No. 21 - Bulldawg Illustrated XXI: UGA vs. Auburn, 11/12/11
The Day We Undressed The Tigers
My three-year-old daughter, Annabelle, woke up Saturday morning to an especially attractive situation: she was given an Auburn dress for the first half of the game and a handmade Georgia dress for the second half—courtesy of her grandmother.
I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing my little girl dressed in Auburn colors for the game; whereas my wife would’ve gladly given her left eye rather than watch her parade around in a red Georgia dress. So we did what couples of different faiths do—we compromised.
I had Annabelle chanting, “Go Georgia Bulldogs!” before Corinne could get to her. In fact, I woke up early to indoctrinate her and later caught my wife bribing her with candy at nine in the morning if she’d switch her allegiance and yell “War Eagle.” But she didn’t (much to her daddy’s delight).
Once the game started, I quickly realized Georgia was firing on all cylinders. Like John Wayne with a six-shooter, Murray and Co. filled Auburn with lead—and it felt great!
I don’t see Kentucky being an issue this weekend. They’re ranked 118th in total offense and 115th in points scored. This game has the potential to be another blowout if we don’t get too big for our britches. And truthfully, that’s about all we have to be concerned with.
That leaves us with an away game against the nerds of the North Avenue Trade School. With the Jackets losing three of their last four, we’ll probably have them to thank for helping us win our tenth in a row.
So it looks like we’ll wrap up 2011 with an impressive 10–2 record and a trip to the SEC Championship to face the traveling circus that is LSU and its fans. Hopefully, this game will resemble 2005 and not 2003. I was at both, and let me assure you—you’d rather be in hell than sitting next to LSU fans in Atlanta when they know they’re going to take the conference trophy back to Red Stick.
And yet, I love the state of Louisiana. The people are some of the most generous in the country—from an invitation to hunt on Jefferson Davis’ island plantation to poker runs on Cigarette boats—I was welcomed like family down there. If I could, I’d move to southwest Louisiana and stick to a strict diet of crawfish étouffée and Abita. And don’t get me started on Mardi Gras—I spent a week there once, and it was glorious.
But—and this is a big but—LSU fans are of another breed. The fact that they shook Tiger Stadium enough to register an earthquake on a campus seismograph during a last-minute win over Auburn is pure insanity. How can anyone compete with that?
And that’s what I’m worried about—the fans. Not the team. I believe we can compete with LSU if we keep this momentum going. But if we don’t, there’s a chance their fans will tear the roof off the Dome and make Sherman’s March to the Sea look like child’s play. If that’s the case, point them toward the Tech Tower on North Avenue. They’ll be inebriated enough to believe it’s our campus. Of course, they might not buy into it when they see all the pocket protectors.
As crazy as they are, they’re part of the reason I love the SEC—and I can’t wait to play them.
Go Dawgs!
P.S. If things get ugly after the SEC Championship, print these directions from the Georgia Dome to the Tech Tower so you can readily hand them to crazed LSU fans looking for something to tear down:
1st – Right on Northside Dr NW, proceed 1 mile
2nd – Right on North Ave NW, proceed ½ mile
3rd – Left on Cherry St; destination is on your right
Editor’s Note: Brad Evans is a guest blogger for Bulldawg Illustrated. He writes from the perspective of a UGA alumnus and suburban dad who longs every weekend to be in Athens. Instead, he ends up watching the game at home in a red-and-black bow tie, bourbon in one hand and cigar in the other—joined by his wife, an Auburn grad, and their 3-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son, both caught in the middle of mom and dad’s football loyalties.
