After watching our Dawgs put on one of their worst displays this decade, I think it would be nice to write an almost non- football related  post about my experience in Vol country.  So, without further ado...

The Drive:  Beautiful drive up and back.  I have been traveling through Tennessee for almost my entire life visiting family in Kentucky, and I have always loved this part of the country.  The leaves haven't changed their colors quite yet, but the mountainous views are no less beautiful.  The traffic was surprisingly light in Knoxville, considering the circumstance of it being a college football weekend in a college town, but I attribute that to the fact that Knoxville is considerable larger than our fair "Hamlet in the Wilderness."  Didn't run into heavy traffic until the return trip home, but Knoxville did a great job of getting us out of there.

The Town:  Ugly.  I know that Athens has a few rough patches in a few of select neighborhoods (as it often goes in college towns), but Knoxville was just plain nasty.  I know that I might have been in a rough area of town near the campus, but the places I saw were just gross.  I wanted to take a pressure to the entire river walk area.  Speaking of the river walk area...

The Food:  I heeded the advice from Skigator and Holly, and hit up the local eatery, Calhoun's.  The place was incredible.  The full rack of BBQ ribs that landed on my plate and subsequently entered my tummy would have tempted even Moses.  The slaw was good, the atmosphere (while very orange) was great, the micro-brew was incredible (a great Red Amber, with a smooth caramel taste at the end), and the Carolina vinegar-based sauce  was on par with my fiancee's own Carolina sauce (she doesn't put quite so much malaises in her sauce, which is just how I like it).  With delicious food and great service, this was by far the best part of the day.

The Tailgating:  Disappointing.  Perhaps the slightly wet conditions and early kick off frightened the majority of  the hard core tailgaters from pulling out all the stops, but I hardly saw anything that resembled anything I have seen on even the rainiest kickoffs in in Athens.  The few tailgaters we met , though, were incredibly cordial, and almost everyone of them offered us food, which brings me to...

The Fans:  Very, very, very, very nice people.  Like I said, almost everyone offered my fiancee and I food as we passed tailgates, and everyone we asked directions from was very nice and helpful.  And besides an idiot who screamed out a typical homophobic remark regarding Uga's sexual preference out his window and a drunk lady on a boat, the heckling was held to a minimum.

Campus: UGLY.  Can not emphasis that enough.  The place looks worse than any campus I have been to in the SEC and then some.  The Greek houses were ugly as sin, and some potentially beautiful, historic buildings were in complete disrepair.  There were a few nice sections (comparatively speaking), but nothing even close to what we have here in Athens.  If anyplace needed a benefactor with a pocketbook as deep as T. Boone Picken's, it's the University of Tennessee.

The Stadium:  First off, I was shocked to learn that the Speech and Hearing Impaired Therapy clinic is located within the stadium.  At first, I figured that meant that they held such programs in high esteem in Knoxville.  That was my thought, at least, until I reached Neyland Stadium.  What a mess that place is.  Its resemblance to a shoddily made Erector Set was uncanny, and I found my self shocked that no sign was posted advising attendees to have their Tetanus shots in order before they entered the stadium.  I was afraid to use the bathrooms, for any use, and was simply petrified by the height of the upper decks.  To say that the place was in need of a good scraping and paint job is an understatement.

The Game Atmosphere:  Not impressive.  Place never got full, and only got as full as it did about half-way into the second quarter.  The Vol band was fun (the Circle Drill was as good as advertised), even if "Rocky Top" was the only decent tone they could play .  It did get loud at times, but I attribute that to the acoustics of the stadium, rather than the vociferous nature of Vol fans. 

Overall Grade: C+.  Hearing that Sporting News once ranked Knoxville as one of the best gameday experiences in the country, I went to Knoxville excited about the prospect of witnessing some great pageantry located on a beautiful college campus.  To say I was disappointed was a understatement. Ugly campus, ugly stadium, bad fan support, and limited tailgating all were detrimental factors to the day.  Maybe the Fulmer years did a number on the school's spirit, but I have seen better fan support in Athens on a Tennessee Tech Weekend. Although the food and fans were nothing but good factors, the whole thing was a rather disappointing affair (the final score not withstanding).  Glad I went, just so I can say I did, but I see no return trip in the future.

