Though I honestly think its getting better, football culture remains sadly infected with a bit of self-aggrandizing conduct by many of its players. I am not here to proseletyze about rugby, but the image of a football player who has made a garden variety solid tackle lording over his opponent with a gangsta-walk is frankly laughable to those who know the continuous play ancestor of our sport where, after a tackle, you'd best get on your feet and back into position to defend the next phase.Another example is that of a certain un-named player on a heavily favored team who has had its collective ass handed to it on a plate for the better part of three quarters, at home in front of 92,000 fans of his team, all of a sudden acting like a badass with less than a minute left once his team has finally taken a one-point lead at the death, as if he'd been kickin' ass all day. Hey, we all have 'em. For every Billy Latsko or Quentin Moses, there a 10 .... no need to mention names. But I quibble, because football culture is also happily infected with quiet courage and determination. Georgia showed it in its comeback, but in much greater measure Colorado showed it in making that comeback a necessity to begin with. No one took them seriously. 92,000 showed up and lustily screamed for the human sacrifice to begin. It was a hot, steamy afternoon. To Colorado, coming from the cool Rocky Mountain climes, surely Sanford Stadium must have looked, and felt, like a red hell. As the sacrifical lambs follwed Ralphie onto the field, we thought we were looking at a bunch of frightened incompetents. We had no clue of their steely determination, for up to this point they had shown no clue of it. But they knew things we didn't know. They knew they had a gameplan. They had prepared sophisticated coverages. They knew exactly where and when to hit Georgia. And they knew that these things would matter alot more than crowds and heat and pure athletic talent.For most of the game, they looked like they knew more about Georgia than Georgia knew of itself. From the opening kickoff Colorado were determined, businesslike, and deadly efficient. When they completed their touchdown drive to go up 10-0 late in the second, they had 203 yards total offense compared to Georgia's 21. And they should have been ahead by more. They had a chip shot FG blocked early on. On their next possession they had a touchdown pass on 4th and short to a wide open receiver called back for the innocuous penalty of illegal formation. Meanwhile Georgia's OL missed blocks, our RBs fumbled the ball, our receivers dropped a number of catchable passes, and our lightning fast defense all of a sudden looked like they had molasses on their feet. But how often have you seen an underdog on the road get ahead, and then collapse like a house of cards when the favored team starts to come back? They freeze up. They panic, and the game turns into a rout.Once Georgia righted itself with Joe Cox, Colorado continued to play with pluck and heart. They twice stopped Georgia drives deep into their territory on downs.When they got the ball back, they continued to successfully run their offense, but were undone by a fumble well into what would have been a gain of 10+ yards. Whether this was a wake-up call for a team that had become too enamored with its press clippings, or whether Georgia was simply exposed, the coming weeks will tell, but on this day Colorado was inspirational for all the reasons we love the game at our deepest and most instinctive levels; the levels which transcend partisan loyalty; the levels where we appreciate the good and proper responses young men can give to the brutal questions, both mental and physical, football can ask of them. I had to keep reminding myself of this as my heart was breaking late into the game, as it seemed the unimaginable was transfigured into the inevitable with each squandered opportunity. In the end, I was proud of Georgia as well for overcoming their failings and pulling out the game. In the midst of the joy and relief at the final outcome,however, I don't think there was a single Georgia partisan in the house who didn't feel that Colorado had deserved a better fate, and on any Saturday but this one, would have gladly wished it for them. Upon leaving, we passed the player's gate as they were emerging from the locker rooms; first Georgia,an exhausted bunch who looked like they'd been to war, which surely they had. Later Colorado, grim-faced young men whose expressions, though proud, showed absolutely no quarter for moral victory. All in all, not a great afternoon to be a fan of Georgia, but a great afternoon to be a fan of football. I haven't seen anything quite like it in a long, long time.