Of all the arguments I’ve heard over the years about where the Florida-Georgia game should be played, the most lucid and cogent came from Mr. College Football (http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/).

The game needs to stay in Jacksonville, period.

Not because of fairness to one side or another. Not because it’s in one state or another. And not because some jughead in Atlanta wants to leverage a deal.

Tony Barnhart recently wrote that what’s important about Jacksonville as a venue is the familiarity of not just the geography, but the faces. It was about reconnecting with friends Tom McMillen and Carl Brantley.

“Carl and Tom are my best two friends in the world. We were fraternity brothers in college and have stayed very close for more years than I will admit in this space. College brought us together but college football—specifically the Georgia-Florida game—has helped to keep us together. Carl lives in Colorado Springs. Tom is in Ringgold near Chattanooga. All three of us have pretty busy lives. But since 1981, with only one exception, we have gathered together in Jacksonville on the Georgia-Florida weekend to play golf, enjoy an adult beverage or two, and tell lies about our youth.”

Bingo.

Think about it. We all have connections that bloom during the Fla-Ga weekend.

We stay at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Watson every year — not just because they have a beautiful place on Ponte Vedra Beach (well, that, too). They’re Auburn graduates, but they also have parties or attend parties of mixed allegiance — Bulldogs, Gators, Tigers, etc. I’ve come to enjoy meeting up with fans from other schools because it’s a rare example of civility that exists today in college football. And, I might add, a much needed one.

It’s also a time when, on occasion, I get to see my best friend from childhood, Ed Monarchik of Atlanta, although not so much lately. There have even been a few years when Ed attended with his son, Ed Jr., my godson when I am able to score tickets. Ed is a lifelong Gator fan, Ed Jr. (I still call him Edward) is a Georgia graduate. Ed Jr. got tired of sitting in the Gator section, especially in recent years.

It took the words of a UGA grad, however, to finally make sense out of this same old, tired argument that because of fairness — yada, yada, yada — the game should be moved out of Jacksonville.

I guess that’s they call my friend Tony Barnhart Mr. College Football.