Georgia football fans need to relax, let it breathe, and let Jake Fromm go

The Georgia football fanbase was given the equivalent of a punch-in-the-gut today when Jake Fromm announced his intention to abandon the Bulldog Nation in favor of a lucrative NFL career.

Hey there…I’m talking to you…Georgia football fans. You okay? Need some smelling salts, some Bromo-seltzer, or maybe just a tall cold White Claw?

Put down the hari-kari sword, stop writing out your last will and testament and take a few minutes. Things will be fine.

Well, sort of. In time, anyway.

For those who live outside the boundaries of Georgia’s Classic City, the Georgia Bulldog faithful were rocked today by the news that starting quarterback Jake Fromm wasn’t as naive as many of them figured him to be when he announced he was forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.

The babyfaced, homegrown Bulldog star callously ambushed fans with a tweet of farewell (or at least that’s the story you hear from many Dawg fans).

You’d think Georgia fans would be used to bad news and disappointment by now, but the reaction from the Bulldog Nation ranged from tears, to open weeping, to tears combined with snot bubbles upon hearing the news that their beloved quarterback wasn’t returning.

Ok, to be fair, there were a good number of Georgia fans who simply wished Fromm the best, and a handful of pot-stirrers who tweeted their own version of “don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out”.

Most of the more tempered reactions came from casual fans who have no attachment to the sacred hedges, the arch or memories of 1980.

“Someone will give me a millionbillion dollars for leaving college a year early. How is this even a thing that people debate?” said my friend John from New Jersey.

Good question, John. How is this even a thing that’s up for debate? Why do fans even tinker with the idea that these players will show more loyalty to an institution that doesn’t pay them for stepping into harm’s way than to their own (and their family’s) well-being?

Stop with the “free education” justification. Players who are leaving school early to enter the NFL Draft don’t give a hoot about that free education. College is a football vocational school for most of them. In the case of guys like Jake Fromm, it’s a chance to see if they can beat the odds and make a few bucks on the way to their broadcasting career.

But back to the subject at hand – the devastation of the Georgia football program and how Jake Fromm is leaving Athens in a shambles.

Hogwash.

Given Kirby Smart‘s recruiting record along with all the talent already present in Athens, the Bulldogs will be just fine. Oh, they may not reach that ultimate dream of a national championship in 2020. In fact, they may fall a loss or two further behind than they did this year. But the cycle will turn and churn, and Georgia will be sitting pretty once again before long.

Hey, Dawg fans. If you can survive Aaron Murray leaving you with (gulp) Hutson Mason and (cough) Greyson Lambert for a couple of years, you can survive whatever transfer quarterback will be under center next season while freshman Carson Beck holds the clipboard for a season.

So relax, Bulldog Nation. Let it breathe. Let Jake Fromm go. He’s earned his stripes. Sip that fermented seltzer, adjust your khakis, and rewatch the 1981 Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. Things will look better in September, we promise.

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