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!!