging out with mutual friends. She was attending Kennesaw State University (KSU) at the time and one of the ways I figured I could impress her was to say I was planning on going to college myself. It worked!! Haha.
She graduated at the end of 2006 and I began in 2007, graduated in 2012."
"As an outsider, what is your opinion of TCU?"
"Growing up college football fan I have always been aware of TCU. I guess honestly put I’ve never had much of an opinion other than they have done respectably in their divisions throughout the years. I definitely have gained more respect for the program after watching what they accomplished this past season!"
"Would you be willing/open to being a TCU fan, if not fanatic?"
"This is a very slippery slope for me, especially because I’m very superstitious when it comes to Georgia football! Haha.
I have been asked many times who I cheer for between two teams playing when UGA isn’t one of them. Neither. I cheer for the one I want to see lose more. My answer has and will always remain the same. I don't cheer for ANY team other than Georgia! I'm very specific with the wording because I can enjoy watching another team win; I'm just not cheering for them to do so. It's an absolutely ridiculous thought process and I don't expect and frankly don't give a sh** for anyone else to understand that idea, but it's how I look at it. In regard to other college sports, there is definitely the possibility for me to be a TCU fan!! I give respect where respect is due, and TCU the school itself, along with its sports programs, have earned their due!"
"What's your opinion of Max Duggan?"
"I didn’t know much about Duggan before this season, but I can say that he has been a topic of conversation around my office quite a few times this year. I learned that he lost his starting position at the beginning of the season and then showed everyone why that was HIS job in the first place. After watching the Big 12 Championship and him single-handedly almost winning that game, straight collapsing in the end zone after scoring that touchdown--it’s almost impossible to not get behind him!! I became a fan of him after watching that game, without a doubt."
"Is there another team you would have preferred to meet at the National Championship?"
"That’s a good question and not one that I have actually taken any time to think about. I’m glad Alabama wasn’t there, and not for the fact that I would have been any more or less worried about it, but because it’s old!!! No, I’m happy we played TCU! I’m not answering this way because of you or who you write for; I believe they deserved to be there and earned it every step of the way! Last thing I’ll say, I was in my bathroom getting physically sick right before halftime because of my superstitiousness and was sure that Dykes was going to give some super inspirational speech to the guys for them to come out and change the dynamic of the game. True story!"
"What do you hope for Georgia's future as a Division 1 team?"
"A lot of people might have a tough time believing this next answer, at least the second part anyway. I would love to see UGA run the gauntlet one more time to complete the “dynasty”. I think they would be the second school in college football history to accomplish that feat. The tough part for many to believe is that that’s where I’d be ok to see someone else step up into the number one spot. We are back-to-back National Champions and already becoming the “new Alabama,” as far as hatred goes. I don’t want to be hated, and I also understand how the majority of people feel seeing the same team play in a championship year in and year out. It gets old! I of course don’t want to go on some extended loosing streak, but seeing a new hardworking team overcome a hurdle where others have failed is always awesome to see!"
"Same question but for TCU."
"I would like to see Sonny Dykes continue on the path that he is on and to make TCU a household name in regards to college football! I’ve heard a few people say that the blowout loss to UGA in the national championship negated TCU’s whole season. That’s a pretty damn ignorant way to think, in my opinion, and I would absolutely love to see them shut the naysayers up and prove the big “talking heads” of college football wrong! Too many people underestimate these college football programs that aren’t considered “top schools” or “elite”, just to watch a somewhat “no name” school come out of the woodwork and prove themselves!"
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