I know that it has been a long time since I have contributed in any way to this community (besides my visits), but I have a question for anyone who has been to Knoxville for a game.   Where are the best places for Bulldog fans to go in a town like this?  Where are the good local eats?  I have almost been to all the SEC venues and I'm excited to go to the biggest (if not the most ugly) one of them all!  I'm bringing my fiancee with me, so I naturally want it to be as safe as possible.  Thanks to all who respond to this!

GO DAWGS!!!

Did the round ball Georgia Bulldogs, losers of 11 straight, just beat the Florida Gators?  Congratulations to the Coach Herrmann and the rest of the "forgotten" Dawgs of the hard court.  Let's hope they build off this victory and provide for the Bulldog Nation a glimmer of hope for the OUR basketball program, which has dwelt in mediocrity for so long. So let's go out and get a coach that can bring a smidgen of respect to the "Stege-saurus" and bring a National Championship to Ole Georgia!

Hey everyone,

As a a lover of UGA football and of our program's history, I was going to pose a question all the old timers.

"When did we stop singing the lyrics to 'Hail to Georgia?' and become content with it being a instrumental?" 

I ask this because, even though I know the words and sing them after every field goal, only two or three other kids in the entire student section know it (I know that at least one student knows the song, because a particularly drunk senior  tearfully pleaded with me to keep the tradition alive). Since, I'm a senior myself, I'll probably repeat the same act towards the end of the season, crying my drunk eyes out to so unsuspecting freshman.

I'm not placing blame on you old alumnus, I'm just playing the role of curious historian.

By the way, I love the song!!  "All hail to Dear!!! OLE!!!! U!!! G!!! A!!!!!!!"

Hey everyone,

Its been a while since I've posted anything of value on this blog, but since we are thirty days away from kick-off, I thought I'd get back into the swing of things.

Being that we are *only(!)* a month away from teeing it up between the hedges against GSU, I just wanted to ask everyone, what is your favorite part about gamedays in Athens?  I know this is a topic discussed over and over again all over the dawg-o-sphere, but I'm feeling too excited for my own good and need to use this energy in a constructive manner rather than self destruct in a pre-football season burnout.

I'd say I actually have two moments every autumn Saturday that make me long for football season.  My first is waking up at 6 in the morning, making my liquor run to ABC Package and my supply run to WalMart, seeing all the tailgaters arriving at 6:45, getting home, and waking up my sleeping and beautiful girlfriend with loud barking noises.  I know that that was a series of moments but it's all about the anticipation of the day and that general feeling that I love the most.  Lastly, I love the season's first rendition of the Battle Hymn. Being that this is my senior year (where did the last three years go!?), those first notes by the trumpet soloist will no doubt cause me to tear up like never before.

What about yall?  Give me your opinions.

GO DAWGS!

Friends, the Georgia Bulldogs are the SEC Tournament Champions, and there are going to be SEC Champion t-shirts and hats in the UGA Bookstore and other places tomorrow morning.  Let that sink in for a minute or two and try not to laugh....... see you can't do it.  I watched the game from start to finish and there are no words to describe the utter joy I feel at this moment.  When the last second ticked off, I began shrieking at the top of my voice, hugged my best friend and my campus minister, and proceeded to run out of the room stripping off my lucky shirt and cap in classic European soccer style proclaiming our sudden and inexplicable superiority to all that would here me.  

What our team has just accomplished is more than extraordinary, its unprecedented!!!  We won four games in three days, played the championship game on our arch-rival's home court in front of 1,000 people, and did this with a nine man roster!!  I know there have been a lot of  people hounding Dennis Felton this year, but what he has done with this team is astounding.  He squad never gave up on him, and they played their hearts out.  With a great recruiting class coming in next year, I hope that this accomplishment will energize the UGA fanbase (the alumni attendance at games is shameful), kick start this program, and make us a force to be reckoned with.  

