This post has two goals. One, to remember Shelton Stevens who was also known here by his handle "Catfish," the name of his close friend Lewis Grizzard's dog. Two, to carry on Shelton's legacy of educating Dawg (and Jacket) fans on the legacy of this rivalry and its impact on helping sustain Egleston and Scottish-Rite, and what is now one of the leading hospitals in the nation in Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. CHOA quite literally exists today because of this game.
Shelton was a dear friend, and one of the greatest Dawgs I've ever known. Shelton was the Director of the Sports Network for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, which raises money for CHOA through a myriad of fundraisers in partnership with local sports franchises and programs. Most visibly to UGA fans was his role in presenting the Governor's Cup to our team each year. Many Dawg fans know the face, but not the name or the man.
When I worked with Coach Richt the summer of 2001 on restoring tradition to the program, the first person I called was Shelton. Shelton was ecstatic about the prospect of raising the visibility of the Governor's Cup, something back then most fans weren't even aware was a thing. Shelton was passionate about UGA , but was equally passionate about the mission of CHOA and was insistent that restoring the rivalry aspect of the Governor's Cup must go hand-in-hand with educating the players on both teams about the rivalry's impact on CHOA (and Egleston/Scottish Rite). Coach Richt agreed and invited him to speak to the team the Monday of Tech week, something Shelton would do every year from 2001-15. Shelton continued presenting the Governor's Cup through last year's game as well as at the Gala.
Shelton always made a point to text me before he spoke to the team each year and always credited me in his speech. He'd email me a copy of his speech after he spoke to the team plus any other highlights that came about. And he'd text me again from the UGA locker room after presenting the GC to the team, usually with a playful dig about his friend Brad Bourne sulking about the Tech loss (BB would present the GC to Tech if they won).
He gave me my first job as an intern for CHOA Sports Network and I lost track of all the people he made an effort to introduce me to in order to build a professional network. If I work backwards into my network today, so much of it originated with people Shelton introduced me to. We went to meetings with UGA, Tech, Braves, Hawks, Falcons, Thrashers, and even a lunch with Gary Stokan. He took me to meetings I didn't belong at just to mentor me. If you've seen the movie Moneyball, I was kind of like Pete sitting in the corner of these meetings with the who's who of Atlanta sports asking if I needed to be there.
And I'm proud to say I've had the Governor's Cup seatbelted into the front seat of my car from Athens to Druid Hills a few years later. A "favor" that Shelton had asked of me, which wasn't a favor at all - he knew I'd appreciate the honor of personally transporting the Governor's Cup.
He was at my wedding and instead of something off our registry, gifted my wife and me a huge box of books from his library that were either written by Southern authors or were about the South. It was our most unique and favorite wedding gift. Those books still reside in my bookshelf.
He was a true Southern gentleman, the finest of Damn Good Dawgs, and a man of integrity and generosity who I admired and aspired to be like. I will miss Shelton, but this game and the tradition of the Governor's Cup will miss him more.
Below is one of those speeches he gave the team through the years, one I've never shared. I picked this one out since it has some engagement from Coach Bobo and Coach McClendon.
Since 2001, it’s been my pleasure to come up and speak to the team about the significance and history of this game between UGA & GT, and this annual presentation of the Governor’s Cup to the winner by CHOA.
Since 1933, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has been giving the Governor’s Cup to the winner of a UGA/GT football game. For 60 years, it went to the winner of a Freshman/JV game that was played on Thanksgiving Day. Back in 1933, we were getting ready to shut the hospital down – we just didn’t have the money to keep things going. So the football coaches at UGA and GT got together and decided to play this game to benefit the hospital. For the next 20 years, the proceeds from that game actually kept the doors of that little hospital open. Well, guess what . . . that little hospital grew up. It kept getting better & better and bigger & bigger, until today that little hospital is now one of the top three children’s hospitals in the country, and by many standards of measure we’re actually THE NUMBER ONE RANKED CH in the country!!! AND it wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the football programs at UGA and GT. That’s why the game is so important to us and why we present the Governor’s Cup.
