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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 08
Thursday, November 8, 2007
A big challenge in red or black
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Getting ready for the biennial visit by the Plainsmen from the former Alabama Polytechnic Institute and their War Eagle named Tiger is always an exciting week in Athens. After all, Georgia-Auburn isn’t just the South’s oldest football rivalry, it’s the best kind of college football rivalry.
The schools are close to each other and recruit against each other. Georgia has a tradition of Auburn-bred leaders (Joel Eaves, Vince Dooley, the current Rodney Garner) and likewise Auburn with former Bulldogs as coaches (Pat Dye and the current Will Muschamp and Hugh Nall). Who can forget then-Auburn coach Dye commemorating the 100th anniversary of the rivalry by reciting the rhyme about being “Bulldog-born and Bulldog-bred” and eventually winding up “Bulldog-dead”? Auburn folks are sort of like our country cousins.
To top it off, playing at home doesn’t seem to figure into it, with the visiting team frequently coming out on top (often against a higher-ranked opponent) like last year.
So, all week when Georgia fans have been discussing what’s likely to happen Saturday, it’s been much like the week before the Alabama game: No one has a real sure feel for it. When folks have stopped by my desk to ask what I think, I say that if the Dawgs play like they did in Jacksonville, I think they win, though probably not as easily. This will be the toughest defense they’ve faced since South Carolina and probably the toughest of the season. If we get into a scoring shootout, I like our odds. If it’s a defensive slugfest, not so much.
As for the Blackout, I think it’s a fun idea, should look cool, and if it helps get the players fired up to run out and see mostly black in the stands, that’s great. Much has been made of Auburn’s recent record in all-white, but let’s face it, the color of the shirt or pants doesn’t really have any more to do with the outcome of the game than whether players touch a rock on their way onto the field, or even a granite bulldog. (Remember back in the Goff era when some fans wanted to get rid of that statue because they considered it bad luck?)
As for what Georgia will wear, I’ll be surprised if it’s black jerseys as linebacker Marcus Washington suggested, though I’ve been a proponent of a black spirit jersey for many years. Mark Richt has done a masterful job of dancing around the issue, pointing out how difficult it is to get black jerseys on short notice while never saying they haven’t done it. If they don’t wear black this game, I have a feeling we will see them at some point.
BULLDOG BITES: I was amused to see that Coke is going to give away 5,000 black T-shirts free to UGA students before the game Saturday. I bet that doesn’t thrill the folks at the University Bookstore next to the stadium and the FTX Bookstore on Baxter Street in Athens who are selling special Georgia Blackout black T-shirts at a rather pricey $18. … The Georgia athletics office has issued a warning to fans about potential problems with counterfeit tickets circulating for Saturday’s game. At last week’s Troy game, counterfeit tickets were sold, despite not even being good counterfeits. They were Ticketmaster knockoffs, and as anyone who’s ever attended a game at Sanford Stadium knows, Georgia doesn’t use Ticketmaster. It sells its own custom-printed tickets. Tickets for the Auburn game feature Kregg Lumpkin (6) and Thomas Brown (20) on them. Real UGA tickets also never have the game time on them. … Former Georgia great David Pollack and the CSTV “Chick-fil-A SEC Tailgate” show will be broadcasting live from near Sanford Stadium Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. They’ll be on the east quad next to Sanford Drive between Rutherford and Mary Lyndon halls. Another Bulldog great, Matt Stinchcomb, will guest on the show. … Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams open their seasons with a double-header Friday night at the Steg. The Lady Bulldogs play Richmond at 6:30 p.m. and the men play Jacksonville State at about 9 p.m. This year, souvenir cups similar to the football Munson cups will be sold at the basketball games. The two cup designs feature Lady Dogs coach Andy Landers and the 1983 Bulldog team that reached the Final Four. … Vince Dooley is one of the three finalists, along with “Bear” Bryant and Steve Spurrier, in the AT&T Best SEC Coach of All-Time contest. Fans can vote by texting “SEC” to 234567. Voting runs through Nov. 16. … Here’s another “streak” it would be nice to end this year: It’s been 25 years since the Dawgs beat Florida and Auburn in the same season.
