the thin line between optimism and delusion…

Football season  is exhilarating.  Yesterday my mom and I bought all the red solo cups and plates that target had to offer in anticipation of the tailgating.  We reasoned that by the time we actually need the cups and plates, they will all be gone and we will be left with yellow and blue solo cups and plates.  This is unacceptable.  Christy told me the other day that I was an over the top individual, and that this was my most attractive quality.  If this is the case, then I must be damn attractive during football season. 

Things I love about football weekend

1.  Worrying about what I am going to wear.  I spend all year looking for clothes I MIGHT want to wear to Georgia games, and all clothing that MIGHT be acceptable must be bought, even if it is January and deep down I know I’m going to want something different in August.  But when I find the perfect piece, it gets worn for years. 

2.  Spending  hours in deep thought about the logistics of the stadium, where I’ll be sitting, where my parents will be sitting, where my friends will be sitting, where the tailgates I must visit are in relation to where I’ll be sitting, which gate is the best one for me to enter, how early I need to enter the game, etc. 

3.  Eating dinner at the Last Resort EVERY friday night before a home football game.  This involves getting to the Resort around 6:30 on Friday night and sitting at the bar for two hours while waiting for a table.  This is fun because the whole state of Georgia has recently descended on the town and the first stop for 45% of them is the Resort.  While waiting, I have a hard time not getting a little drunk, and THEN I’m required to get the filet so the room will stop spinning, which leaves me very full and makes me tired, and then I have to rally because going to bed at 11 pm friday night during football season is unacceptable. 

4.  When I mentioned that sitting at the bar leaves me a little drunk, I want to stress how much this is not my fault.  Especially the first couple of games.  Now that all my friends from college are in the real world making money and not living in Athens, they sit around in their offices and dream and dream about football season and save their money for football weekends.  When football season actually gets here, they are so pumped about being back in athens and seeing everyone that they haven’t seen in years they feel that they MUST buy you a drink and you WILL drink it.  The good time feelings that go along with game weekend leaves everyone feeling generous and benevolent.  It is awesome – everyone in the bar is your best friend, and the bar is just a big party of old friends whose sentimental feelings about East West and North Campus overpower their senses and make them drunker than the miller light and jaeger ever could.  (this phenomenon wears off mid season – but while it lasts it is to be reveled in). 

5.  My parents stay at the same hotel every weekend, and it is the university hotel – which operates a little differently than other hotels.  For instance, my parents are always in the same room.  Even if they stay there in the spring time, they are still in the same room.  And apparently this is the way the hotel works, because my parent’s room is down the hall from Uga’s room.  So sometimes, if we are lucky, we get to ride down the elevator with Uga before the game.

6.  Kick-off.  GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAAAAAAWWWWWGGGSS!!  Sic Em – Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof. 

7.  My precious little flask.  He is so cute and little (just enough for one drink at the game, for the atmosphere, not to get wasted – anyway, I like beer when I’m tailgating), and awesome.  I bought him in Italy, and he only holds bourbon.  He used to hold Jim Beam, but my mom told me that I was too old to drink rot gut liquor, and that she would give me ten extra dollars for me to buy Makers Mark, so now he only holds Makers.  I just found my bottle of Makers at my apartment the other day – my flask is so little it lasts for a long time. 

8.  Sarah Salter and all my albany friends.  My amazing friend Say-Rah comes into town for all the football games, rain or shine, and I love seeing her.  She always has the cutest clothes and fun jewelry, and I love her sweetheart Wes, and all his crazy friends.  Some of my happiest memories of all time are of sitting on the toolbox in the bed of Clint’s truck in the KA parking lot, after a victorious football game, drinking a cold miller light and listening loud music as dusk takes over Athens and ends a perfect day and leaves me grinning in the dark as Wes tries to make Sarah dance with him.  I want for nothing at such times. 

9. Waking up on Saturday morning, feeling like I didn’t get enough sleep, and that I didn’t need that last beer friday night, but laying in the bed and yelling – GAME DAY!!!!!  GAME DAY!!!!  WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!  (This tradition was started by Maggie and Lauren when we lived in the dorm and were woken up by our dates to the game calling to tell us that they just finished cleaning up the house from the band party and that they were going back to russell to take a shower and that we better be ready in 45 minutes). 

10.  The moment when the trumpet solo starts with that long note and the whole city goes silent and collectively catches it breath in the fall sunshine and my eyes fill up with tears and as I exhale into my $4 bourbon and coke the entire band joins the trumpeter into the Battle Hymn of the Republic / Glory, Glory to Ol’ Georgia  (which is the song sung at all real bulldog’s funerals and weddings), the greatest song in the WORLD. 

