UGA vs. Mizzou - Welcome to the SEC!

When SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced that Texas A&M and University of Missouri were joining the SEC there was some trepidation, the "us vs. them" mentality, the "they don't know what they're getting into" and all emotions in between. Since I am a Dawg fan and the Captain is a died in the wool Alabama Tide fan I pushed for us to make the trip to Missouri to be in attendance for the inaugural game of the new conference. It wasn't a hard sell since his daughter and son in-law lived just outside Kansas City and it would be another opportunity to visit. They also attended the game with us so I got to enjoy the exquisite hospitality of Gabby (his daughter) as well as the new experiences of Columbia, MO. Tickets were a little difficult to come by but as everyone in Columbia told us not near as difficult as the pending Alabama game.

Travel arrangements were also a little complicated since we were driving to Missouri but were flying home in different directions (me to the ATL and the Captain to Sacramento, Cal.). On our way to KC we spent the night in Collinsville, Ill, home to the world's largest catsup bottle (Brooks Catsup) made famous by the Geico lizard. Since this is a travel blog we had to make a side trip so we could check it off the "list". On Friday (2nd day) we decided to reconnoiter in Columbia and check things out. We had lunch at Hooter's and although I was dressed in red and black the locals were curious but cordial. The restaurant manager Jason, came to our table and asked were we being treated well (it is a mark of Missouri pride to be a good host) and we said yes. He gave us many good tips for game day and when our waitress, Megan (not pictured) , discovered that we were both retired teachers she quickly shared that she was a senior English education major and was very excited to be attending her first SEC game.

A point of information here - Everyone we talked to said how happy they were to be in the SEC and left the Big 12 behind. Many people couldn't wait to tell us how excited they were to join the best football conference in the country because it would give them better exposure, better recruiting, and finally give them a venue to show how good their team REALLY was. As I said, everyone was very hospitable and cordial but deep down they believed they would not only win the game but would dominate UGA. During the extended tailgate time the Captain would steal away and watch the Florida/Texas A&M game. I was pulling for A&M for the simple reason that I didn't want to be the first team to lose an SEC game to the "new guys". The Mizzou fans were quick to point how much they 'disliked' A&M. When Florida won the game the burden settled on Georgia to maintain the seniority of the SEC East. But I digress. Saturday morning arrived and it had been decided previously that we should make the 3 hour drive early enough to get a good parking/tailgating spot which would require arriving in Columbia no later than 1 pm for a 6:45 pm kickoff. We did arrive before 1 pm and did find a small (but great) lot for tailgating right next to the RV lot about a half mile from Faurot Field. Part of being in the SEC is the size and scope of everything (Vanderbilt not withstanding) from the fan base to the stadium to the hype of each and every game. Mizzou did an outstanding job with all new apparel sporting the SEC logo and the hype leading up to the start of the game. The parking area we found was perfect for tailgating; it relatively small, was bordered by trees for shade, also had a picnic shelter (complete with tables) across a small bridge and allowed us to get to know many of our 'neighbors' (of course in that particular lot it was approximately 40 per cent Georgia fans and felt quite homey).

I would like to take a few sentences to recognize and acknowledge some fans from both Mizzou and UGA that we met while tailgating on an absolutely perfect fall day in Columbia. There was Max and Stacy Clayton (and their son Jim) who had a great setup of food, tent, refreshments and satellite TV where the Florida/Texas AM game was playing. They drove from Virginia and spend most of their fall Saturdays in Athens. Our next door tailgaters from Missouri were Billy and Josh; very informative, friendly and liberal with all refreshments and couldn't believe how far away the stadium was! Our most enterprising tailgaters were a group of Missouri students who at first glance appeared to be a fraternity. They turned out to be a group of students who had pooled their money for all the necessary trappings of a good tailgate party - tent, table, cooler, grill, music and "refreshments". As the afternoon wore on they became very talkative. Caesar was from Wisconsin (Madison actually but said he could not go to school in his home town), John, David and Kaileen were also very friendly and when they learned that 3 of the 4 of us were former teachers they were even more friendly and expressed their admiration of teachers and the military (D, the Captain's son in-law is currently in the Air Force). Again, I can't say enough about the hospitality of the Mizzou fans that day. One of the facts that was shared with us about the respect and power of the SEC was the fact that they usually get only one or two televised games a year and this year they are scheduled for 3 Saturday night games consecutively. Some of their fans and ours had a more difficult time 'pacing' themselves for the duration of the afternoon in order to make it to the night kickoff. Some scenes were humorous and others were a bit sad. One that was sad was a freshman girl (no name) who had clearly consumed more than was good for her. Some of her friends were trying to help her as others were breaking down the tailgate and getting ready for the game. We all began to migrate to the bus pickup area (yes, they have shuttles for that big hill!) Fans in Red and Gold were waiting for the bus when a UM campus policeman came up and asked 3 of the students to exit the line. The girl was clearly drunk but the other 2 were decent friends trying to help her and they all got taken to the station. As a former UGA student and current father of a 24 year old UGA grad I am glad that is one phone call I did not have to make (or answer). A hard lesson to learn is these unforgiving times.

