What Have You Done For Me Tomorrow

It was as predictable as it was discouraging. Celebratory cigar smoke hadn’t even cleared the Georgia locker room after the Bulldogs’ vivisection of TCU Monday night when the headlines and stories started dropping. “Historic three-peat now in sight for Georgia as returning stars focus on avoiding entitlement entering 2023” – CBSSports.com “Why You Shouldn’t Bet Against a Georgia Three-Peat Next Year” – Fox Sports “Can the Bulldogs Three-Peat as National Champions in 2023?” – Athlon Sports “Why the Bulldogs are primed to three-peat” – Los Angeles Times. 

Granted, the game deserved little journalism detail, since it was non-competitive after about an hour of real time. But Jesus H. on rollerblades, can we not permit the Bulldogs to enjoy themselves for even a day before kicking down the door of “what’s next?” and “can you do it again?” 

The answer, of course, is no. Must feed the beast, the beast in this case being journalism and its reflexive scramble to supposedly get out in front of a story. And since the story of the national championship game was toe-tagged at halftime, a legion of keyboards and microphones sprinted for the future. 

I was part of that ecosystem for roughly 35 years, so I get it. I was guilty of it at times, but overall did my best to steer clear of that kind of reporting, since it isn’t actual reporting. More like a magic 8-ball with depth charts. Reporters and editors defend predictive pieces and look-aheads as supplemental to the here-and-now, and what eyes and ears want. Unspoken is that they also don’t want to be the 18th outlet to mention it, because timeliness, or something like that. 

I’d argue that the Rush to the Unknown is unimaginative and, in cases of notable accomplishment, rather tone-deaf. It's human nature to ponder what’s next, and it’s likely accelerated by a microwave society that’s given us the attention span of German shepherds. Sports and sports fans, however, seem more susceptible to the dynamic. 

When folks are wrapping up a wedding reception, nobody says, ‘This was a great bash, but how are we going to top it for Thanksgiving?’ Immediately after it was unveiled, Chisel magazine didn’t say, ‘La Pieta is a dandy chunk of marble, Mickey, but what do you have for us next?’ Inventors Illustrated didn’t say, ‘Sure, Tommy Eds produced the telegraph, light bulb and phonograph, but if that’s all, did he underachieve?’ Does a supervisor say, ‘Bill, you set records in sales last year and were terrific with clients and customer engagement. Let’s ratchet that up by 15 percent this year.’ (Wait, scratch that. That’s precisely how American business works.) 

The inability to allow an accomplishment a decent shelf life is joined by its equally annoying cousin: ‘Yeah, but can he or she do it at the next level?’ The current chew toy in that exercise is Georgia QB Stetson Bennett. Sure, he made history by winning back-to-back Nattys, but what kind of NFL prospect is he? Can he throw the deep ‘out?’ Can he play in the League? 

The correct answer is: It doesn’t much matter right now, if ever. Pro scouts and biologists will start poking and prodding soon enough and determine his value, but if he never plays a meaningful snap for a paycheck (I’d wager that he will), it wouldn’t and shouldn’t diminish what he’s already done. Bennett and a slew of achievers barely have time for a good soak before somebody wants to drain the tub and say, ‘Towel off and juggle these hatchets.’ 

Several pieces already have Georgia as the betting favorite for the 2023 national title, owing to returning players and a favorable schedule. One piece postulated that the Dawgs would be 10-0 heading to Knoxville for a Nov. 18 date against Tennessee for the SEC East title, an interesting bit of cart and horse placement that begs the question: if they’re 9-1 or egads 8-2 heading into that game, will that be a disappointment? 

The answer, unfortunately for some, will be yes. 

That championship was sooooo 10 months ago. The one before that was almost two whole years ago. Who can remember back that far? Fans certainly can be unreasonable. Some media hate having their narratives upended, even if they know objectively that sports predictions, particularly for entire seasons, are a yard full of garden rakes at dusk. There’s no reason to expect change. Shots will fall and fail, passes caught and dropped, folks right and wrong about what happened and what’s gonna happen. 

Everyone back to their respective barstools and chatrooms. Those arguments won’t kindle themselves.