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June 2008
How does a father pass love of Jackets to kids?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Happy Father’s Day to all my fellow Yellow Jackets out there. Hopefully, your Father’s Day went (or is going) well.
I spent the morning watching the Disney Channel with my two girls (4 and 1) and then shifted over to “Enchanted” on DVD while the younger one took her morning nap.
It was good daddy-daughter time and it got me to thinking about and looking forward to tailgates coming up this fall. We take the girls to all the home-game tailgates even if they don’t attend the games. And I try to get my dad tickets to a game each season so he can come up and hang out and get some tailgating in as well.
The only wrinkle with my dad is the fact that he’s a big UGA fan. So in years where we play in Athens I don’t mind getting him a ticket but in years where we play in Atlanta, I typically prefer to take him to another game. I’m not sure what the plan will be this year. We’ll have some interesting home games against Mississippi State, Miami, and FSU … not to mention UVA for homecoming. I’m thinking that Thursday night Miami game might be a really fun one. Maybe take the afternoon off from work and hit the Varsity and some campus sites before an exciting night game against the Canes.
He’s a mutt … but he likes college football in general, just like I do, and I remember a few trips to Athens and Atlanta in the early ’80s when I was old enough to attend games with him. We made it to Athens to see Herschel once. I remember eating at the Varsity and walking across the bridge over I-75 in either ‘83 or ‘84. We sat right behind the GT student section in ‘97 for the infamous phantom interference game. And we sat together in the freezing cold in 2004 and watched Reggie throw the ball away at the end. (We both thought it was third down…must have been that endzone down marker eh?) There have been other UGA games as well as a few FSU games … the 2000 game against the ‘Noles being the most memorable and frustrating for me.
My daughters are being raised on a steady diet of Georgia Tech and Florida State. So far, Tech has the edge because of proximity and Buzz being a very kid friendly mascot. My oldest knows both fight songs and does the Chop for my wife. The youngest will start her indoctrination this year. I’d like to get both of them down to women’s hoops and volleyball games since my oldest recently asked her mother if girls played sports or if it was just for boys.
I figure we’ll start with tailgating this fall and ramp up from there. Our crew added about four new babies last summer so our tailgate nickname (Family Parking) will definitely be applicable.
So … fellow dads and bloggers … what do you remember about your dad or grandfather growing up? What team did he cheer for? Do you still pull for the same team? What games and trips do you remember? And how are you raising your kids? What traditions are you handing down?
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