The bus ride to the stadium was a balanced mix of drunk Georgia fans and drunk Missouri fans and the good-natured taunts and songs all the way to the drop off point was loud but fun. We exited just as the marching band and the pride of Missouri "Big MO'" the world's largest bass drum, was making it's way to the stadium. Big Mo' is 9 feet in diameter and requires 4 band freshman to push the rolling carriage into position. They used it during the game to rev up the crowd; as Jimmy Buffett would say "you could feel it in your heart" when those concussive strokes were struck. We continued to meet very friendly people Including David, who sat behind us and was a true fount of information telling us about lighting requirements for the field, the stadium additions than were being planned because of the admission to the SEC, traditions about Columbia and game day, and announced the attendance of the game BEFORE it was listed on the big screen (turns out the max attendance to satisfy the fire marshall is 71,004 although my guess is there were closer to 78,000 inside the gates). I am not a game analyst so I won't spend much time on the game proper except for the fact that UGA played a very slow first half which kept Missouri fired up to win. As soon as the game started the uber-friendly fans turned aggressive; towards the Georgia players (and fans), to their own players and to their coach. At one point during the second half one of those friendly fans was sharing some VERY unfriendly comments about a player hurt of the field and I turned to him and said "Man, that's cold!". After that he calmed down and the other good fans (I consider him one as well) began trying to quell some of the nastier Gold fans to be more considerate (and the vast majority of them were). As we pushed on to the end of the game the cry of "old man football" from Mizzou fans gradually turned into "grown man football" by the more vocal Georgia fans. It was quite the day, but one we will always remember fondly!! WELCOME TO THE SEC!!!

South Carolina Becomes Relevant!

Sorry I've been away for a few weeks but between traveling to Washington, D.C. (twice) and actually working in an honest job for a few days a week I have just now managed to motivate myself to write about South Carolina and Williams Brice Stadium. I did some research before we rolled into Columbia for the home opener and we did find Maurice's BBQ with that wonderful SC mustard-based sauce. My only disappointment was that it was outside of town away from the Cock-fans!

When we arrived at the stadium we parked on the southeast side (from the interstate) about 5 blocks from WB and walked towards individual tail-gaters and got our first look at the long line of "Cock-a-booses (?)". That was quite unique and VERY impressive to see what appeared to be 35-40 cabooses, on rails, within 100 feet of that stadium. I guess because it was a Thursday start to the home opener the partying was quite subdued. I estimated to temperature around 5 pm at 94 (plus) degrees so more people were drinking water than alcohol (yours truly included). Now I have to say that the 'water rule' did not extend to the USC students who (like all SEC student fans) were using any excuse to 'go to the well' long and often (more about that in a minute). As we walked around the stadium, Cock-a-booses, and the fairgrounds parking lots we observed quite a few parties, mostly a little understated because of the heat, opponent, and a Thursday game. We did receive quite the hospitality from members of the Carolina Collegiate Credit Union as they distributed water to weary souls from all over.

The Captain and I were welcomed quite heartedly by the small (but upbeat) contingent of Southern Miss fans as we waited for the stadium to open. They were upbeat and positive viewing the game as "great exposure" for their program. I met a couple from Mobile whose son started for the Eagles and we exchanged pleasantries and local stories about Mobile and the Gulf Coast (both the Captain and my wife's family is from the Mississippi Coast), they were VERY nice! We were fortunate to be in the shade at that point (Carolina fans know what I'm talkin' about) and observed "Cocky" and the cheerleaders make their rounds and had to duck out of the way for the ESPN/DirecTV bus to come rambling by.

We were careful to dress in neutral and/or benign colors so we could blend in since we are sampling everything local about each stadium and their fans and not advertise that we were not "from around here." When we got into the stadium and found our seats (quite good, row 6, around the 40 yard line behind the Southern Miss bench) the crowd (mostly students) filed in, and in, and in, and in! By the time the pre-game activities were ready to begin everyone in front of us were standing (I guess in excitement), not only standing up, but standing on their seats to the point that I couldn't see anything. The mostly students that were sitting around us had been partying quite awhile and don't understand the value and importance of drinking water (either before, with, or after) their alcohol. Walking into the stadium proved to be quite the challenge for many of them. I defer to the Captain at this point to offer up his opinion but suffice it to say after one quarter of watching the game on the jumbotron we took off to find a seat in the upper level where we could watch the game AND breathe.

I have to say that as the season has progressed "the old ball coach" and his team have proven to be solid and a real contender for the SEC East. Of course there are 2 major obstacles, one in the East (UF) and another in the West (UA) and they will be tested this week BUT the USC student section is as loud as I have witnessed (I'm anxious to visit Baton Rouge)and when they crank up the volume and start waving those white towels in the end zone, they truly become a relevant and important "12th man" for the Gamecocks!