Here's to Yata Gaines and Dave Bliss on a great career here in Athens, and lets cheer them on throughout the tournament.  Its great to be relevant again.    

GO DAWGS!!! TO HELL WITH XAVIER!!!!    

This is going to sound weird and completely off topic, but what is the ingredients to the Orgeron crush?  I told my friend about it before the Ole Miss. game and she thought that it was very funny (being that her boyfriend is a Starksville man, and former son of the school's president).  So my girlfriend and I decided that we would give her the ingredients and make her a fresh batch of it for Christmas.  Macondawg, you are the man and I know that you are the quencher of the bulldog nation's thrist, so I hope you can remember the ingredients to this drink.  Cheers to all, my finals are over, and hope you all have a eggnog-filled Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa.  
GO DAWGS, AND TO HELL WITH HAWAII!!! GIVE ME SOME SUGAR BABY!!!

PS.  And by the way, how 'bout them basketball dawgs!!  20 points over a ACC team!!! Although it was a lower tier team in their respective conference, it was still a solid performance by a young bulldog team that has been decimated by scandal and plagued by talented, but inexperienced youth. future is bright yall.      

maybe i'm dwelling a little too much in the past, but here is a fantastic youtube video done for the blackout against auburn.  it's incredible, and it gave me chills the first time i saw it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5-dOOSAj1A

here's to mizzu losing to oklahoma and  getting us in the rose bowl.  GO DAWGS!!!

According to the Red and Black, Mike Mercer has been dismissed from the UGA basketball team.  He was escorted off the practice facility at around 4pm today, carrying with him a black trash bag containing all his belongings.  Coach Felton stated that Mercer had become a 'disruption' but was unclear about specifics.  Is anyone really all that surprised at this point?  Guess basketball ended a few months early this year.

This is for both T. Kyle and Macondawg.  Thank you both for promoting a wonderful atmosphere of respect and discussion here at Dawgsports, where both UGA, and opposing fans can debate in a manner that is appropriate and tasteful. By seeing and being involved in what has transpired on Track'em Tigers, as noticed by DavetheDawg, it makes me appreciate all the more what you guys do here. I know what I contribute here is often times ill-written or wrought in emotion (that thing about soaking Aubie in gasoline after the Auburn win was, I admit, that was stupid and immature), but I always try to not disrespect those who disagree with me (ArieGold might have a rebuttal for me on that one).  Know that I love what this place represents, and that this is the website I visit in the morning first before my classes start(it is like UGA flavored coffee for my soul).  Here's to Thursday's cocktail and Go Dawgs!!

...OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH...MY....GOD!!!!!! we just destroyed auburn and beat them like a drum in a way that they have deserved for so long. we just smashed their hillbilly faces into the ground, stuffed their unconscience bodies into rental car trunks, laced the car with gasoline, and lit their deathtrap within the monster that was Sanford Stadium tonight.  

for all you guys not at the game, i have never been in Sanford Stadium when it was like that.  NEVER.  when the Dawgs came out in black uniforms, the place went to out of control.  it sounded like a 747 had parked itself on the 50 yard line, reved up it engine, and took off out the stadium.  the place was shaking from students jumping up and down, it was ear-shattering, and it was that way ever play that the tigers were on offense.  the student section felt like a mosh pit, and at the start of the 4th quarter, the entire stadium, probably to your pleasure T. Kyle, did the Soulja boy (yes, the studenst and alumni started bouncing up and down to the popular dance) and the place became even more wild (I really didn't think it could have).  i wish it could only be like that ever game....  

It is truly great to be a Georgia Bulldog.  

As a student here at the University, I thought I would let you guys in on a movement here in Athens that I thought yall would like to know about.  It appears that the seniors on the team have asked the student body, as well as the alumni, to have a Black out for this Saturday's contest with the  Plainsmen/War Eagles/Tigers? of Opelika.  

