A Bulldog family’s favorite time of year begins
My daughter snapped this shot of A.J. Green at last year's Countdown to Kickoff after quite a lengthy wait in line. (Photo by Olivia King)
Can you feel it?
Today marks the unofficial start of the Georgia Bulldogs football season as the Stinchcombe brothers and David Greene put on the Countdown to Kickoff fan day at the Woodruff Practice Fields in Athens.
Unfortunately, I can’t be there today, but if you are in the vicinity this afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., I encourage you to swing by. Tickets cost $25 and benefit a group of children’s charities, and it’s generally a fun day (even with the occasional thunderstorm). You can meet and get autographs from the current players (if last year is anything to go by, the line for A.J. Green will be WAY long) as well as Dogs from the past, and the Redcoats and cheerleaders and Hairy Dawg are on hand. Lots of activities for the kids, too.
Next up will be all the coverage from SEC Media Days and then the Dogs open preseason practice on July 31 and we can keep our fingers crossed that nobody tears anything and we don’t end up with half the team limping around with strained hamstrings.
For me personally, the preseason excitement really starts to build in mid-August when I spend a few vacation days at the family homeplace in Athens and my daughter and I make our annual trek to the UGA Bookstore so she can stock up on school supplies and posters and we can get some new Dawgwear for the whole family. That always ends up costing a bundle, but school is usually in session by then and the hustle and bustle of Tate Plaza is a great way to fall in love with the school all over again.
As most of you know, I grew up in Athens and still spend a lot of time there. But there’s something different about that August visit. The sorority rushees are all looking pretty in their sundresses and various student groups have tables set up advocating this and that, and you can spot the freshmen by the sort of dazed look they have.
I remember standing on Sanford Bridge looking into the empty stadium with my then junior high age son and asking him, “Can you see yourself here?” His excited “yeah!” wasn’t really a surprise, of course, since he’d been following the Dogs since he was a preschooler. But I got a kick out of it. He went on to earn two degrees from UGA and is living in D.C. now. But he’s already planning his trip to Colorado to see Georgia play and which games he’ll be flying home to attend in Athens.
Hopefully, my daughter also will wind up at UGA in a couple of years. I have a hard time imagining it any other way, what with the track record of both her parents, her uncles and her brother.
For us, the University of Georgia and following the Dawgs is a family thing. Always has been and always will be.
Go Dogs!
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73 comments Add your comment
AltamahaDawg
July 18th, 2010
10:09 am
12-2 , you might want to check with BuLLdawg. He has been telling us all year that Coach Bobo will get fired after this season with his “unprepared QB” and half the RBs unfit to be on the field. That will be interesting considering your DisneyDawg prediction that he will be part of the coaching staff that beats UF and wins the east.. Maybe you can see is The Messenger can reconcile those completely conflicting predictions.
Quasimodo
July 18th, 2010
10:39 am
Red panties on the ground,
Red panties on the ground,
UGA looks like a fool
With red panties on the ground!
Weeb
July 18th, 2010
10:46 am
My prediction of the big game in Jacksonville, presented as a public service.
Florida – 49
Georgia – 13
I’ll also predict that several thousand UGA fans and students will be arrested at the game for drunk and disorderly, and a few thousand more will be arrested for DUI on the way home.
And it’s all good.
what?
July 18th, 2010
1:17 pm
12-2 and BuLL are the same…are they not?
ol ' seadawg
July 18th, 2010
3:39 pm
I’m glad they were red panties and not gold!! You techies are so obsessed with panties? Must be because the only ones you see are mama’s undie drawer and walmart! Get ready for another 8 years of domination insects!!
AltamahaDawg
July 18th, 2010
5:13 pm
How could that be:
One spent the summer describing every conceivable way the program was an utter failure, and the other thinks that it is the best team in the SecEast.
One was completely insulted by anyone suggesting that UGA would be in a 14 game season and the other sees no reason to think they will not be.
One says that coaches will be fired this year, the other says this staff will coach a relatively young team in transition to the SEC title game.
One calls himself one thing, the other guy is presenting himself as an entirely different individual. Surely no grown man would do that.
Next you will be saying that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person.
AltamahaDawg
July 18th, 2010
5:16 pm
Oh cource one say that Florida is the ONLY good team in the Sec East and that same one say that Georgia will obviously beat them. So go figure.
dave
July 18th, 2010
8:37 pm
You’ll probably delete this comment, but since Tim Tucker’s comments are closed this is the only place I can find to tell him and the folks at AJC just how low and disgusting I think you are. Sure Damon Evans did to himself what he did, but you folks now want to delve into his personal life (I understand it was a state phone) to destroy him and his family. I sincerely hope that Tim Tucker and AJC can’t sleep at night for what you’ve done. But then again, you sold papers and that is the bottom line for you folks, isn’t it.
Truth
July 18th, 2010
8:46 pm
It’s your favorite time of year because there are still a few weeks left without a loss. Enjoy being “undefeated” for a few more weeks because then reality will set in once you see game #1. New QB alone will be your undoing, not to mention all of the drama off of the field. Yet, uga fans still have their blinders on and think they will win the SEC – try winning the division first!
