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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 27
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Between the Hedges!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Finally, it’s time, as Sanford Stadium announcer Brook Whitmire says, to tee it up betweeeeen the hedges!
After the summer’s silly season of speculation over whether Georgia would top the pre-season rankings and spending August lamenting a rash of injuries (including a key loss for the season), debating who’ll be the backup tailback, salivating over teammates’ estimations of freshman receiver A.J. Green, fretting about whether Knowshon Moreno should receive punts, and worrying how Matthew Stafford will be able to operate behind a revamped and mostly green offensive line, I’m more than ready to head over to Athens early Saturday morning. There’s nothing like hearing that trumpet solo in the Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation for the first time each season! I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
It’s a shame, in a way, that the first home game is one of those 12:30 affairs since that forces fans to condense their pre-game tailgating into more or less a rushed brunch, but if the Dawgs take care of business the way they’re expected to, there should be plenty of time to sit back and reflect on the day afterward before hitting the road back home.
Heading into the game, most UGA fans are confident of the outcome but concerned over whether the Bulldogs will take Georgia Southern seriously enough. Thanks to Appalachian State and Michigan last year, I don’t think there’s much danger of Georgia getting caught napping. But what I would like to see, as I alluded to recently, is the Dawgs dispatching one of their lesser opponents in the manner befitting a Top 5 team. I know the coaches want to let a lot of players get some game experience, but let’s face it, winning by anything less than three touchdowns is going to be considered an off-day for Stafford, Moreno and Co.
I’m not saying we should run up the score to ridiculous levels the way the Gators and Sooners and some other schools do (I doubt you’ll ever see Mark Richt do that), but Georgia needs to make a statement Saturday that it intends to tear through this landmine of a schedule with determination and, yes, a bit of a swagger. The benefits of the mindset after last year’s celebration penalty against the Gators should be obvious to all.
So, go Dawgs … win it BIG!
BULLDOG BITES: Speaking of Brook Whitmire, he ought to get a royalty off sales of this season’s new black rally towel, which features his famous phrase along with the Georgia “G.” As a longtime proponent of using both Georgia’s team colors, I like the continued emphasis on black. By the way, if you choose to buy those towels through Georgiadogs.com, you’ll pay $7.95 apiece (!) compared with the $5 price at retail outlets in Athens. And the first 20,000 fans into the stadium Saturday will get a smaller version for free. … Breakfast With the Dawgs will take place at the Melting Point in Athens the Friday morning before each Georgia home football game. Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. A buffet breakfast will be served and the guest speaker will begin around 8:30 a.m. and end around 9, just in time to get to work. Parking is free and available on site. Coach Richt is the speaker for this week’s breakfast. Tickets can be purchased online via www.georgiadogs.com or www.meltingpointathens.com. Tickets for this first kick-off breakfast are $15 and admission for all others will be $12. … WGCL, Atlanta’s CBS affiliate (and home of Dagmar Midcap), is going red and black Friday, including a special hourlong “Dawg Pep Rally Show” at 8 p.m.
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