No. 6 - Bulldawg Illustrated VI: UGA vs. Kentucky, 10/23/10
Orange Pumpkins with Red and Black Dreams
I spent Saturday afternoon with my family at a pumpkin farm in North Georgia. And while Annabelle’s fascination with pumpkins was only matched by her incapacity to settle on a favorite, I couldn’t help but notice how outnumbered I was. Now don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed the Charlie Daniels Band tunes trickling through those old speakers… I also enjoyed my overpriced BBQ sandwich—but it seemed like half of Jordan-Hare Stadium was at Burt’s Farm.
For every Georgia hat, there were ten Auburn jerseys. Would someone please tell me where UGA fans go to buy pumpkins?! Throw in a few cows and I might as well have been at East Alabama Male College, or The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, or maybe Alabama Polytechnic Institute (all of these were previous names for Auburn—and yes, my wife, who is an Auburn grad, is going to kill me for this one).
Anyway, Annabelle had a blast, and that’s all that matters.
So we’re playing .500 ball, second in the SEC East, and on our way to The World’s Largest Cocktail Party with a mascot who is undefeated. How we went from a four-game losing streak to where we are today is beyond me, but I’ll gladly take it.
I thought we looked pretty good against the Wildcats. Our numbers weren’t too impressive, but we capitalized on their mistakes and brought home a W… ’nuff said.
Now let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
South Carolina is 3–2 in conference play with three SEC games left: Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida in The Swamp.
Florida is 2–3 in conference play with three SEC games left: Georgia, Vandy, and SC.
I looked into my crystal ball (a half-empty bottle of Woodford Reserve), and this is what I saw:
Week 9 – Georgia beats Florida, and Spurrier hands Dooley his fourth consecutive loss. Carolina is still 1st, and we’re 2nd in the East.
Week 10 – Arkansas beats Carolina (the Hogs have lost two games… both of which to teams who reside in the state of Alabama). Florida beats Vandy. Carolina and Georgia are tied for 1st.
Week 11 – Georgia pulls the upset at Auburn (maybe some of that 2002 Greene-to-Johnson magic). Florida beats Carolina at The Swamp… causing Spurrier to throw his visor, contemplate which course he’ll play next (isn’t that why he took the South Carolina job?), and Georgia wins the SEC East with a 5–3 record.
God help us against whoever wins the West, but you can count on me dropping a few c-notes for my fourth SEC Championship Game with the Dawgs.
Per the predictions—I went over everything with my bookie, Annabelle, and she confirmed… actually, she asked for a cookie.
P.S. I put this together before Tony Barnhart did.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in a periodic series of online journal entries from a suburban dad who, every weekend, longs to be in Athens—but more often than not ends up watching the game from home. He’s dressed in a red and black bow tie, bourbon in one hand, cigar in the other, seated beside his Auburn-grad wife and their daughter, who’s about to receive her first cheerleader uniform: half UGA, half AU, stitched right up the middle.