Well, that game went away back in 1994 – with the scholarship limitations there just weren’t enough players to keep it going. So since 1995 – with approval from the NCAA – we’ve been giving the Governor’s Cup to the winner of the big game. The varsity game. The REAL game . . . and the team that wins it, keeps it for a whole year until the next game. But in addition to that, we celebrate the SENIORS – those guys playing their last regular season game. For many years, we have been giving the Seniors on BOTH teams these commemorative watches, but due to some IRS and Non-Profit organizational changes we're going to have to start doing things a little differently. Non profit organizations, like our hospital, are no longer allowed to give "gifts" and the government decided that watches were a gift. We CAN, however, give awards and what we've come up with now is something I think you'll like even better. Starting this year, to replace the watches, the Seniors on BOTH teams will receive these personalized, etched granite plaques. Now, in addition to the plaques, we will continue to give most meaningful thing of all to the Seniors on the WINNING team . . . these personalized, engraved replicas of the Governor’s Cup. You only get one chance to win this in your career – your senior year – but it’s yours forever. Nobody can ever take it away.
All you Seniors stand up for just a minute. These guys have been standing up for all of you for four or five years now. NOW it’s time for you to stand up for them on Saturday. You guys will be playing this game for a lot of reasons Saturday. You’ll be playing for yourselves, your coaches, your families, friends, and fans . . . but ultimately, you’re going to be playing this game for these guys right here. These are the guys that led you through summer conditioning. These are the guys that were here for you all season long – to pick you up and keep you headed in the right direction. For as long as these guys have been here, they’ve gotten the job done in this game. EVERY SENIOR THAT’S EVER PLAYED WITH THESE GUYS HAS BEATEN GT – they’ve won the Governor’s Cup for their Seniors and now it’s your time to win one for them. This is their one shot to win the Governor’s Cup. Don’t slip up Saturday and not let them accomplish that. Don’t send them out losers, because they dang sure are not that.
These GT games are games that you’ll remember for a lifetime – not just while you’re in school. These games stay with you forever. They will be part of who you are forever. I think we’ve got three guys on this coaching staff that can attest to that. Coach Bryan McClendon played in four UGA/GT games from 2002 – 2005. How many times did you lose to GT? (BMac: “Proud to say I never lost to GT as a player”). What’s your most memorable experience? (BMac: “Scoring the winning TD on a pass from DJ Shockley with 5 minutes left in 2005. We won 14 – 7”). Coach Bobo, what do you remember about GT during your playing career? (Bobo: “I remember that we beat ‘em everytime we played ‘em. We broke their hearts in two of those years at their place in Atlanta”.) What’s your most memorable experience, Mike – as though I don’t know. (Bobo: “In 1997, beating them on a TD pass to Corey Allen with 20 seconds left in the game, 27-24. The play came right after a GT interception was ruled pass interference and kept our drive alive. I hit Allen for the TD on the very next play. THAT was our Hobnail Boot play. We stomped on their face and tore their heart out!!!”). (The team went crazy when Bobo told them that.) I continued - let me give you Coach Bobo’s stats that day: 30-39 passing, 419 yards, 4 TDs.
Coach Tereshinski, you want to tell us about your experience against GT? (JoeT: “Well, mine wasn’t as good at the other two guys. I only played them 3 times, because freshmen couldn’t play back then. We lost to them in 1974 and it made an impression on me that I’ll never let go. I learned to hate them that day, and it’s a feeling that I’ve never forgotten. They beat us here in Athens and it literally was one of the worst days of my life. The feeling I had for them then . . . I still have today. These guys know how I feel about GT. It all started with that game. We did win the next two years, but they never felt as good as that loss hurt. I want you guys to remember that”.)