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"I could never date someone who didn’t understand and respect my deep love and commitment to Alabama football. I could also never date someone who wore orange on Saturday. Boys need to understand they rank around 3 or 4, God, Alabama Football, husband, shoes…"
– Jessica Faye Najjar on the difficulties of intercollegiate dating
I have recently decided that it takes very special circumstances to justify dating someone whose loyalties lie with an SEC football team other than the one you hold dear to your own heart. I’m sure this is a problem within lots of different conferences, but I see it as a special issue down here in the Southeast.

"I dated a Techie for four years. It doesn’t work. Then I dated a Georgia boy and it was great. We shared the love of Georgia football that only Georgia students can share."
– Ashley Marsh on the difficulties of intercollegiate dating within the state of Georgia

I’m not saying that I might not end up married to someone who went to Ole Miss, or whose dad played for Vanderbilt, but I think it is a pretty safe assumption that I will not end up with a gator or a volunteer (orange is not my color). And you should be careful about dating someone who you can’t possibly see yourself married to, because you never know what might happen.

Now, there are some SEC teams that might be acceptable, but there are risks. I divide the SEC into four groups. The first and most hated group consists of Florida, Auburn and Tennessee. South Carolina and Alabama are the second group, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are in a third group, and the fourth group consists of Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. LSU isn’t in a group, it doesn’t deserve the degree of hate afforded the first group, but it also doesn’t fall into the other groups.

There are three football teams that I despise. I despise Florida, and Auburn, and Tennessee. I pretty much hate LSU, but I don’t despise them – I like their colors because they are my high school colors. I feel confident that I will never feel good about going to a football game and cheering for Florida, Auburn or Tennessee. Honestly, there is not much I can do about it, I just really dislike these schools (did I ever tell y’all that my dad scored a touchdown at the Georgia Florida game in 1969? I did?). I can’t see my brother and father ever truly connecting with a guy who loved any of these schools, and this is quite important to me. What am I talking about, NO ONE in my family would actually understand and be able to take anyone I dated seriously if they had a strong love for any of these three schools. I can’t image any circumstances where I would sign up voluntarily to be a part of a relationship that dedicated time, energy, and love to any of these orange clad establishments.

With regards to South Carolina and Alabama, I actually like these schools. I grew up in Augusta, which is closer to Columbia than it is to Athens, and as such I have friends who went to USC. Alabama is actually pretty far away, but I have a lot of friends from Alabama who I love and I think that Alabama has one of the most loyal fan bases around which I appreciate. That being said, Alabama hasn’t been a strong contender for a long time because of the NCAA sanctions and South Carolina has had a hard time really getting it together in the SEC east again Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, and as such hasn’t been too much of a threat. I feel that things are looking up for both programs and I might not always have nice things to say about these two schools. I know my friends from South Carolina don’t have very nice things to say about Georgia, so I could see it being hard for the Carolina fan to date me. But all in all, I could support Alabama and South Carolina in situations where Georgia was not directly involved. It would be difficult, especially when trying to decide between a big game in Athens and a big game in Tuscaloosa, but it is something that could be worked through with the right person.

I see the SEC as the only real conference around when it comes to football, and I honestly feel like that SEC championship is much more important than the national title, because personally I think at the very least the two top football teams in the country are in the SEC every year. Not to be splitting hairs, but within the SEC I see things as East and West. The East is my conference. Part of the reason that Alabama is a school I like is because they are in the West. This changes things.

In the East, I hate Florida and Tennessee as I said, and I like South Carolina as long as it is kept in its place (which I fear might soon change). Vanderbilt and Kentucky aren’t particularly threatening, and they are both in pretty places, so I am happy to have them around, especially so I can have someone to cheer for during the basketball tournament. In addition, no one is going to argue that the Vanderbilt game is going to be better than the Georgia game, and Kentucky is quite a drive. In the West, Ole Miss is a great place to visit, Mississippi State rarely even registers on the radar, and Arkansas is too far away to bother me much. Basically the teams that don’t bother me other than the two exceptions of South Carolina and Alabama are schools that don’t have cult like followings with regard to their football teams, and as such these people are available to be swept up in my cult.

The bottom line is that it is hard to imagine not being able to share one of the most serious loves of my life with the love of my life.

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I am so excited. Actually, I am so nervous that I can barely breathe. I hate Auburn. I think it is good that Georgia is the underdog. This game is going to be hard to watch. The whole game is going to be stressful. It is going to come down to the bitter end, if the past is any indication. I am a wreak.

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I am nervous. Tomorrow is such a huge day. I know that we can do it, the question is whether we will do it or not. I have been thinking about the Georgia – Auburn (please click on this link!) game all season. Jessica and I were going to make t-shirts that listed the things we would rather have happen before we see Auburn win a national championship – and the list included things like: Alabama’s football team getting the death sentence and Sanford Stadium crumbling to the ground. This is one of those games where we both have everything to lose. I love the SEC. It is so exciting. Here are some of my favorite quotes from espn.com today – some of them pertain to the game tomorrow, and some are just interesting and scary all at the same time!

