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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 31
Friday, October 31, 2008
Save us from orange and blue!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My neighbor the Gator is actually a nice guy.
I always enjoy chatting with him and his wife (who’s not a Gator) and my daughter feeds their dogs (dawgs?) when they’re out of town. From time to time, of course, we also engage in some good-natured Bulldogs-Gators rivalry. When they first moved in, his wife, noticing I was wearing a UGA shirt, gave me a heads-up and said he was an ardent Florida backer and asked if I thought anyone on the cul-de-sac would mind that he had a little Gators yard banner he wanted to put next to their driveway. I told her it was a very broadminded neighborhood. So we’ve gotten along well despite his unfortunate choice of colleges.
But apparently he still hasn’t gotten over last year. We have a neon Georgia “G” in one of our kitchen windows that we light up after a major Dawgs road win. Sometimes when it’s lit and I’m sitting out on the front porch, Georgia fans driving past will honk and give a thumbs-up. Last year, after the Gator Stomp, it naturally blazed bright red throughout the night.
And right into the Gator’s brain. He’s mentioned it several times over the ensuing year and shortly before the season started he began teasing my daughter that he had some “secret weapon” planned to retaliate this year. When he put a big Gator flag up on his front porch, I thought that might be it, but at a neighborhood get-together the other night, he and my daughter were talking a little smack and he said again that he was going to “build” his secret weapon. His wife let slip that he planned to go get “some lights.”
I’m thinking something garish in bright, blazing orange and blue is in the offing, though whether this will be pre-game or only if they win, I have no idea.
This does personalize the game in Jacksonville for me just a bit. I hate orange and blue. I think it’s one of those cosmic tests for UGA folks that all three of our major rivals wear orange, two of them in combination with blue. (Yes, I know the school in Atlanta wears some version of yellow, but I’m talking MAJOR rivals.)
As for what I expect to happen Saturday, I’d say a good nickname for this year’s game is likely to be the St. Johns Shootout, considering the recent trend for both teams’ offenses. Georgia hasn’t faced an offense anywhere near as potent as Florida’s, which is much more diversified than last year. An improved game for the Georgia D from last week is a necessity, especially shutting down those additional yards after the catch or after the first hit. Georgia’s always done a pretty good job containing Tim Tebow, but this year we have to contend with Florida’s backs, who are small but fast. Our team speed will come in handy.
And while Florida’s defense is much improved over a year ago, it hasn’t yet faced an offense like Georgia’s and is considered to be a bit vulnerable to the run. If Knowshon Moreno has a big day, Georgia wins. If Florida loads up the box to stop Moreno, it’s up to Matt Stafford, A.J. Green, MoMass (one of last year’s big heroes), etc. I think they’ll rise to the occasion, as Erk would say.
I can easily see an outcome where the two offenses essentially tie and the game comes down to which defense manages to score (like last week). I do agree with my son (who’s making the trip to Jax) that it’s important that Georgia get off to a fast start and not fall a couple of TDs behind. If the Dawgs score first, that says to the Gators, “This is just a continuation of last year.” If the Gators score first, it’s imperative that Georgia answer right away.
The winner of this game likely goes to Atlanta and, frankly, I like the odds of either one of them against Bama. I hope it’s the Dawgs that get the chance to atone for that awful first half a few weeks back.
And I REALLY hope the other neighbors and I don’t have to put up with some orange and blue monstrosity blazing away in the Gator’s front yard Saturday night!