Now, I know what you are thinking, we tried to do that against Tennessee last year and lets just say, that didn't go as well as we hoped.  However, there is a key difference to this years version of the "Black Out".  

This is OUR team asking for OUR support, rather than a student lead movement.  Lets face it, this team is young, and they need to play with fire and emotion to make up for their lack of experience.  Why not give them that "fire in their belly" as well as pump up the whole stadium?  This is a huge game, and I want my ears to be bleeding by the end of the game from all the crowd noise.  

Plus, although this one may just be a creation of the rumor mill, it appears that the team might actually be dressed in all Black for this game, which would be just incredible to see.  I kind of liked the black pants that we pulled off a few years ago, and I think that a all black uniform would look good, if only just for a game (If only I can get Damon Evans convinced to bring back the classic red road pants).  

Its just too bad ESPN didn't pick us up for a night game, which doesn't make sense at all since the Dawgs have a good shot at earning the SEC East crown, while UF and USC need a whole hell of a lot of stuff to go just right for them to even be in  consideration.

Anyways, get the word out to the Nation, and lets shake Sanford Stadium to its core with the fury of 93,000 strong.  GO DAWGS!!!!!    

Well, here we all are at about the mid point of the season and so far the Dawgs season has basically followed the same script that I imagined at the beginning of the season.  A young, talented Georgia team would give its entire fanbase a roller coaster ride of a season, giving us some incredible peaks (Oklahoma St. and Bama) and some humiliating lows (South Carolina and Tennessee).  We would question the coaching of our team (as my ill advised, 'in the moment' creation of the FIRE WILLIE MARTINEZ!!! Facebook group would suggest), we would question the dedication of our players, and we would worry over the possibly decline of our football program into the mudded waters of mediocrity.

Now I'm not saying that some of these question and concerns don't have merit.  In fact, I consider the decline of our defensive prestige is directly linked to the coaching, rather than the level of talent here in Athens. The amount of talent we have on defense is incredible, and I can't understand why our veterans still act like they don't know what they are doing.  On the other side of the ball, the wide receivers' inability to catch the ball consistently and get themselves open on routes hinders the offense's capability to reliably get down the field and give our faltering defense a breather.  

However, lets think about where we are right now.  Every game on our schedule is still winnable.  Florida smashed Tennessee early on in the season, but we see now that the Gators lack any serious running threat, besides Tebow, and have a tendency of being one dimensional, which I hope will work in our favor.  Troy is a dangerous team that could possibly catch us sleeping in front of a barely awake 12:05 Homecoming crowd in Sanford, but I doubt it (knock on wood).  Auburn has shown itself to be capable enough to beat Florida, but also incompetant enough to lose to Mississippi State (I hate Auburn).  The Dawgs will have revenge on their minds as the Bluegrass Cats will come to town. And the NATS are as inconsistent on offense as, well, the NATS.  

Going into the season, we all knew that 10-2 would probably be a stretch for this squad, but even now it is still a possiblility.  We Dawg fans can sometimes be a fickle bunch, but we still have a team that has alot of promise.  We knew it would probably be next years team that would challenge for the SEC title again, and be our best chance to regain the elite status that Richt's Dawgs earned during his first 7 years.  

I know that this is little more than a "RA RA" type diary, but I think we have lost all confidence in our coaching staff, team, and our program when in fact we probably all saw this season coming.  Last year's talented team was hampered by the fact that we had a freshman quarterback, which always spells trouble for the offense (turnovers, turnovers, turnovers!!!), and our good defense was consistently placed in precarious situations.  However, this year is a different monster.  Have faith Dawgs, we are almost there.
GO DAWGS!!!      

I would just like to ask a question to those who have been Georgia fans for awhile, and have ventured into the Tanyard Creek valley a time or two:  has the crowd support at Sanford stadium always been this bad, or is it a recent phenomenon?  

