Athens — As a steady rain pounded the Georgia red pop-up tent over his head, Bobby Lewis stabbed at hot dogs on a hibachi grill sitting on the tailgate of his pickup truck. Behind him, five friends — all in red ponchos — stood holding empty plastic plates, eager for the food.

Lewis and his group were among hundreds of tailgaters that shrugged off intermittent showers in and around Sanford Stadium to get their first glimpse at the 2008 Bulldogs.

Allen Sullivan/AJC (ENLARGE)

Georgia officials had expected more than 40,000 fans to show for Saturday's G-Day game.

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"What rain?" said Lewis, turning to his face his friends. "Did y'all know it's raining?"

Like a lot Georgia fans, Lewis couldn't most think of a place they'd rather be, rain or no rain.

"We just love Georgia football," said Lewis, who found a space not far outside Gate 6 on East Campus Road. "This is the fifth year in a row we've done this for G-Day."

Added his friend, Marty Fulcher of Winder: "It's a great chance to get a look at all the newest Dogs, the freshmen and the redshirt freshmen. It's six months until real football starts, so we'll take what we can get until then. Besides, we have season tickets and we can't get this good of a parking place for a regular game."

A lot of people felt the same way. Dave and Betsy Shy drove all the way over from Birmingham. Their plan was to catch the Braves-Mets last night at Turner Field, but that was washed out.

"The rain followed us all the way," Dave Shy quipped.

But alas, one rainout was better than two. The precipitation was reduced to a light drizzle for most of the game that coach Mark Richt reduced to four eight-minute quarters.

Had weather cooperated, Georgia officials expected more than 40,000 on Saturday. The reason is the great expectations for the coming season, in which many media outlets have already tabbed the Bulldogs as their preseason No. 1.

Here are some others who responded by e-mail to a request of Bulldogs fans to tell us tangible examples of their excitement for the 2008 season:

ROB PENNOCK, Piermont, N.Y.

A transplanted Atlantan who lives out of the Bulldogs' coverage region for most games, Pennock has had to go to great lengths to get his UGA football fixes. Jim Clifton, a good friend in Atlanta, records all of Georgia's televised games, copies them to a DVD and overnights them to Pennock in New York.

"I usually get them by Tuesday and watch them that night," Pennock said. "Needless to say we're doing the same thing for the G-Day game."

But Pennock said he plans to see four of the Bulldogs' games in person this season. That number will jump to six if they play the way he expects them to.

"If we hit the big time, I'll be at the SEC championship, and then I'll stay with my wife's family [on Williams Island] for the BIG DADDY!" Pennock said.

HOUSTON EVANS, Eustis, Fla.

"As a former resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands (43 years), the 'hometown' of Richard Samuel, I'm now living in Gatorland (ughh!). But I bleed red and black more vividly than ever, and I am as optimistically excited as is possible for next year. I purchased my game ticket and hotel room for the Arizona State game over a month ago. I cannot wait for the end of August to get here and for the season to begin!"

KEITH JOHNSON, Dunwoody

"I have eight season tickets for home games, and I purchase tickets for as many away games as my wife allows. We already have flights booked to Phoenix, Jacksonville and Miami. Yes indeed, I have already booked the Residence Inn in Miramar, Fla., which is minutes away from the [site of the Orange Bowl] in Ft. Lauderdale."

RANDY ELLISON, Dalton

"Hard to believe I guess, but I already have hotel reservations for the Arizona State game in Scottsdale for five nights. What a better excuse to go out West than a Dawg road game! I love the West anyway so when this was scheduled I started thinking about it and went ahead and made reservations months ago. Go Dawgs!"

JASON CENTANNI, Denver

"I love the excitement about this year's team. I graduated from UGA in '96, so I have been through the ups and downs. I am realistic about this year's team. Tons of potential but a brutal schedule! Me and six friends (all UGA grads from Atlanta) are meeting in Las Vegas on Wednesday for a few nights of fun and then heading to the Arizona State game on Friday to watch the Dawgs start the season on the right foot! Dennis Erickson? What is this, 1994?"

CHRIS McALLISTER, Suwanee

"I just hope we are not setting ourselves up for another Jim Donnan Y2k disaster. ...

I am taking my wife and three kids to Arizona for a nearly two-week trip to see the Dawgs play Arizona State. I have been planning this trip since August 2007 when I could first secure rooms at the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. I have been anticipating the Dawgs playing outside of the South for a long time. I already have plans for Oklahoma State in 09, Colorado in '10 and even Oregon in 2015!

"I have never seen the excitement generated by a preseason such as this. I just hope the young men in Athens play it out on the field and not let all the talk prevent them from reaching their potential. Luckily, I think we have a fantastic coaching staff that will help facilitate this."

ARTHUR STEEDMAN, Atlanta

"Like a lot of folks, I have already made my reservations for the Arizona State trip this fall. Me about 12 buddies (all guys, no wives or girlfriends on this one) are flying into Las Vegas on Thursday morning, spending the day and night gambling, eating, drinking, etc., then flying down to Phoenix on Friday afternoon. We'll be there Friday and Saturday nights and are staying at a brand new hotel within walking distance of the stadium, right next to campus. ...

"We've been talking about this trip ever since ASU was added to the schedule a number of years ago. I'm always extraordinarily anxious for football season to start, but this trip is taking my anticipation to a new level this year. Well, I guess Knowshon [Moreno], [Matthew] Stafford, [Dannell] Ellerbe, and the rest don't hurt either!"

JOE McMILLAN, Dalton

"I have already made reservations for myself, my wife, and our 8-year-old grandson to make the trip to Phoenix for the Arizona State game. I am using Marriott points for two nights at The Buttes, a Marriott Resort in Tempe. We have been really looking forward to the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons since the schedules were announced, due to the road trips to Phoenix, Stillwater and Boulder. We are counting on these being road trips that will create memories that will last our grandson a lifetime. The added fact that we will have a really strong team and any one of these games could be a victory that leads to a [national chamionship] is only icing on the cake."

CHIP FOLENDORE, Watkinsville

Folendore, a real estate agent, just bought airline tickets and has had hotel reservations for a couple of months for Phoenix and the Bulldogs' Sept. 20 game against Arizona State.

"We go to all games so this is not just expectations for this year although we are quite optimistic," Folendore said. "The schedule is great as a fan but extremely challenging for the team. I have to admit I would be thrilled if you told me right now we could be 11-2."

ROB MacLANE, Atlanta

Not only is he planning to attend all but one regular-season game, MacLane, an account executive, already has his plans set for Miami and the BCS national championship game.

"It's a big year and I can't wait," MacLane said. "I've already used ticketreserve.com to reserve national championship tickets and am planning on going to every game besides Kentucky. Got to spend some time with the wife at some point.

"My brothers and I [all UGA grads] are planning a golf/football trip to Tempe for the Arizona state game."

MATT FINCHER, Lilburn

Not everybody can afford to travel to get their Georgia football fix. Fincher, a teacher not long away from graduating from UGA, is making a multimedia splurge to keep up.

"I am a high school teacher, so my wife and I are on a fixed budget, one that currently does not include cable television," Fincher said. "As a result, the only games I was able to watch this past year at home were [on broadcast television]. We in the Fincher household are so excited about the Dogs this year that we're actually going to get expanded cable so I can watch all the games that are televised, except pay-per-view, of course. Otherwise, we would likely stay with our rabbit ears."