My wife and I got to go to the UGA/AU game yesterday with some Auburn friends. Even as a lifelong Dawg, this was my first game ever going to the enemy camp. I grew up going to home games with my grandfather but experiencing a game as an outsider is something I've never been able to do.

Before this season even started I was really worried about this game; I knew the chances of us beating AU for a fifth straight time were going to be slim. As the season wore on, though, my hopes for the game actually improved. I saw a good UGA team and I saw a really good AU team. Knowing the history of the two teams in this rivalry, that really made me like our chances. I was confident going into Jordan-Hare I thought I was about to see something special. 

Before I get there, though, I've got to say something about the AU fans we saw while we were tailgating. I only had one comment directed at me while we were walking down Samford, and it was unoriginal at best. The rest of the walk, though, was pleasant. No taunts, no jeers, no anything. The tailgate we were a part of was in the amphitheater area, and we were pretty much left alone by the other guys. It was a great spread, though, so thanks to all of the AU folks who made that happen.

Once we got inside the stadium we made our way up to our seats. We could see the whole field very well, and we were in the top righthand corner of the endzone facing the HD screen and scoreboard. We got there about 30 minutes before kickoff, settled in to our seats, and received the good-natured ribbing from the home crowd around us. One thing that was really cool to see, and I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, was Bo Jackson being honored. As a kid of the 80s, he was like a god to us. I'm not sure how anyone in the stadium couldn't have cheered for him. His injury caused a great loss to sports history, and it was cool to be able to cheer him.

All I had heard about these games, though, is how great the eagle flight is. Well, compared to a girl slinging fire who knows how many feet in the air, that eagle was nothing. As for other parts of their game atmosphere their pre-kickoff music is awful. I mainly loathe it because I associate it with Tech; I hope no one chimes in to tell me that the song is played at Sanford Stadium, as well (we haven't been back to Sanford since 2003). Finally, I think less of any band that plays the Imperial March as part of their catalog. I really think it says a great deal about how we view our band, our team, and our school that the Redcoats don't ever play that leitmotif. Really, who wants to be associated with the Empire?

The fans around us were all right. One kid kept giving my wife dirty looks whenever she cheered, and another guy got all worked up when the Dawgs were up 21-7. I think he basically said we couldn't cheer because he paid $2,000/yr for his seats and that was his "living room." He got a lot nicer when they reclaimed the lead, though. Imagine that.

As for the actual game, sitting in the thick of the Auburn fans was a very strange feeling. Because of our seats in relation to the scoreboard, we were in such a position that we couldn't see replays. I didn't know that Murray had been speared until getting home; there was no replay shown (that I saw), and it was on the opposite end of the field from us. The guy immediately in front of me demanded a replay, though. I'm guessing the officials knew it was dirty and opted not to show it.

Also, I couldn't tell that Newton's stiff-arm may have actually been a punch, but I guess that's par for the course. When Reuben Faloughi went down, I was looking at something else. I heard the Aubies start booing, and I saw one of our guys down. I don't know what happened there, and I haven't seen a replay or anything. I do know that whenever Richt ran out onto the field, the folks around us booed and yelled at him to get back; he doesn't seem to be a well-loved guy around other places.

We left before the brawl because we had to pick up our kids in Opelika and then drive the distance of I-65 back to south Alabama. We missed the last five minutes of game time, but it's probably best we weren't in the AU section when that happened.I wouldn't have been able to handle it.

In the end it was a good day with good friend with a good football game with a crappy ending. To top it all off, though, a kid in my youth group said to me, "War Eagle" as I was giving him communion tonight.

I love college football.

Go Dawgs!

I'm asking this hear because ye olde Intertubes only pull up something from 2007 when I'm looking for info on generated calendar subscriptions.

Has anyone found a schedule for 2009 for either UGA, the SEC, or the BCS schools in general that can be subscribed to in Outlook or iCal?  It'd be great to have something that will update with game times and final scores as they become announced, but I can't seem to find anything of the sort.

Thank for any info that can be shared!

Simple post and a simple request:  Can anyone give me a GOOD Univ. of Georgia sports podcast?  I can't seem to find anything from 960 the Ref on iTunes (come on; it's nostalgia to hear the "Home Team"), and I was incredibly disappointed in the Dawg Cast that I found on iTunes.

Thanks for any info!

As a side note and as a means of getting enough words to make this into a legit FanPost instead of a FanShot, I'm typing these extra words down here.

As I'm watching this OU/UF game right now, I'm amazed at the aggression and the speed of UF's special teams, and the fact that they've blocked, what, 5 punts this year?

What have the Dawgs been missing over the past few years when it comes to special teams aggression and blocking kicks?  Do we not have the athletes (remember the Boss Bailey years when we expected every FG to be blocked and the blocked punt in the SECCG?), or am I not realizing something about the team?  Did we have a special teams only coach early in the Richt era?

Sorry if this has been discussed, but it's just on my mind right now.

Also, I'm too indifferent right now to check punctuation and grammar.

As Tommy Tuberville packs up his office on the Plains, I'm realizing that in two years Mark Richt will have finished up his first decade at the University of Georgia.  Absolute best case scenario (in my mind) is two more SEC titles and a BCS title if everything else falls into place.  Let's assume, though, that over the next two years we simply split with UF.  Mark Richt and UGA over the last ten years will be a staggering 3-7 vs. the Gators.  Two wins over the next two year will be 4-6, but if we work with numbers and odds the chances are actually much better (unfortunately) that the Dawgs will go 0-2 and leave the overall slate over the 10 year span at 2-8.

I ask all of this as a simple question of sustained success overall but continued bedwetting against the Gators.  If things remain the same (competitive against everyone else and piss-poor against UF) will there be talk about a change in regime?  I think most of us might have assumed Richt was at UGA for the long-haul, but I really do wonder what he's going to have to start doing vs. Florida specifically in order to stay in Athens.

Again, I put this forward simply for discussion since I don't have any Dawg fans here in Alabama to discuss this with.  I don't know where I come down on it, either.  I've just been thinking about this in light of the recent Tuberville "resignation".

Also, I don't really feel like proofreading this, so that's that.