Monday, January 26, 2009

David Greene Retires

This came out a few days ago, but I guess I missed it. After 4 years, former Georgia quarterback David Greene has retired from the NFL. Greene was quarterback of the Dawgs for four out of the five years I was in Athens. Greene was named the 2002 SEC offensive player of the year in leading the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record and a Sugar Bowl victory. He left Georgia as the NCAA's all-time winningest quarterback with 42 wins and is the holder of numerous Georgia passing records including:
- Attempts: 1440
- Completions: 849
- Passing Yards: 11,528 (also an SEC record)
- Touchdown Passes: 72
- Consecutive Passes without Interception: 214
- Lowest Interception Percentage: 2.22% (also an SEC record)
Other highlights include:
- 4-0 record against Georgia Tech
- Victory over Florida in 2004, breaking a 6 game losing streak
- 3-1 record in bowl games (3-0 in New Year's Day Bowl Games)
- 2002 SEC Championship MVP
- 3-1 record against Tennessee, including this amazing victory in 2001

After being drafted by Seattle Seahawks, he bounced around to a number of NFL teams before calling it quits, having never taken a snap in a regular season game. As the guys on this blog know, David was a high school classmate of mine and it was a lot of fun watching him play for seven years. I will never forget my final Georgia game as a student against Georgia Tech in 2004. Greene came off the bench (after breaking his hand earlier in the game) in the fourth quarter to lead the Dawgs to a field goal and hold on for the victory over the Jackets. It may have been one of the coldest games I have ever been to (it was also pouring rain), but I would go back to that game again in a heartbeat.

DAMN GOOD DAWG!

8 comments:

Bernie said...

Well put Streit. There are a number of games during Greene's era that I'd pay to go back and see. After he graduated I went to an autograph session for him and Reggie. Even after signing his name for over an hour he was very down to Earth and eager to talk to fans.

And he double checked to make sure he had my daughter's name spelled right. That's always a plus with me.

Earl said...

The early 2000s were a great time to be in Athens. We were very fortunate to be UGA students during Georgia's return to glory. And Greenie had a lot to do with that.

Streit said...

Funny you should mention that specific daywith the autograph signing, Bernie, because I also ran into David that He used to live in an apartment over next to the baseball field and one of my friends lived next door. We were coming back from the baseball game that day and he was there packing up some stuff. He said he loved signing auographs and not just for the new cell phone that they gave him for doing it. I'd know the guy since sixth grade and that was the last time I talked to him (though I have talked to his wife, another high school friend, since then.)

Bubba said...

I remember seeing David for the first time at the 1999 UGA/GT game. My Techie best friend from high school and I were looking at the CarQuest Bowl trohies that the Trade School had won over the years and Greene was there on one of his recruiting visits. He was 6'3" but probably weighed 175-180lbs at the time. I recognized him because of the South Gwinnett letter jacket he was wearing and told "Leroy" that Tech could have him. Needless to say, I'm really glad that things worked out the way they did.

On a side note, Greene and I shared the same major at UGA, Risk Management and Insurance. Greene also pursued a much different career track outside of his major after graduation, as did I. Granted, he will most likely have a much easier time getting a new job than I will.

David Greene is the definition of a DGD.

Bernie said...

Streit - Although our age difference spans a couple decades, we may have some mutual acquaintances from South Gwinnett HS. Hit me up on email sometime.

Bubba - the thought of you wishing away that skinny South Gwinnett star back in '99 is enough to make a Dawg fan cringe nowadays. Almost as much as the memory of that godforsaken game on the flats in '99. Al Ford's a closet nerd...

Sports Dawg said...

We won't see a better one in Athens than the "Lefthander From Atlanta"!

BFR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BFR said...

I had accounting class with DG in 2002 and I'm pretty sure that he ended up with a better grade in the class than I did. I'm not sure if it was his SEC Championship or my drinking problem that developed in the Fall of '02 while pledging our fraternity that caused my grade to be lower than his... I'll leave it up to your speculation.