This one gives me chills just reading it – From Ivan –

Georgia at Auburn
The best time of the college football season comes about 30 seconds before kickoff of a late-season, intra-conference, top-five, archrival game at a loud stadium. The kickoff and return teams are in position, hopping up and down, the home players are waving for noise, the sideline TV official won’t get out of the way, and if you don’t have butterflies, you don’t have a pulse.

The chance to decide Auburn’s success – I love it – From Geno –

At stake are Auburn’s chances of an undefeated record and a run at a BCS Championship. Several Tiger players told me earlier in the week that a loss against Georgia would render the Auburn season a failure. ………Georgia is easily the best team Auburn has, or will, face during the regular season. The Bulldogs aren’t intimidated by opponents or road trips.

Also from Geno –

Nervous OU is wearing a, "Hunker Down You Hairy Dawgs" T-shirt this week.

This is unrelated to the game this week, but very important otherwise.  I am worried about Spurrier – I hate him – and the rumors of him going to Carolina (South that is) scare me.  But I love the thought that Spurrier’s move to Carolina should scare Florida – From Geno –

God help Machen (UF’s president) if Holtz resigns and South Carolina athletics director Mike McGee decides to make a run at a certain unemployed Ballcoach.  McGee is no dummy.  He knows Spurrier wants to coach college ball, preferably in the South, preferably in the SEC.

Can you feel the squirming in Gainesville?
If it happens, Spurrier is going to savor a certain date.

Nov. 12, 2005.
Florida at South Carolina.

Oh the drama.  I love it.  It would be worth having Spurrier back in the SEC if he had a personal vendetta against Florida.  Almost brings a tear to my eyes.

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I hate Tennessee. But apparently a lot of other people hate them more than I do. Since I am fascinated by the emotions that overtake people with regards to sports, the Alabama – Tennessee rivalry is especially interesting. If you know what I’m talking about but prefer Baseball to football, check out the post "Victory!" by Scoplaw. If you like football, stick with me.

An lengthy ESPN article today discusses the dangers that are likely to arise today at Neyland Stadium. Here a few quotes that I found especially interesting:

"Emotions are so raw that fans with tickets on both sides have voiced concerns about possible violence in the stands at Neyland Stadium, and in surrounding tailgate areas."

"How did we get to the point where a caller to a Birmingham radio station a few weeks ago said that, if it came down to Tennessee vs. The Taliban, he couldn’t find a side to root for?"

"And then Fulmer pulled the SEC Media Days boycott stunt in late July, refusing to appear at the annual event in Birmingham. Apprised that he was going to be subpoenaed by Alabama fan-lawyer Tommy Gallion to testify in a civil suit by former Alabama coaches, Fulmer stayed in Knoxville and fired back — basically telling the state of Alabama to get over it."

Wow. That is serious. Although it is a long shot and everyone thinks that Tennessee is going to win, wouldn’t it be fun if they didn’t? I mean, they almost lost to Ole Miss last weekend. We should have beaten them. They have been very lucky the past couple weeks and I would like to think that their luck is going to run out soon. Apparently a lot of these bad feelings about Fulmer have to do with his involvement with Alabama’s NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. But it is a lot more than that I think. Although I do think that the intensity of this hatred is a little more than I can muster right now (talk to me later about Auburn) – I think this last quote does a lot to explain the serious feelings:

‘But that’s college sports in the South, where in many states there are no pro franchises or much of anything else to dilute fans’ attention and passion. "There’s a bit of Southern machismo culture, and college football plays to that cultural trait," St. John said. "There’s a raw kind of quality to Southeastern Conference football that finds its expression in unmoderated language and gestures."’

Basically the bottom line is that people in Alabama and Tennessee don’t have anything else to feel strongly about. I mean, the Braves are the only pro team in the south that really anyone cares about all the time, and they are in Georgia anyway.

I love Saturdays in the fall. They make me happy. I guess I am just attracted to passion. Passion about anything. I don’t like the hate that goes along with it, but it isn’t hate of a person. It is just hate born of competition and love. I LOVE Georgia. And that is what brings out the hate of other teams that humiliate and defeat what I love. I like people who are passionate about something, because without passion life is pretty boring. Even though most passionate people are a little intense, maybe I’m a little intense as well. Sometimes I can’t turn it off.

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Georgia – Florida is such a hassle.  It is going to be tons of fun, I know it is, but at the same time it is a big headache.  Getting from St. Simons to Jacksonville and home is the current problem.  We are working on a bus.  But it is expensive, and it has to be prepaid for.  I really hope it works out, because I don’t want to drive (beer is a much better idea when you don’t have a vehicle to worry about operating)!  If we lose again this year, I might never get over it.

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