Georgia HC Kirby Smart quotes 'Friday the 13th' after sealing a dominant win against Florida in Week 9 - "They can’t kill Jason, he keeps coming back"

Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart made an unexpected reference to commemorate his team's victory. After their resounding win against Florida, Smart drew an analogy from a classic horror film, ‘Friday the 13th.’

Apparently, Kirby Smart wanted to instill a relentless and unwavering mindset in his players, one that's akin to the unkillable antagonist, Jason Voorhees, from the horror franchise. Smart's message to his team was clear: don't wait to react, instead just act; don't worry about protecting your winning streak or fearing a loss.

'Attack' is the only way forward for Kirby Smart

The Georgia coach urged his team to attack their opponents relentlessly, no matter the situation. His message clearly indicated the need for an aggressive mindset, similar to Jason's enduring resilience in the face of adversity. Smart said:

“At the end of the day, the quickest way to lose it is to think about that. So when you think about attacking somebody and coming after them every play with a mindset of Friday the 13th. They can’t kill Jason, he keeps coming back, man. You gotta keep going that way and think that way, aggressively, so you’re not paranoid about that.”

In this day and age, Kirby Smart knows that his team is not insulated from outside noise and the pressure associated with maintaining an impressive win streak that has now exceeded 20 games.

He expressed his concerns about the constant information flow via smartphones and how it might impact his players' mindset. Smart said:

"I don’t even hear it. I literally don’t. So I don’t address it. I think they hear it because they’re on their phones 24/7 and it bothers me that they may hear that or they may feel anxiety or they may feel pressure from this win thing"

However, Kirby Smart did acknowledge that some external chatter did manage to reach his ears before the high-stakes rivalry matchup against Florida. He said:

“I don’t see it or hear it, but I know it’s out there. Somebody texted me before the game like, ‘All these people predicting that we’re not going to win today.’ I’m just like, ‘Golly, where’s that coming from? Supposed to be my friend.'”

Despite this, Georgia's performance on the field showed their mental resolve. The Georgia Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC East) dominated the Florida Gators (5-3, 3-2 SEC East) with a commanding 43-20 victory.

It has been always seen in sports that coaches often use unconventional methods to motivate their players and foster a winning mentality. The choice of reference from a classic horror film by Kirby Smart is one such example.