Wow. Not bad. Three coaches who know the rivalry as well or better than anyone. Combined they played GT 11 times and won 10 of them. They made memories against GT that will last them a lifetime. Twenty years from now, you will all feel the same way.
Now, back to today. We’ve won the Governor’s Cup 12 times in the 13 years that Coach Richt has been here in Athens. Since day one, he’s made it a priority and I know it’s a point of pride with him to accumulate these replica cups in his office with the names of all the Seniors around the base of his trophy. It’s important to him and I HOPE it’s important to you. But I’ll tell you one thing – I know who this game is very, very important to . . . that coach & that team that’ll be across the field from you on Saturday. There’s not a player on that team that has EVER beaten Georgia – that’s ever won the Governor’s Cup . . . heck, that’s ever even SEEN the Governor’s Cup.
Our coach thinks it’s the most important game of the year – that they are our biggest rival. The other coach might feel that way now, but he didn’t always feel that way. I heard him in the locker room after they beat us in 2008, in his first year. I’ll never forget his words as he cleared the locker room: “Those a$$holes better get used to not winning this trophy, because as long as I’m here, we won’t lose again . . . and I don’t plan on going anywhere soon.” The next year a reporter asked him if he was excited about playing UGA. His reply? “Nah. Not really. It’s nothing special. Just another game. We’re thinking championships – We’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Guys, he hasn’t beaten UGA since. Don’t let him stop wallowing in his misery Saturday.
Just like the last two years, we’ll have Governor Nathan Deal on hand to present the Governor’s Cup to the winning coach and team after the game. If Georgia wins the ball game . . . make that WHEN you guys win the ball game, because you’re the home team, the presentation will take place on the 50 yard line immediately following the team prayer. If Tech wins, the presentation will take place in the visiting locker room.
Y’all don’t make me, the Governor and our trophy have to go to that visiting locker room. I’ve been there before, and it’s not something I want to do again.
So, at the end of the game, and at the end of the prayer – don’t go anywhere, don’t head to the locker room. Stay right there on the “G”, so Governor Deal can present you, Coach Richt and our Seniors . . . OUR Governor’s Cup for the 6th time in a row, and for the 13th time in the last 14 years.
I’ll see you Saturday at midfield.
Shelton was a dear friend, and one of the greatest Dawgs I've ever known. Shelton was the Director of the Sports Network for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, which raises money for CHOA through a myriad of fundraisers in partnership with local sports franchises and programs. Most visibly to UGA fans was his role in presenting the Governor's Cup to our team each year. Many Dawg fans know the face, but not the name or the man.
When I worked with Coach Richt the summer of 2001 on restoring tradition to the program, the first person I called was Shelton. Shelton was ecstatic about the prospect of raising the visibility of the Governor's Cup, something back then most fans weren't even aware was a thing. Shelton was passionate about UGA , but was equally passionate about the mission of CHOA and was insistent that restoring the rivalry aspect of the Governor's Cup must go hand-in-hand with educating the players on both teams about the rivalry's impact on CHOA (and Egleston/Scottish Rite). Coach Richt agreed and invited him to speak to the team the Monday of Tech week, something Shelton would do every year from 2001-15. Shelton continued presenting the Governor's Cup through last year's game as well as at the Gala.
Shelton always made a point to text me before he spoke to the team each year and always credited me in his speech. He'd email me a copy of his speech after he spoke to the team plus any other highlights that came about. And he'd text me again from the UGA locker room after presenting the GC to the team, usually with a playful dig about his friend Brad Bourne sulking about the Tech loss (BB would present the GC to Tech if they won).
He gave me my first job as an intern for CHOA Sports Network and I lost track of all the people he made an effort to introduce me to in order to build a professional network. If I work backwards into my network today, so much of it originated with people Shelton introduced me to. We went to meetings with UGA, Tech, Braves, Hawks, Falcons, Thrashers, and even a lunch with Gary Stokan. He took me to meetings I didn't belong at just to mentor me. If you've seen the movie Moneyball, I was kind of like Pete sitting in the corner of these meetings with the who's who of Atlanta sports asking if I needed to be there.