It would seem that for a stadium that holds 93,000 fans within its confines, it is not nearly as loud, or intimidating for opposing players to play in as you would think.  Just last week, my very passionate, and knowledgeable girlfriend mentioned to me that she could hear Ole Miss's QB change play calls on the line, and in the 1st quarter no less.  If SHE could hear the Quarterback snap call, then I know that center was having no trouble discerning what the QB is saying.  This is overall disconcerting, since the point of homefield advantage is to make it more difficult for the opposition than it is for the hometeam, with noise being a central factor of said advantage (something my amazing better half could grasp).  I'm not trying to blame one group (the alumni, the students, or fair weather fans form Atlanta) for the lack of noise, but I would simply like to know what gives?  I know we have a giant hole on the western side of the stadium, but Clemson has a similar empty space in their own stadium, and they are consistently one of the louder, and more intimidating places to play (not that it matters when your program consistently puts out 7-5 teams).  It would also seem that the stadium fills up only after the first half of the 1st quarter and that the focus is more on alcohol, as opposed to the actual football game as this excerpt from Overheard in Athens would attest to.
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    * (Before the start of the Western Carolina game)
    * Drunk girl 1: Damnit! I forgot the flask!
    * Drunk girl 2: What do you want to do? We can't get back in if we leave.
    * Drunk girl 1: No point in staying. Let's just go.  
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Let a young man, who screams himself hoarse at every football game (you can all listen in on my Sunday school lectures to hear if you can discern anything from my raspy lesson on Transubstantiation and the Eucharist), know why Sanford stadium can't be mentioned along with Tiger, Ben-Griffith, and Neyland as the most intimidating places to play in the SEC?  

Ultimately, though, what do y'all think we do to improve our stadium's noise factor (better intro music, schedule tougher opponents, more night games, etc.), or is this a hopeless fight?

Here is the dance that you wanted, Kyle. Its called the Soulja Boy, and if we could get the whole stadium to do it at one point during the Troy game, it would be completely absurd, but funny at the same time. I'm kinda of the thought that this thing is little more than a passing trend, it would be cool the first couple of times that we did it.  Anyways, lets hunker down Bulldog Nation, its Tennessee week.  Go DAWGS!!!  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyMk1QK_jxY

I may just be a little bias in my opinion, but is the fact that Florida, after losing to a unranked opponent in their own stadium and being physically dominated for three quarters, only dropped five spots on the AP and USA Polls justify my beleif that the media is obsessed and in love with Tebow and the Gatorites?  I mean, even during the televised game, the commentators seemed to have a not-so-hidden mancrush on young Timmy, even suggesting that a dropped interception in the end zone was caused by his cannon of a arm, rather than by a stupid sophomoric mistake coupled with the unsure hands of some auburn cornerback.  

I'm not saying that Tebow isn't good or that the Gators aren't national contenders, far from it.  Tebow would actually be the kind of player that any Bulldog fan could appreciate were it not for his quaterbacking of our most hated rival (though gators fans are mighty fun to drink with in jax).

However, as I look through the nation's top 25 list that was absolutely dropped on its head this weekend (except for the ascent of the Georgia Bulldogs in the rankings, which for me is a sign that order is being reestablished in the universe), I can't help but think of how much lenience was given to the lizards.  West Virgina loses to a VE..RY..GOOD South Florida team at USF's house and falls 8 spots, Oklahoma fell 7 spots after losing to a resurgent Colorado team on the Buff's turf, Rutgers fell 11 spots after losing to to a decent Maryland team, Clemson fell 9 spots after losing a away game to a decent GT team ,and ,lets not forget, back in week two our own Dawgs lost back at home to a good South Carolina team currently ranked 11 at home and fell 12 spots.  

Am I just trying to cause a stink, upset over 17 years of humiliation, or just simply hating on some gator?  What do y'all think?

As I sit here writing this up, I can't believe how beautiful this game-day weather is going to be.  From what the skys looked like yesterday, we dodged a bullet as far as rain is concerned, and 85 degrees during a 1pm kickoff.  un-real, this is what gameday weather is supposed to be like.  i know this isn't a big game, but i just wrote this diary for no other purpose other than to praise the football gods of autumn for this weather.  HUNKER DOWN YOU SILVER BRITCHES, AND GET THEM SUM'BITCHES!!!  if anyone has some comments about anything football related, weather related, or other things related to the dawgs, go ahead and write them.  