Truth
July 18th, 2010
8:48 pm
@dave – Why aren’t you even more mad at uga than at ajc? Those at uga should have known the type of person they put in such a high position, shouldn’t they? Someone like that can only ‘hide’ that side of their personality so long before everyone clearly sees what’s going on.
Don’t be mad at ajc, be mad at uga.
FLA DAWG
July 18th, 2010
9:57 pm
DAWG NATION,
This season let’s take one game at a time and fairly analyze it post game – the good, the bad, the strengths and the weaknesses. I’ve been tough on Bobo but the slate is clean starting now (and since Martinez is gone we’ve got a whole new, professional slate to work with) and Richt has made some tough, hard but fair decisions in preseason regarding players.
Now, let’s see some Dawg Football.
DAWG DAZ
July 18th, 2010
10:05 pm
Fan day…did anyone get to meet Murray? Is he 5′10″ or 6′1″?
AltamahaDawg
July 18th, 2010
10:36 pm
Truth , what team do you pull for, and how many opening games against vastly inferior opponents have you actually witnessed in your life? Personally I think we will see as little as it takes to get a comfortable victory, playing as deep in the roster as we can. But you can tell us what “reality” we are going to see game #1. Do inform us all, please.
And yea, a guys like Damon can only hide the character flaw for just a couple of decades.
RED DOG 77
July 19th, 2010
12:50 am
Bill…….Thanks for the story my friend ! Yup……..won’t be long now, that crisp autum air in Athens, Georgia ! not a better place in the world to be, not a better feeling than being a GEEEEOOOORRGGIA BULLDOG !!! SIC’ ‘EM……..WOOF…….WOOF……..WOOF !!!!!!!!!
12-2
July 19th, 2010
6:45 am
Georgia is far-better in line to win a Men’s Basketball National Championship than it is in Football. Clearly, this is because Mike Bobo cannot coach the offense, or Coach Richt would NOT have announced to us all that HE is going to make those Offensive Decisions and not HIS LOUSY OFFENSIVE COACHING STAFF, which he tacitly demoted while I call for them all to be FIRED.
We are loaded in basketball because our Coaching Staff is looked upon by the recuits as great. We aren’t in football, on the offense, because the recruits and no one else either – none of anybody – considers our Offensive Coaching Staff to be great.
Then, you come in here and in runs Bluto proclaiming that UGA’s Offense is BETTER than Alabama’s, which explains of course why we average 14 interceptions a year the last 4 years, average 21 fumbles a year the last 4 years, averages # 96 NCAA penalties a year the last 4 years, and has LOST 10 of the last 20 SEC East games over the last 4 years while also over the last 4 years being # 3 in Fulmer Cup Standings.
Yes, Bluto, we have just been great on Offense, no doubt of it – especially in having prepared our Quarterbacks such as no prepared QB in 2006 when we LOST 4 games and such as no prepared QB in 2009 yet again when we LOST 5 games and now once again such as no prepared QB for 2010 when we LOSE __________ games.
Cuz
July 19th, 2010
2:21 pm
Great story Bill. See you online.
AltamahaDawg
July 19th, 2010
8:06 pm
sorry BuLLdawg I didn’t see your 2 loss prediction back there. Just so that we are all clear, you see UF losing 2 sec games this year? Could happen. I would agree that Bama would be favored in the SECCG against UGA. I do think we are just as likely to drop 2 conference games as UF though. Of Ark, Sc, Tn AU, I would pick dropping the AU if i had to pick one. Florida is a better team that UGA this year, but I do like your positive attitude.
bgdawgfan
July 19th, 2010
11:42 pm
I cannot wait for Sep. 4th. GO DAWGS!!!!!!
Huey Dewey
July 20th, 2010
7:42 am
Whats the progress on Reed or Adams alley? Is it moving along or what? How much for a hot dog and a coke at the stadium this year?
St. Richt
July 21st, 2010
11:36 am
Yep, the Bulldogs favorite time of the year every year is the preseason. The hype always beats the substance for Dawg fans. EVERY YEAR.
bitter bug killer
July 22nd, 2010
2:47 am
the idea of teaching alquida to build nukes, hang em all, ps pass me da snuff rogers!! damn nerds
bitter tennersa fan
July 22nd, 2010
2:55 am
itsa that time of the year yaaw, get out the backer and get ready fora big orange that be the super 8 jail thugs lead by da, slick rogers to lead us to by god holy grail, the one and onlt “NC” last seen by him/her walter patton our 6′7″ QB in 19 and 99, get the rebal flag and let smokey losse, yaaw its all orange on this here team just ask the jugge, he stop taken ourr money and heck he lock to many up now lane kiffin dont care he loves thuggs, more the better yee haww
John D. Elder
July 31st, 2010
12:02 am
Once a Dawg, Always a Dawg! How Sweet it is!
Dawg class of ‘74