And I'm proud to say I've had the Governor's Cup seatbelted into the front seat of my car from Athens to Druid Hills a few years later. A "favor" that Shelton had asked of me, which wasn't a favor at all - he knew I'd appreciate the honor of personally transporting the Governor's Cup.
He was at my wedding and instead of something off our registry, gifted my wife and me a huge box of books from his library that were either written by Southern authors or were about the South. It was our most unique and favorite wedding gift. Those books still reside in my bookshelf.
He was a true Southern gentleman, the finest of Damn Good Dawgs, and a man of integrity and generosity who I admired and aspired to be like. I will miss Shelton, but this game and the tradition of the Governor's Cup will miss him more.
Below is one of those speeches he gave the team through the years, one I've never shared. I picked this one out since it has some engagement from Coach Bobo and Coach McClendon.
Since 2001, it’s been my pleasure to come up and speak to the team about the significance and history of this game between UGA & GT, and this annual presentation of the Governor’s Cup to the winner by CHOA.
Since 1933, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has been giving the Governor’s Cup to the winner of a UGA/GT football game. For 60 years, it went to the winner of a Freshman/JV game that was played on Thanksgiving Day. Back in 1933, we were getting ready to shut the hospital down – we just didn’t have the money to keep things going. So the football coaches at UGA and GT got together and decided to play this game to benefit the hospital. For the next 20 years, the proceeds from that game actually kept the doors of that little hospital open. Well, guess what . . . that little hospital grew up. It kept getting better & better and bigger & bigger, until today that little hospital is now one of the top three children’s hospitals in the country, and by many standards of measure we’re actually THE NUMBER ONE RANKED CH in the country!!! AND it wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the football programs at UGA and GT. That’s why the game is so important to us and why we present the Governor’s Cup.
Well, that game went away back in 1994 – with the scholarship limitations there just weren’t enough players to keep it going. So since 1995 – with approval from the NCAA – we’ve been giving the Governor’s Cup to the winner of the big game. The varsity game. The REAL game . . . and the team that wins it, keeps it for a whole year until the next game. But in addition to that, we celebrate the SENIORS – those guys playing their last regular season game. For many years, we have been giving the Seniors on BOTH teams these commemorative watches, but due to some IRS and Non-Profit organizational changes we're going to have to start doing things a little differently. Non profit organizations, like our hospital, are no longer allowed to give "gifts" and the government decided that watches were a gift. We CAN, however, give awards and what we've come up with now is something I think you'll like even better. Starting this year, to replace the watches, the Seniors on BOTH teams will receive these personalized, etched granite plaques. Now, in addition to the plaques, we will continue to give most meaningful thing of all to the Seniors on the WINNING team . . . these personalized, engraved replicas of the Governor’s Cup. You only get one chance to win this in your career – your senior year – but it’s yours forever. Nobody can ever take it away.
All you Seniors stand up for just a minute. These guys have been standing up for all of you for four or five years now. NOW it’s time for you to stand up for them on Saturday. You guys will be playing this game for a lot of reasons Saturday. You’ll be playing for yourselves, your coaches, your families, friends, and fans . . . but ultimately, you’re going to be playing this game for these guys right here. These are the guys that led you through summer conditioning. These are the guys that were here for you all season long – to pick you up and keep you headed in the right direction. For as long as these guys have been here, they’ve gotten the job done in this game. EVERY SENIOR THAT’S EVER PLAYED WITH THESE GUYS HAS BEATEN GT – they’ve won the Governor’s Cup for their Seniors and now it’s your time to win one for them. This is their one shot to win the Governor’s Cup. Don’t slip up Saturday and not let them accomplish that. Don’t send them out losers, because they dang sure are not that.
