SB Nation Atlanta: All Posts by Winfield Tufts

Thoughts From A Temporary Ex-Pat: Presbyterian

2012-09-11T21:26:04Z

It's Tuesday and I'm in Frankfurt, Germany sitting in the sweatbox of an office. I'm right about 2 quarters into the game on the WorldWideLeader Internet Subscription Service and I am quickly losing all track of the hours in the days. The build up to a much bigger game against the Virginia Cavaliers is quickly taking over my mind and I've seen enough of the Vad Lee highlights to understand the hype. I think we tackled those paper dolls rather well and my question looms over my mind...should I make sure I finish watching the game or should I move on and anticipate the 'Hoos?

Of course I'll keep watching! Because it's GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL!....and I cannot hide from Paul Johnson

via cdn2.sbnation.com

Bobby Dodd Statue Coming To Callaway Plaza

2012-09-07T16:04:09Z

Bobby Dodd Statue Coming To Callaway Plaza

Good.

The Closing Of My Final Chapter

2012-06-13T12:00:52Z

It's time to face the inevitable.

Life gets busy. And mine has surely picked up. I kept on telling myself that it was just the spring sport season plus summer that was keeping me away from FTRS but I finally faced the reality of the situation.

When GobblerCountry's furrer4heisman left in April he said:

There's something fitting about that. In college sports you get four years to leave your mark and then you move on and let the next group make their mark during their time. The same goes for me and this blog.

The time has now come for me to say goodbye to all of you at FromTheRumbleSeat.

I started this blog back in the winter of 2007 on Wordpress. I added a writer or two and we moved to Blogger. We were fortunate enough to build a large community that surpassed my greatest expectations. And for that I thank you.

I've seen blogs come and go and the trick is consistency. Bird and I had a goal to have a post a day. When the two of us were at our peak, nobody could touch our content rate. Hell, he even wrote a piece about the RGB color make up of the conference. Then Bird got busy with work and his life continued on and the blog still pushed content to the surface. Now I'm busy and a big career move is in store and it's time to put some order in my life. My life will take a turn, but the blog will continue to push content to the surface as LilBroey takes over as site manager and GTNate as his right hand man. Keep them in line guys, and help them out when they ask for it.

I couldn't be more proud to watch a site and community that I helped create from nothing continue on without me. Remember when just a year ago, we still had absolutely zero recruiting coverage? Not so anymore thanks to the new leaders.

Thank you again. I've made a lot of friendships through this endeavor and I value them all.

Go Jackets!

Winfield

Atlanta's Red Bull Soapbox Derby Will Have A Georgia Tech Flair To It

2012-06-08T13:09:23Z

A crew of Georgia Tech alums created a Tech Tower "T" to drive down 10th Street during the Red Bull Soapbox Derby this Saturday.

Good luck and Go Jackets!

HT: Georgia Tech Athletics Facebook Page

The ACC Tournament Starts Today And Georgia Tech Must Realign Itself

2012-05-23T11:55:19Z

Georgia Tech baseball has found itself in a position that it hasn’t worried about for 32 years as they absolutely had to beat Miami on Sunday to make it into the ACC Tournament. The Jackets faced history as being the first GT squad to miss the conference tournament since the Institute joined in 1980. But all this doesn’t matter anymore as they were able to make it into the postseason. Now the Jackets realize that they must continue to win in the ACC Tournament, ironically a tournament that nobody likes, to remain alive for any postseason.

It’s been one of those years for the Yellow Jackets where the arms got injured and the bats couldn’t connect at the opportune times like we’ve always been used to. Regardless, the team made it into the conference tournament and we can consider the slate almost completely wiped clean.

The ACC Tournament is a unique one as it only takes the Top-8 teams where there are 2 brackets of 4 teams that play round-robins within themselves and the top team from each bracket plays a championship game. As Tech played its way into the #8 seed, they will play Florida State, Virginia, and Clemson throughout the week. First pitch game 1 will be today at 11AM EST.

