I'm guessing that most of this site's readers won't really appreciate what I'm about to tell you, but I need to give you a little bit of context, so here it is:
I was born a little over a month before the beginning of the 1991 football season.
"Oh, that's great, Joey. Now I feel old, and I'm unsure of what you're getting at here."
Let me explain.
The reason that I tell you that is, as a 24-year-old, I've been alive for Georgia Tech's football team to have a 3-6 record (or worse) exactly twice. The first was the infamous 1994 season, when a [REDACTED]-coached Georgia Tech was 1-8 and due to host a dreadful Wake Forest team (a contest which they'd lose, on their way to a 1-10 finish).
The second time? Well, that's right now. At the time of this article's posting, Georgia Tech sits at 3-6 -- their worst record through 9 games in over two decades, and that during a season when many national pundits labeled them as a preseason "dark horse" to make the second-ever College Football Playoff.
Needless to say, this season hasn't really gone as planned. Injuries have happened. Luck has disappeared. Execution has degraded significantly. Explanations have varied.
The point is, this season has somehow been even worse than what we considered to be the worst-case scenario prior to the season starting. (I'll admit, I read that article and saw the conclusion of "Georgia Tech misses a Bowl game" and thought that it may have been a bit extreme. As it stands, that's a scenario that's far more realistic than most Yellow Jacket fans would have ever imagined it would be in early November.)
The team has been sorely in need of this bye week, and the same could probably be said of the team's fans. Each of the last 7 weeks, the team has gone to battle. 6 of those weeks, the team has come out with a loss. Chalk it up to what you will -- injuries, poor play by specific position groups, bad luck, poor officiating -- whatever. You could explain away each loss in its own way, but the only thing that matters at this point is that Georgia Tech has lost 6 games while only winning 3.
To be quite frank, this season has been exhausting. As I said in this week's Monday Morning Quarterback, "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get off of this merry-go-round." This season has been nothing if not emotionally taxing. As badly as the team needs a bye week right now to heal up injuries (of the physical, mental, and emotional sort), its fans need the bye week too. (I know that I do.)
Whether you're a rabid Georgia Tech fan or one of the more casual variety, join the team this weekend in healing and recharging. For this team to salvage its season, it needs to win its final three games and attain bowl eligibility. Of those three games, two happen at home, and are games where the team will need the utmost support from its fans. After a generally rough 6-week stretch, it's important for us, as a fan base, to join the team and take this time to heal up and recharge for a stretch run of pure desperation. I'd implore you to join me in doing so.
Do it as you must -- watch other college football games, insulate yourself from college football altogether, work through your honey-do list, anything -- just come back next Thursday, ready to light up Bobby Dodd Stadium and cheer the team as hard as you can.
As the team heals up this bye week, it's an opportunity for you to do the same. Embrace it. You'll be glad you did over the next few weeks.