Thank God for Football!

Get the picture....It's Saturday, September 4, 1999. I'm wearing a brand new "G" shirt with khaki shorts and New Balances. My trusty fifth pair of Ray-Bans affixed to my head with a visor to block the 98 degree sun beating down on us. I looked about 15 years old, I think. I stride into Sanford Stadium, as I had so many times before, with the Bulldog Nation in tow. We were playing Utah State and it was going to be a cakewalk. We had Seymour and Stroud. We had Charles Grant and Boss Bailey. I knew the roster like the back of my hand because I studied it much harder than anything I was forced to read in Psychology 1101. Seriously, what is more important....dopamine levels in your brain or that Terrence Edwards was born and raised in Tennille, Georgia? Tennille wins, hands down.

I went to the seat that my ticket instructed (section 308, row 12, seat 8) and sat down. I would find out later that this is NOT the cool thing to do. You are supposed to crowd into the student section twelve deep and pray there are no stampedes. The band fired up. The special teams players came out for warmups. We booed Utah State's kickers as they came onto the field. In all the pomp and circumstance, I took inventory. See, although this was probably my 20th game in Sanford, it was my very first as a student. My first without my parents. My first without tossing the football with my brother for three straight hours before kickoff. My first without going to our usual spot on Hull Street with Bojangles chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni, and something sweet that Mom made for us. I felt a lump in my throat. It was one of sadness and extreme happiness at the same time. Sad for days gone by but completely ecstatic that this dream had come true. I had always wanted to be here, in this spot, since I could remember. I could see my dorm from my seat. My fellow freshmen, wide eyed (or not, depending on the night before), gathering all around me to enjoy their first game really moved me. I watched them for a few minutes, everybody was grinning from ear to ear. I wondered if any of them felt as I did?

We clobbered Utah State 38-7. We ended up going 8-4 that season and we beat Purdue in the Outback Bowl 28-25. It may not have been a magical season in terms of wins and losses, but it was beyond perfect in my eyes. I had three more great seasons and so many things happened during that time. We beat Tennessee for the first time in nine years. Then we had the Hobnail Boot game. We lost to Tech, and then got our revenge tenfold (51-7 was my favorite, I wish it had been 151-7). Mark Richt became our coach. We won the SEC and the Sugar Bowl in the same season, 2002. Pollack stealing the ball from Carolina's QB in the rain. Michael Johnson's catch at Auburn. The Man Enough game in Tuscaloosa. The road trips with the guys. It was an unbelievable year and to celebrate with my friends in New Orleans after whipping Florida State was just icing on the cake. Memories that are absolutely priceless.

That is why I do not truly "hate" another school in the SEC. There are some fanbases that I do not particularly care for, towns that are more fun than others and stadiums that I could do without, but there is no "hate" in the simplest definition of the word. We may give each other hell, talk smack for hours and be hostile from kickoff til the end of the game, but at the end of the day, we are all the same. I know there are people like me, who have great memories with their wives, their best friends and their families, at other schools all across the South. I bet it was a great year to be a student at Auburn last year or at Bama in 2009. What about Carolina? Finally getting to the SEC championship game after so long. Although they were soundly defeated, it had to be fun to be part of that season. Or Vandy a couple of years ago, getting to a bowl game and actually winning it? The people who were there will be talking about it for years to come. They'll call their friends and say, "remember that time...?"

Flash forward twelve years. It's 25 days until kickoff and I am as giddy as I was in September 1999. I have a beard now, so I don't look 15. I have gone back to sitting in my assigned seat because alumni tickets are slightly more than the $3.00 student tickets we used to get. I still get a lump in my throat every game, but it's from Munson highlights on the Jumbotron. Work production is grinding to a halt. My wife thinks I am nuts because I am so excited that one of our defensive backs runs the 40 in .2 seconds faster than last year. My dad calls me about it every day. I talk to my friends Vinny, Jeremy and Jemel constantly. We are like Pavlov's dogs, salivating with every day that passes until we meet Boise in the Dome. I am sure there are tens of thousands just like us, from Arkansas to Florida, gearing up for another great year.

Funny though, I still find myself looking up at section 308, row 12, seat 8 during the first home game every year. I can almost see an 18 year old kid with a visor and a brand new "G" shirt who is just happy to be there. I hope he gets to have the same great memories that I have. Good luck to everybody this year! See you in 25 days!

Disclaimer:      None of this applies to Georgia Tech, whatsoever. =)