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As expectations for Georgia football soar, let’s remember to enjoy the little things

Georgia coach Kirby Smart hates the idea of 2019 being a championship or bust season. Earlier this August, Smart said Georgia isn’t going to measure success by what kind of trophy it has at the end of the season.

But the reality is that most are expecting big things out of Georgia this year. Many have pegged the Bulldogs as a team that can return to the playoffs. Even a handful of media types picked Georgia to win it all in 2019.

Related: Kirby Smart comments on ‘championship or bust’ mentality surrounding Georgia football

There is a lot of pressure on Georgia heading into this season. Probably more than any Georgia team since the 2008 team that began the season ranked No. 1 in the country. But that team wilted under expectations, as the Bulldogs got roundhoused by Alabama and Florida that year before ending the regular season with a loss to Georgia Tech.

The Georgia players are at least aware of the pressure and expectations. They often say that pressure is a privilege, a motto the team began using during the 2018 season. At least publicly, Georgia players don’t seem to be bogged down by the expectations heading into this campaign.

Smart has made the entire program aware of what is expected of it heading into the 2019 season-opener.

“It’s reality. I don’t think that you run from that,” Smart said. “I don’t know a team in the country that doesn’t have high expectations. I think embracing them faces the fact that you have a standard that we have here of excellence and you want everyone to attain that.

It’s important to remember that the game of football is supposed to be fun. Even as Georgia continues to measure itself up against the national elite, it should still celebrate its wins against the likes of Florida, Auburn and Tennessee. It wasn’t all that long ago were the Gators were dominating the Georgia-Florida rivalry while Auburn and Tennessee pulled multiple miracles wins out of their respective behinds.

Even if it’s an expectation to win against those teams, a season ago Georgia celebrated the win over Florida like it should be. The postgame locker room was — as the teens say — lit.

In recent weeks both Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski have spoken at length about how they lost the joy of football. How the constant state of pain they found themselves in made it impossible to enjoy the game that had given both of them so much.

While what Georgia fans have been through doesn’t compare to the physical toll that Gronkowski and Luck have endured, the fan base has experienced its own sort of pain dating back to 1980. We don’t need to relitigate every kick in the nuts, but there have been more than enough.

I can vividly remember watching multiple friends crying in the aftermath of the national championship loss to Alabama. I’m sure they weren’t the only ones doing so that night. The pain that comes with those losses though shouldn’t be carried around all the time like it’s a biology major’s backpack.

The 2019 Georgia football team is going to give Georgia fans plenty to celebrate. Between the likes of Jake Fromm, Zamir White, George Pickens and the surplus of young talent on defense, the Bulldogs should be one of the most exciting teams in the country.

Statistically speaking, the odds aren’t in Georgia’s favor of winning it all this year. But don’t tell this Georgia team the odds heading into the season. So sit back, relax and above all else, make sure to enjoy this Georgia football season, regardless of the end result.

Georgia football releases first hype video of the season

Few teams in the country do better hype videos than the Georgia football team. And the first one of the 2019 season dropped on Thursday night.

I could write a couple hundred words explaining why this video is great and sets the tone for the season. But instead, just watch the trailer and get excited for Saturday.

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