These GT games are games that you’ll remember for a lifetime – not just while you’re in school. These games stay with you forever. They will be part of who you are forever. I think we’ve got three guys on this coaching staff that can attest to that. Coach Bryan McClendon played in four UGA/GT games from 2002 – 2005. How many times did you lose to GT? (BMac: “Proud to say I never lost to GT as a player”). What’s your most memorable experience? (BMac: “Scoring the winning TD on a pass from DJ Shockley with 5 minutes left in 2005. We won 14 – 7”). Coach Bobo, what do you remember about GT during your playing career? (Bobo: “I remember that we beat ‘em everytime we played ‘em. We broke their hearts in two of those years at their place in Atlanta”.) What’s your most memorable experience, Mike – as though I don’t know. (Bobo: “In 1997, beating them on a TD pass to Corey Allen with 20 seconds left in the game, 27-24. The play came right after a GT interception was ruled pass interference and kept our drive alive. I hit Allen for the TD on the very next play. THAT was our Hobnail Boot play. We stomped on their face and tore their heart out!!!”). (The team went crazy when Bobo told them that.) I continued - let me give you Coach Bobo’s stats that day: 30-39 passing, 419 yards, 4 TDs.
Coach Tereshinski, you want to tell us about your experience against GT? (JoeT: “Well, mine wasn’t as good at the other two guys. I only played them 3 times, because freshmen couldn’t play back then. We lost to them in 1974 and it made an impression on me that I’ll never let go. I learned to hate them that day, and it’s a feeling that I’ve never forgotten. They beat us here in Athens and it literally was one of the worst days of my life. The feeling I had for them then . . . I still have today. These guys know how I feel about GT. It all started with that game. We did win the next two years, but they never felt as good as that loss hurt. I want you guys to remember that”.)
Wow. Not bad. Three coaches who know the rivalry as well or better than anyone. Combined they played GT 11 times and won 10 of them. They made memories against GT that will last them a lifetime. Twenty years from now, you will all feel the same way.
Now, back to today. We’ve won the Governor’s Cup 12 times in the 13 years that Coach Richt has been here in Athens. Since day one, he’s made it a priority and I know it’s a point of pride with him to accumulate these replica cups in his office with the names of all the Seniors around the base of his trophy. It’s important to him and I HOPE it’s important to you. But I’ll tell you one thing – I know who this game is very, very important to . . . that coach & that team that’ll be across the field from you on Saturday. There’s not a player on that team that has EVER beaten Georgia – that’s ever won the Governor’s Cup . . . heck, that’s ever even SEEN the Governor’s Cup.
Our coach thinks it’s the most important game of the year – that they are our biggest rival. The other coach might feel that way now, but he didn’t always feel that way. I heard him in the locker room after they beat us in 2008, in his first year. I’ll never forget his words as he cleared the locker room: “Those a$$holes better get used to not winning this trophy, because as long as I’m here, we won’t lose again . . . and I don’t plan on going anywhere soon.” The next year a reporter asked him if he was excited about playing UGA. His reply? “Nah. Not really. It’s nothing special. Just another game. We’re thinking championships – We’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Guys, he hasn’t beaten UGA since. Don’t let him stop wallowing in his misery Saturday.
Just like the last two years, we’ll have Governor Nathan Deal on hand to present the Governor’s Cup to the winning coach and team after the game. If Georgia wins the ball game . . . make that WHEN you guys win the ball game, because you’re the home team, the presentation will take place on the 50 yard line immediately following the team prayer. If Tech wins, the presentation will take place in the visiting locker room.
Y’all don’t make me, the Governor and our trophy have to go to that visiting locker room. I’ve been there before, and it’s not something I want to do again.
So, at the end of the game, and at the end of the prayer – don’t go anywhere, don’t head to the locker room. Stay right there on the “G”, so Governor Deal can present you, Coach Richt and our Seniors . . . OUR Governor’s Cup for the 6th time in a row, and for the 13th time in the last 14 years.
I’ll see you Saturday at midfield.
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