The anticipation builds. In the early morning hours, some of us at 6:00 AM, some of us at 10:30 AM, leave our homes to...well...come home. We pass cars with Georgia flags and honk at total strangers to give them a thumbs up. We pass frat and sorority houses with games of cornhole going on out front. We tailgate with various tunes, whether it's the Redcoats or "Bulldawg Boogie," and one last time under our tents we ponder the same scenarios we've beaten to death for 8 months. Finally, we make our way to the stadium. We get chils as empty silver bleachers and red seat backs come into view. We arrive in the concourses, where certain...well-hydrated...fans let out "Go Dawgs!" way too close to your ear. Your head rings. But you don't care. It's Saturday.
You arrive at your seat as the Dawgs take the field, every position group being serenaded by "Glory, Glory." The players have their own hip-hop to warm up to. The fans hear the familiar refrain of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." The pre-game clock always goes too slow.
"ITS SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN ATHENS! AND ITS TIME TO TEE IT UP BETWEEEEEEEEEN THE HEDGES! Good afternoon Dawg fans this is Brook Whitmire, welcoming you to Sanford Stadium for today's contest between the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks...(boo) AND YOUR NINTH-RANKED GEORGIA BULLDOGS!"
Brook goes through the ULM lineup. We sit silently.
"AND NOW, THE STARTING LINEUP FOR YOUR GEORGIA BULLDOGS!"
Everyone gets a cheer, but then...
"At tailback for the Dawgs, a sophomore from Cedartown, number twenty-seven, NICK CHUBB! And at quarterback a redshirt sophomore from Jesup, number eleven, GREYSON LAMBERT!"
The students waive their Pom poms in unison.
The banner gets broken as "Saturday" by Nickelback gets played on the scoreboard. Nickelback is soon replaced by Baba O'Reilly.
The ball is teed.
GOOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC EM!
Tomorrow...
You arrive at your seat as the Dawgs take the field, every position group being serenaded by "Glory, Glory." The players have their own hip-hop to warm up to. The fans hear the familiar refrain of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." The pre-game clock always goes too slow.
"ITS SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN ATHENS! AND ITS TIME TO TEE IT UP BETWEEEEEEEEEN THE HEDGES! Good afternoon Dawg fans this is Brook Whitmire, welcoming you to Sanford Stadium for today's contest between the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks...(boo) AND YOUR NINTH-RANKED GEORGIA BULLDOGS!"
Brook goes through the ULM lineup. We sit silently.
"AND NOW, THE STARTING LINEUP FOR YOUR GEORGIA BULLDOGS!"
Everyone gets a cheer, but then...
"At tailback for the Dawgs, a sophomore from Cedartown, number twenty-seven, NICK CHUBB! And at quarterback a redshirt sophomore from Jesup, number eleven, GREYSON LAMBERT!"
The students waive their Pom poms in unison.
The banner gets broken as "Saturday" by Nickelback gets played on the scoreboard. Nickelback is soon replaced by Baba O'Reilly.
The ball is teed.
GOOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC EM!
Tomorrow...
