Painted Barn Reflects Disappointment of UGA Fans

TENNILLE, Ga. - Three simple words sum up the disappointment Georgia football fans have felt this season: "Failed Expectations ...Again." 

Ross Smith has been commemorating the highs and the lows of the Bulldog Nation on the side of a barn in Washington County since October 2000.  Saturday night he painted those three words after the Dawgs fell to Florida in Jacksonville. 

"We [kind of]  like to be the voice of, you know, the Dawg Nation," explained Smith.  "Possibly sometimes things that people might be a little bit scared to say."

Built in the 19302, the former general store sits off Highway 15 between Jacksonville and Athens.  Many Georgia fans stopped to take photos Sunday with the freshly-painted landmark. 

"They enjoy it.  They come with their lips poking out and you know, they feel our pain," Smith said.

Smith paints the barn a couple of times each football season.  Some of the messages are hopeful, like "Chubb for Heisman."  Other paintings are more critical, like the 2010 message that read "Richt, $53k per week for this?  Better figure it out." 

Smith believes criticism is part of being a good fan and he hopes UGA will take a hard look at why the team continues to fall short. 

"We feel like maybe it's time for the administration maybe to take a look at the staff and see if they're doing what they need to and we really want them to win every game.  We definitely don't want to sound unsupportive.  We just feel like maybe they need to take a look and see that we're doing what we need to to win some championships," Smith added.

He "pleaded the fifth," though, on whether Head Coach Mark Richt should be one of the ones to go.

"Coach Richt's a great guy," Smith maintained. 

Others on the UGA Football Barn's Facebook page, however, have called for Richt to move on after Smith posted a picture of his most recent creation. 

One thing is for certain, Smith's newest painting will only stay for a short time. 

"People ask how often do you change it and I'll just tell them whenever something interesting comes up," said Smith.  "Hopefully, that is soon."