No. 197 - Poor Man’s Game Notes XI: SEC Championship, 12/06/25

My first SEC Championship was in 2002 against Arkansas. I was having lunch in Atlanta with my mother when a friend of the family called, saying he had two tickets for fifty bucks—only one catch: they were in the Arkansas section. Lucky me, the fans were polite: no drama, no drunkards.

My second SEC Championship was an entirely different experience. It was the following year against LSU, and there was enough drama and drunkenness to challenge a NASCAR infield.

My brother and I went to the Dome to tailgate without tickets, a case of beer, and two hundred bucks—twenty of which were hijacked quarters from the ashtrays of friends’ cars.

We proceeded to finish the case and forgot to buy tickets, so my brother scoured the parking lot for tickets ten minutes before kickoff.

He came back in under a minute with two, and I quote, “50-yard-line beauties.”

The conversation went as follows:

Me: You got two 50-yard-line tics for $200?
Jeff: Yeah, that’s right—on the Georgia side.
Me: You know that’s impossible.
Jeff: Trust me, brother… where’s the faith?

So we headed toward our fifty-yard-line seats—until it was clear we were in the corner of the Dome in a sea of purple.

True to form, Captain Disaster bought two seats in the middle of the LSU student section. For context, I was wearing red trousers, and my 6’4” brother was chanting “Ain’t nothin’ finer in the land” as we scooted into the belly of the beast.

Every time LSU got a first down, scored a TD, or even got a favorable call, we received a LOT of Mardi Gras–colored jewelry. By halftime, my brother and I wore more necklaces than Mr. T.

We ended up having a marvelous time, even though we got stomped. I’d like to say I was the only guy leaving the Dome looking like I was rooting for both teams, but I’m sure I wasn’t.

Which brings us to this weekend’s game against Kirby’s Achilles’ heel. I’m debating going, but SEC Championship tickets aren’t the kind of thing you can buy with ashtray change anymore. And if we lose, it won’t be a Mardi Gras-like experience—it’ll be in the company of the SEC’s most obnoxious fan base.

But if we win—if we can break the curse—it’ll be one for the ages. I’m a middle-aged man who sides with Kirby that this game is the biggest of the year. You know what… to hell with it—I’m putting on my red trousers and wearing some beads! Atlanta, here I come!

Give ’em hell, Kirby!