Finding updated NCAA Tournament baseball projections can be difficult but Perfect Game USA has some available. There, Kendall Rogers has GT as one of the last teams to make it in the tournament and slated to be a #3 seed in Columbia, SC. Don't ask questions, just accept the placement.

In order to solidify themselves in the NCAA Tournament, winning is crucial and it all starts today.

SEC And Big12 Create Bowl Partnership. ACC Says "Now What?"

2012-05-18T16:28:29Z

SEC And Big12 Create Bowl Partnership. ACC Says "Now What?"

What do you think? The ACC is now left all alone looking at the ladies from the MWC or elsewhere wondering if it's better to dance or not.

Or better yet, the ACC can always hope to be 5th best and maybe, just maybe if wherever there is an MNC team from one of those conferences (B12/SEC or P12/B1G) the bowls will reach out to the ACC.

Give me your thoughts!

FTRS Roundtable: What Has Happened To Our Favorite Sport, College Football?

2012-05-16T13:46:07Z

Conference expansion talk just won't go away. We've passed the point of no return. The FTRS guys got together to discuss the issue:

LilBroey700 - At the end of last week, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Florida State came out and publicly stated that the school was unhappy with the ACC's long-term TV deal with ESPN, and that they would be exploring the possibility of a move to the Big 12, although no contact has been had yet, allegedly. Recent news also involved talks about redeveloping the BCS system, likely involving a plus-one game, although Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has publicly stated his support for a system that would require schools to be conference champions to be eligible for the championship. The implication here is largely that independents Notre Dame and BYU would have to join a conference, lest they have no chance at a championship and watch their programs go down in a fiery ball. Let's talk scenarios here. What would you say the chances are that Florida State leaves the ACC, or that Notre Dame/BYU join conferences, and if that happens, what does it mean for Georgia Tech and its future?

Personally, my opinion isn't so much based on Florida State or BYU as Notre Dame. I can easily see Notre Dame being spooked by the idea of being left out of the championship hunt, and enticed to join either the Big Ten or ACC (for academic quality and non-football athletic quality...although they compete in the Big East in every sport except football). Joining the Big Ten creates a scenario where the Big Ten would then be at 13 schools, and could shoot for as many as 16 to round themselves out. From there, the names I've heard thrown around for joining are Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Rutgers. All 3 are of acceptable athletic quality, are in a major TV market (Atlanta, DC, New York), and are members of the Association of American Universities.

How do you feel about the above possibilities?

Winfield Featherston - first of all WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?

second of all WHEN WILL THIS EVER END? Answer: It won't. Football TV money has gotten too big. Was anyone actually burnt out by college football last year? I was and I think it was because of all this manufactured TV drama. Information overload. In fact, it made me want to turn inside, back into my GT bubble and just watch GT and worry / watch GT football. I became more peaceful in my respects to college football.

That being said, I don't know all the ins and outs of FSU's complaining but what I do know is that the new ACC realignment partnership increased the buyout clause to $20million a school which makes me think FSU might just be grumbling. IF this was to happen (yet again) the SEC is my #1 favorite followed by the B1G. Why? The SEC is a pipe dream though and it won't happen. The most realistic option for Georgia Tech would be the BigTen. We line up with those schools academically and we hold an elusive TV market for them that they don't have yet. Getting to football games would be a nightmare though.

But seriously, screw this. Enough already.

orientalnc - Delaney can say anything he wants. I doubt FSU is about to move. The TV deal in the Big 12 is MUCH worse for FSU than the ACC deal. Texas owns that conference and it will as long as the ESPN deal for the Longhorn network exists. I bet ESPN has veto rights on any team moving in or out of either conference. If I were ESPN, I would certainly demand a cancellation clause. The Noles are likely in the ACC for the long term.

New topic. Matt Kuchar won at Ponte Vedra today.

GTNate - All this is predicated on ND joining a conference, which is predicated on the playoff model being the "no non-conference-champions" model, which has been endorsed by 1/6 leagues. I think its all silly and I agree with Winfield, I just DON'T watch ESPN anymore because I can't deal with their a.) obvious bias and b.) the absolute bullshit they pass off as content. The 24 hr news network killed news.

