Since joining the ACC, Georgia Tech has mostly enjoyed success against Wake Forest. However, despite being on of the smallest schools in Division 1 football, Wake has developed a reputation for being one of the most tenacious teams in the ACC. Today I’m not going to talk about any of Tech’s victories over Wake Forest. I’m going to talk about one of the low points in my following of Georgia Tech football.

In 2002, the mood around Georgia Tech football was generally sullen at the middle of the season. Fans (including me) had become spoiled by the last couple of seasons under coach George O’ Leary and quarterback George Godsey and we weren’t taking well to the new faces in town. The team was 4-1, but the star player, running back Tony Hollings, had been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Fans had hoped quarterback A. J. Suggs would develop much like Godsey did, but instead Suggs developed a bad habit for throwing interceptions at the worst possible time.

Enter Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had improved steadily under Coach Jim Grobe. He coached a team that played very conservative and mostly mistake free. On that day, Georgia Tech was full of mistakes. They fumbled the ball three times and Suggs threw a costly interception. Meanwhile, the defense was utterly incapable of solving an offense that was essentially alternating between the counter trap and the out pass on every down. It was one of the most frustrating games I had ever seen. I knew what play Wake Forest would call next and yet somehow our defense could not solve this team. When Suggs threw a pass at the end of the fourth quarter that was penalized because he ran past the line of scrimmage, I had seen enough and I stalked out of the stadium.

…. not even thinking about the fact that I had just left my wife behind in the stadium. When she found me after the game she said, “Thanks for telling me you were leaving.”

Before even thinking I snapped back, “Well, you knew where I was going.” Yeah, nice apology there. Once again, my mouth had opened before thinking and the end result would be a pretty unhappy evening after the game. After that, I vowed never to become that angry about a football game. After all, if I’m going to spend this kind of money on tickets, that’s an expensive way to be miserable.

I’d like to think I’m getting better. I’ve been pretty good this season, with the exception of the NC State game which I blame more on the morons behind me than the actual game.