A.M. ATL: Families divided by football
Happy post-Thanksgiving Friday. It’s me again, filling in for Tyler Estep, who certainly sprained his typing pinkie in family flag football.
The forecast is chilly with highs in the 40s, and you are likely filled to the gizzard. Here are things to do with your leftovers. (Thanksgiving Wellingtons? Get outta town.)
Hopefully you aren’t footballed out, because there’s plenty more pigskin to heat up — Georgia and Georgia Tech are playing on Black Friday for the first time since 1994. It’s a game worth $100,000 to one of the head coaches, but the scheduling has a different kind of cost for a pair of quarterbacks from Oconee County.
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THE CATS AND THE CRADLE ...
For those of you who have lived here for a while, the UGA-Tech rivalry is heated. The matchup is nicknamed Clean Old-Fashioned Hate. But there’s a softer side to that clash on the sidelines.
Notably, Mike Bobo and Buster Faulkner: the offensive coordinators at Georgia and Tech, respectively. They are the fathers of Jake Bobo and Harrison Faulkner — best friends and kindred spirits when it comes to their relationships with their dads.
- Jake and Harrison will be quarterbacking their respective squads (Prince Avenue Christian School and North Oconee) in the quarterfinals of the GHSA state playoffs tonight.
- But here’s the kicker: Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. The exact same time toe meets leather for Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets at Sanford Stadium. (This is where dads everywhere shed a little tear)
This year’s Tech-Georgia game represents a rare head-to-head conflict with high school football, writes the AJC’s Chip Towers. That is something both universities go to great lengths to avoid. And there actually was no scheduling conflicts when ABC brokered Tech and Georgia last spring.
But then Hurricane Helene ripped through South Georgia in late September. Hundreds of games had to be canceled, and the GHSA’s solution was to push the schedule back a week.
Of course, these teens are taking this much more maturely than I would have. (Thanks for always showing up, Dad!)
- Jake: “It just feels normal to me. I mean, my dad tries to come when he can. He came last week, which was good. And he watches every single game (on video) when they’re not having meetings or anything like that.”
- Harrison: “I’ve got to handle business; that’s what my dad told me.”
Elsewhere in Sports
Here are AJC’s Michael Cunningham’s predictions for this weekend’s action
Read AJC Editor Chris Vivlamore’s (final) annual Thanksgiving column
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THANKSGIVING IS OVER. SO, TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
The AJC’s Holiday Guide is live. It’s got a lot: Black Friday buying tips, food to make that will make you fat (and healthy), gifts for “the older adults on your list,” a list of pop-up bars, movies to stream, lights to see. Plus, dogs posing with Santa.
Also, ‘tis the time for a little shameless plug. Mainly because the AJC has a pretty stellar Black Friday deal going right now for new subscribers: over 60% off a subscription. Details here if your wallet is already out.
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MORE TOP STORIES
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PASS THE TARIFFS
Let’s not get too wild on politics talk. But we do have some great coverage on what President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs might mean for business around here. Take a look at the potential impact on Georgia trade with China-Canada-Mexico, golf carts and the state’s agriculture industry, which is still reeling from Hurricane Helene’s devastation.
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MERRY MARTA TO US ALL
You should probably get your fill of AJC columnist Bill Torpy, who rode MARTA’s rail and spoke with two dozen riders last week to get a sense of their thoughts about the system. He asked some of the eclectic group (a “lawyer, chef, waitress, bartender, shoemaker, students, retirees, two homeless guys, some white-collar workers and even the dude who was charged with burning down I-85 in 2017″) to grade MARTA. All but one shrugged, and gave it a “C.” “It was like asking a man eating an Oscar Mayer hotdog what he thought of his dinner,“ Torpy writes.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Delta preps for big changes to its museum
» Nedra Rhone: State flower flub carries important history lesson
» ‘Dear Santa,’ shot in Atlanta, turns Jack Black into an impish ‘Satan’
» Meet one of Georgia’s newest employees: Asher, the comfort dog
» Kennesaw mom launches slow run club to ‘break the mold of what a runner should be’
» After months of uncertainty, Rivian’s Georgia plant appears primed to restart
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ON THIS DATE
Nov. 29, 1947
While post-Thanksgiving shoppers drove an Atlanta “spending riot,” the cops warned football fans to be a little more careful with their cash.
It seems some 5,000 “spurious ducats” (or counterfeit tickets) to the upcoming Georgia-Georgia Tech game were floating around, waiting for the unwitting to scoop ‘em up.
(Also: Check out that photo, at bottom, of legendary coaches Bobby Dodd and Wally Butts smiling together!)
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
The AJC’s Ben Hendren captured the mass of humanity that gathered at the 2024 Gobble Jog in downtown Marietta yesterday. More great shots of the 22nd annual event here. Also, did you see that the Jonesboro High marching band performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
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ONE MORE THING
Remember Creed? The band everyone loves to hate on. They are so back. No, really.
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It’s basically still a holiday, yet you still read to the very bottom. For that, you deserve a special prize. Here’s a recipe for ... livermush. Questions, comments, ideas for coverage? Email me at eric.mandel@ajc.com.
About the Author
Eric Mandel is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native and University of Iowa alumnus. The award-winning journalist moved from Seattle in 2017 to Atlanta, working as a writer and editor for American City Business Journals. He joined the AJC in June 2024.