In other words, yay Kuchar!

Atlanta's original team - Oh, my aching brain! This is why my wife will not watch college sports anymore. She is convinced it has nothing to do with the ideals of higher education and is ruled by sleazy stuffed suits who are trying to make a financial killing.

So, my opinion? I think Notre Dame has successfully beaten the need to join a conference for now. The SEC seems firmly committed to the idea of a national championship game that does not have to have a conference championship as a prerequisite. I think the reasons for this are obvious.

I would be surprised to see FSU leave the ACC. With their football team supposedly ready to move into the national spotlight they would be stupid to go through all the disruption that a buyout, schedule scramble and potential lawsuit would bring if they tried to leave at this time.

As for Tech. I am ready for them to make the ACC the best conference in the country. Part of me wishes they had never left the SEC but I understand and agree with the reasons they left. That conference was filled with assholes back then and it is filled with assholes now.

Next time I will not be so measured with my words.

LilBroey700 - Isn't FSU always ready to return to the national spotlight? They've been a national championship contender for 10 years now, it seems, though I can't remember the last time they won a conference championship.

I can't imagine there's too much fear to leave over bad press. It's attention, and when trying to take a leading role in the national spotlight there's no bad press. You don't see Alabama back down from oversigning (not that they just own it either), and you don't see others shy away from recruiting violations or other problems. Bringing attention to a program is good, with the exception being the attention being consistently negative.

What do you all say?

Dear Georgia Tech Graduates. I Bet You Feel Like A Badass Don't You?

2012-05-03T13:15:47Z

I have two brothers at Georgia Tech currently. Come Saturday, I'll just have one brother left at Georgia Tech as the middle one in the family will walk across the stage in the Georgia Dome to accept that hallowed piece of paper from Bud Peterson. Along with my brother, a couple thousand more engineers, managers, PhDs, mathematicians, and scientific liberal arts students (yes, we have a form of that at GT) among others will also close their own personal chapter with Ma Tech. Congratulations!

Graduates: hear my advice!

1. You feel like a badass because you are. But humility must still be a part of your personality.

Georgia Tech is elite. Revel in it. Many of you know classmates got weeded out over the years and but you pursued and kept going. Many of you are graduating from recognized and continuous Top-10 programs in the country. That persistent attitude should be well recognized. Welcome to the fraternity of alumni who understand and feel your pain of the stress Tech put you through. You're coming out with degrees that will get you jobs almost immediately in positions that some may have worked years to reach. With those jobs you will suddenly realize that not all people who have jobs went to Georgia Tech. In fact, there are hundreds of ways others can get to the same position you have by not going to Georgia Tech. Realize this fact, and be humble in all things. Be grateful for the opportunities that were given to you and continue to strive for excellence as you did at our beloved Institute.

2. You will say and do the wrong thing to the wrong person

Just because we graduated does not mean we'll never fail. My first year out is a classic example of this fact. However, we didn't go to Georgia Tech to just learn how to succeed. We learned how to adjust after a failure and how to improve the outcome the next time the opportunity comes around. In the real world now you'll be faced with many decisions. You'll be able to analyze the situation and make a firm decision but some will still be wrong. It will be up to you to take that step back, figure out what went right , what went wrong, adjust, and be ready for the next time.

3. Once your walk across the stage, your liver will change instantly

It's as if a switch is flipped inside your body. What used to be a few beers on a weekday night will turn into a nasty hangover. Be wary!

4. You will forever represent Georgia Tech

Figure out how to give back through time, service, or money, and advertise positively for Georgia Tech. The Institute is recognized throughout the world. Wherever you go, you will run into someone who recognizes our logo and understands what it means. You now represent Georgia Tech in everywhere you go. Advertise it well and remember whose reputation you are now responsible to uphold.

5. Buy football season tickets through the right channels

C'mon now. You have money. You can buy tickets through the Athletic Association. No excuses.

6. As always and forever, To Hell with georgia!

Sincerely,

Winfield Tufts, ISyE 2010