Originally posted to Atlanta Magazine.com on November 28, 2006
The Dance? The Georgia-Georgia Tech football game. The Song? Georgia’s Hairy Dawg ringing the Chapel Bell on North Campus.
I walked around the Georgia campus this past Saturday afternoon and there was just a feeling in the air. It was a feeling that absorbs the state of Georgia each year – the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
It can only be summed up by the words of a friend of mine: Georgia still has the talent and the athletes and Georgia Tech still has Reggie Ball. Georgia is still the big brother and Georgia Tech is still the little kid. Georgia is still Georgia and Georgia Tech is still Georgia Tech.
The crazy thing is that my friend is not the only person who holds these sentiments. It seems to be a very common conception among Bulldog fans. It even seems to be a thought that almost haunts the minds of Georgia Tech fans.
As I went about my day on Saturday I spoke with people who claimed allegiance on both sides. The Bulldogs walked about with an air of confidence about them. Yellow Jacket fans, while having a good time socializing among the masses, couldn’t help but feel as though their season was about to be pulled out from under them. Georgia fans laughed to one another and spoke about how the season (as well as the play of young QB Matthew Stafford) had taken a turn for the better. Tech fans staggered about wondering if this would be the year that they ended the losing streak. The Georgia faithful knew that this would not be that year.
When the Rambling Wreck drove down the field in the fourth quarter and took a 12-7 lead, Georgia fans didn’t get discouraged. I don’t think that I have ever seen anything like it. I’ve seen teams give up touchdowns late in the game and the wind is completely taken out of the fans’ sails. That didn’t happen to Georgia. Fans looked at each other and started clapping and saying, “Here we go. All we need is a score. Let’s get it right here.”
The same mentality could be seen resonating from the Bulldog sideline. Matthew Stafford was confident. Mark Richt was confident. The receivers were confident. The running backs were confident. The fans were, without question, confident.
In my mind this will be a moment to remember. Georgia fans should look at this drive as the true beginning of a new era in Richt’s reign. This is the moment when Stafford came of age – when Mohamed Massaquoi became the receiver that all of the Bulldog Nation knew he could become – when Georgia stood up and said in one collective voice that they would not go quietly into the night.
Georgia fans, I suggest that we sit back and enjoy the ride.
Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Originally posted at AtlantaMagazine.com on November 22, 2006
I know that we are overdue for some “Tidbits” but there are more important things at hand – namely, the livelihood of the great state of Georgia. We are embarking on one of the most important days of the year in our state. A day when we find out who will lead and who will follow in the wake. A day where we draw a line in the sand and everyone chooses a side.
Georigia vs. Georgia Tech.
Yellow Jacket players, Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson will be trying to win the first Georgia game of their careers. If they want to live in Georgia after their NFL careers, they have got to win this game. Little Reggie Ball Jr. won't stand a chance when he takes on Little Johnny Georgia-Fan in the playground kickball game. Mentally, he'll know he's going to lose.
I've heard a lot of debate over the past couple days about how this game will turn out. Some people say that the Bulldogs have set themselves up for a let down (coming off a huge win at a then-ranked #5 Auburn). Others say that the Jackets may be focusing too much on their ACC-title berth (which will be played in Jacksonville on December 2nd). I say that you can throw all that stuff out the window at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Those players will be playing for pride. Records don’t matter. Polls don’t matter. Only one thing matters: The score at the end of 60 minutes.
But don't think for a second that the fans are going to wait until 3:30 to start their "game." Starting Saturday morning, fans from around the state will flood the Athens area in anticipation of the two teams teeing it up between the hedges. The Bulldogs are 23-13-1 all-time when playing the Yellow Jackets in the Classic City but that won’t stop the Tech-faithful from hurling out their insults. They’ll yell at the “rednecks” at Georgia about their “backwoods ways” and poor academics.
Georgia fans will simply brush off those insults and hurl their taunts back about how “unattractive” the women of Georgia Tech are and then the chant will start…it will start of low and then it will grow… “Nerds…Nerds…Nerds…NERDS…NERDS…NERDS!!!”
My buddy Hilley even told me about how his own family members wouldn't even share tickets to this weekend's game because some were Georgia fans and others were Tech fans.
There’s just no better way to describe it. Clean, old-fashioned hate. That’s what this game is.
So choose your side. But choose wisely. Odds are it will determine how well the next year of your life goes.
I know that we are overdue for some “Tidbits” but there are more important things at hand – namely, the livelihood of the great state of Georgia. We are embarking on one of the most important days of the year in our state. A day when we find out who will lead and who will follow in the wake. A day where we draw a line in the sand and everyone chooses a side.
Georigia vs. Georgia Tech.
Yellow Jacket players, Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson will be trying to win the first Georgia game of their careers. If they want to live in Georgia after their NFL careers, they have got to win this game. Little Reggie Ball Jr. won't stand a chance when he takes on Little Johnny Georgia-Fan in the playground kickball game. Mentally, he'll know he's going to lose.
I've heard a lot of debate over the past couple days about how this game will turn out. Some people say that the Bulldogs have set themselves up for a let down (coming off a huge win at a then-ranked #5 Auburn). Others say that the Jackets may be focusing too much on their ACC-title berth (which will be played in Jacksonville on December 2nd). I say that you can throw all that stuff out the window at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Those players will be playing for pride. Records don’t matter. Polls don’t matter. Only one thing matters: The score at the end of 60 minutes.
But don't think for a second that the fans are going to wait until 3:30 to start their "game." Starting Saturday morning, fans from around the state will flood the Athens area in anticipation of the two teams teeing it up between the hedges. The Bulldogs are 23-13-1 all-time when playing the Yellow Jackets in the Classic City but that won’t stop the Tech-faithful from hurling out their insults. They’ll yell at the “rednecks” at Georgia about their “backwoods ways” and poor academics.
Georgia fans will simply brush off those insults and hurl their taunts back about how “unattractive” the women of Georgia Tech are and then the chant will start…it will start of low and then it will grow… “Nerds…Nerds…Nerds…NERDS…NERDS…NERDS!!!”
My buddy Hilley even told me about how his own family members wouldn't even share tickets to this weekend's game because some were Georgia fans and others were Tech fans.
There’s just no better way to describe it. Clean, old-fashioned hate. That’s what this game is.
So choose your side. But choose wisely. Odds are it will determine how well the next year of your life goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)