Was it just me, or did everything that could go wrong go wrong for our nationally televised game against South Carolina?  The typically exciting opening to the game was ruined by audio problems throughout the stadium (students as well as most of the crowd didn't even know that rosters were being announced).  This in part could probably explain the lack of excitement that usually builds up towards the team's charge onto the field, but I sensed it was a little more than that.  Most UGA fans as well as students didn't seem to understand the importance of this game, and that it was a divisional opponent that...could...beat...us!!!  This wasn't the South Carolina of old, this was a legitimate contender for the SEC East crown (I'm sorry, no one in th East is beating LSU after the dominating game I saw last night) and Spurrier is beginning to recruit exceedingly well at Columbia.     However, it is my opinion that the lack of crowd support at the start of the game was redeemed by the show of support at the end of the game (the fact that the PA system came back on helped too).  The noise during those last South Carolina drives was ear-shattering.  However, regardless of the problems the stadium was having, the game on the field was a overall mess.  Sloppy kickoff coverage, an illegal shift on a punt where South Carolina fumbled the ball (WHEN DO YOU SHIFT ON A PUNT FORMATION!!!??), the play calling and offensive strategy was as conservative and ill-begotten as I have every seen at UGA (and I've seen a lot since Richt arrived), receivers dropped balls on BOTH end zone lines, Thomas Brown seemed to hardly get back to the line of scrimmage,  Stafford played at his 06 level again, and the O-line showed its youth on the last drive of the game with a block in the back and a false start that all but put us out of the game.  And it wasn't as if South Carolina played a great game either.  If anything, they seemed to try and help our sinking ship the whole time.  They were penalized twice as much as we were, their offense continually shot itself in the foot with botched plays and silly mistakes, their special teams allowed a ton of yards for both Mikey (who played great by the way) and Brown, and when they needed a drive down the field to FINALLY put us out of our misery, our defense was able to stop them.  However, our offense's inept performance was facilitated by the typical problems that we as Bulldog fans have grown accustomed to.  Dropped passes by wide open receivers (I'm sorry, but Tripp Chandler's performance on Saturday deserves him another suspended game), inconsistent running game, and strange play calls on 3rd and 1 (why give the ball to the best fullback in the nation in a power-I when you can call a receiver screen where the possibility of things-that-could-go-wrong multiples 10 fold) showcased a typically sub-par offensive performance by a team who continually shows us that we can't win a big game without making it more difficult on ourselves than it has to be (Munson has earned his cynicism).  Several bright spots did show themselves on Saturday, however few their were. First, Knowshon Moreno = baller. He wants to play and my god can he play.  After every play he would shot right back up and run back to the huddle like a happy little kid in the backyard, and some of the runs he had were just spectacular. When he seemed to be met at the line of scrimmage due to our young o-line, he was somehow able to find a seam and pick up those few extra yards.  I am so stacked about this kid in the future, and I hope we can get some people to block for him soon. Mikey Henderson was another bright spot in a game of few.  He played wonderfully at punt returner, and was consistently pulling in big receptions. Lastly, South Carolina will not win the East with that team.  PERIOD.  Everyone at ESPN keeps hinting at Spurrier's success in his 3rd seasons at his respective schools, but that team I saw out there was horrible, which says something about our own team last night.  Blake Mitchell looked rusty at best, and they ran the ball not nearly as well as they should have been able to.  They won a ugly game against a team who played the ugliest.  Please, someone give me some hope that we will beat Florida (thats all I want right now, I'm so serious, its not even funny).  I lived through the horrible nineties, and didn't live to see the glory day of the 80s. I'm a student at the University and I've seen nothing but Gator domination my entire life, and to have that hope shredded last night by gamecocks leaves me a shell of my former self.  Someone, give me some HOPE.