This past Saturday (10/16/10) was Homecoming at UGA vs, Vanderbilt and although the call to return to Sanford Stadium is a strong one I had been out of town the past 3 Saturdays and had agreed to do some volunteer work in Canton with my wife.
The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce hosted the 3rd Annual "Cherokee Pignic", a regional BBQ competition that incorporates professional BBQ teams, local restaurants and a highly competitive amateur division that brings out dozens of local entries. My favorite part of the weekend is the "People's Choice" tent that allows the amateurs to qualify (seems like 20 were selected) and you pay $5 for 8 tickets and sample their finest fare and vote with your ticket to select the "People's Choice". It like doing BBQ shots! (hint for next year; when you buy the tickets also buy a bottle of water to cleanse the pallet and help with swallowing!!).
My wife and I were working the admissions booth (one of either side of the entrance) and although my new approach to UGA football is to NOT obsess with the game (therefore agreeing to sell tickets and not watch it on TV) we both dressed in our Red&Black shirts and I did take a small radio to listen as we worked. What happened next is no surprise to any SEC fan (let alone Bulldog fan) but demonstrates the cameradie of SEC fans everywhere. Since we were both dressed in Georgia colors you would think that when someone asked for the score they would be referring to the GA/Vandy game (98% were of course) but one fellow wearing maroon and gold asked the score and when I happily replied "36-0" I thought he was going to faint! I never did know what game HE was asking about but when I followed up with "Ga-Vandy" he visibly relaxed.
Cars with UGA tags unloaded men, women, old, young, infants (and every age in between) and they would come through the booth wearing Ga. caps, shirts, bibs, etc. and with an easy "how's it going" and the brother and sisterhood of UGA would immediately kick in as I gave the score. I went to get something to eat at the concessions building and ran into a high school-age student with a GA. cap on and asked if he had heard the latest score and he replied no, "I'm getting text updates on my phone but I've been so busy I can't even check it!". I gave him the score (43-0 at that point) and left another smiling fan. Another fan came through the booth wearing a Clemson orange and purple shirt but a Florida cap and I asked him if he was in a hurry to get dressed that morning (he professed to be a UF fan, little did he know what awaited him in Gainesville).
At the end of our shift, and very close to the end of the game, I reflected on the connection we all shared via the SEC, not just UGA, but all SEC football. Fans everywhere will share and commiserate with fans from other schools (especially if they have suffered from the big 2, UA and UF) and as is human nature, we enjoy watching the underdog win against all odds (unless it is OUR team that is the favorite) and we see things from another perspective when situations change (i.e. I used to have great animosity towards Steve Spurrier for all those whippings in Jacksonville but as the Gamecocks coach he has earned my grudging admiration).
On a Homer note; We can celebrate the small things at UGA, no one has been arrested for at least a week, the offense is producing and the defense is beginning to gel. What I do know and believe with all my heart and soul is that Mark Richt is the best thing that has happened to Georgia Football since Vince Dooley was named the head coach 46 years ago and his calm, steady hand is in no small part the reason the Red and Black ship has corrected its course and begun to steer in a more acceptable direction!
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