A Southern Tradition Continues...
As I set out on that most maiden of voyages, my first blog, my mind raced as to what should be my first entry. There were a lot of ideas. My interests range from NASCAR, softball, professional and college sports, and just in general whatever life has to offer on a daily basis. In the end though I settled on the subject that at the end of the day that is closest to my heart, with apologies to my wife, college football. More specifically the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
Nowadays all over the South, from Athens to Tuscaloosa with stops along the way in Knoxville, Tallahassee, Auburn, and dare I say Gainesville, fans are gearing up for Opening Day Kickoff. You can absolutely smell it! There is excitement everywhere! In Athens, they are breaking in a new quarterback and running back, in Gainesville, they are reloading for a chance at a repeat national championship, and in Knoxville, they are just hoping to get through the first year without their coach getting lynched for some of his comments in the preseason. Its time for Tiger Walk, in Auburn, the girls are rarin' to go in their sundresses and mint juleps at the Grove at Ole Miss. UGA VII is getting his teeth sharpened ready to take a bite out of an opposing player, Chief Oseola and Renegade are getting their spear ready to stab at midfield. In Alabama, students are scouring the stores looking for just the right Hounds Tooth hat. Tradition is everywhere and so is the food. Ribs, BBQ, seafood, homemade potato salad, corn on the cob, and boiled peanuts. Go to any tailgate party throughout the South and you will find any one of these items and for sure you are bound to find someone with all of the above. Diets die on Fall Saturdays in the South.
Now back to my beloved Bulldogs. Traditions and rituals abound in and around Athens on game day. For myself, it starts on Friday. More precisely, its Red Friday. You will find me wearing something red and usually something that has Georgia on it. Another tradition that I strictly adhere to is that the wife, during football season, is not allowed to wear orange. Under no circumstances will I be seen in public from September to January 1st if she is wearing orange. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She doesn't like it, but hey, this is about me, not her. Now on the occassions that I do get to go to a game in Athens, its absolutely puts me in sensory overload! The color, the people, the smells, everything about the campus is electric! You have Dawg Walk, where the players walk into the stadium with the crowd lined up on the sidewalk doing various cheers, you have the pregame introduction of UGA VII, you have the playing of Glory, Glory and after games when there is a victory, there is the ringing of the Chapel Bell. The first game I attended was back in 2004. I cried. To look out and see the awesome spectacle that is Sanford Stadium was just emotional. From the famed Hedges that line the field, to the big G at midfield, the Granite Bulldog Statue that serves as the final resting place for the previous mascots, to again, all the people, it is just a special place. Now I could go on and on and I hope that the few words I put down here paint a beautiful picture, but in the end there are no words that can do justice to what a wonderful place Athens, Georgia is on fall Saturdays. You may not be a Georgia fan and that is ok, but for this ole boy, there ain't no place I'd rather be than in Athens come September. GO DAWGS!
As I set out on that most maiden of voyages, my first blog, my mind raced as to what should be my first entry. There were a lot of ideas. My interests range from NASCAR, softball, professional and college sports, and just in general whatever life has to offer on a daily basis. In the end though I settled on the subject that at the end of the day that is closest to my heart, with apologies to my wife, college football. More specifically the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
Nowadays all over the South, from Athens to Tuscaloosa with stops along the way in Knoxville, Tallahassee, Auburn, and dare I say Gainesville, fans are gearing up for Opening Day Kickoff. You can absolutely smell it! There is excitement everywhere! In Athens, they are breaking in a new quarterback and running back, in Gainesville, they are reloading for a chance at a repeat national championship, and in Knoxville, they are just hoping to get through the first year without their coach getting lynched for some of his comments in the preseason. Its time for Tiger Walk, in Auburn, the girls are rarin' to go in their sundresses and mint juleps at the Grove at Ole Miss. UGA VII is getting his teeth sharpened ready to take a bite out of an opposing player, Chief Oseola and Renegade are getting their spear ready to stab at midfield. In Alabama, students are scouring the stores looking for just the right Hounds Tooth hat. Tradition is everywhere and so is the food. Ribs, BBQ, seafood, homemade potato salad, corn on the cob, and boiled peanuts. Go to any tailgate party throughout the South and you will find any one of these items and for sure you are bound to find someone with all of the above. Diets die on Fall Saturdays in the South.
Now back to my beloved Bulldogs. Traditions and rituals abound in and around Athens on game day. For myself, it starts on Friday. More precisely, its Red Friday. You will find me wearing something red and usually something that has Georgia on it. Another tradition that I strictly adhere to is that the wife, during football season, is not allowed to wear orange. Under no circumstances will I be seen in public from September to January 1st if she is wearing orange. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She doesn't like it, but hey, this is about me, not her. Now on the occassions that I do get to go to a game in Athens, its absolutely puts me in sensory overload! The color, the people, the smells, everything about the campus is electric! You have Dawg Walk, where the players walk into the stadium with the crowd lined up on the sidewalk doing various cheers, you have the pregame introduction of UGA VII, you have the playing of Glory, Glory and after games when there is a victory, there is the ringing of the Chapel Bell. The first game I attended was back in 2004. I cried. To look out and see the awesome spectacle that is Sanford Stadium was just emotional. From the famed Hedges that line the field, to the big G at midfield, the Granite Bulldog Statue that serves as the final resting place for the previous mascots, to again, all the people, it is just a special place. Now I could go on and on and I hope that the few words I put down here paint a beautiful picture, but in the end there are no words that can do justice to what a wonderful place Athens, Georgia is on fall Saturdays. You may not be a Georgia fan and that is ok, but for this ole boy, there ain't no place I'd rather be than in Athens come September. GO DAWGS!
Good debut dawg. But dude, I know you love your red and black. But that red background is brutal on the eyes. Find a diff shade to ease the read?
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