Ed3
Varsity Lurker
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2008
- Messages
- 40
Several years ago I had a book come out called Rough As A Cob: More From the Juliette Journals. Long story short, it was a bunch of PG to R rated stories about my very country boy upbringing in Juliette, Georgia. In it, I did a section about the truth regarding the GT-ugag rivalry. Certain parts still hold true today, and I thought y'all might enjoy reading it:
Believe me when I tell you that I'll
never write any words sweeter than the ones you just read - Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 19.
We just got through (11/28/98) playing a little football game here. One that we engage in each year around this time. The Game. Or, let's just call it like
it is - the Game of ALL Games.
No game in football matters more, you know. Not the Super Bowl, not the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, or whatever else is out there. This is the game that
counts - the Tech/Georgia game.
You'd have to live here to understand. Now, don't get me wrong, I know there are lots of good college football rivalries out there. Games like
Auburn/Alabama, Clemson/South Carolina, Florida/Florida State, ect. All these games are huge in their respective regions. (I won't even mention rivalries involving northern schools here. To be frank, its hard for us Southerners to get upset about the big northern college rivalries. Let's face it, we don't give a tinker's damn about who wins between Ohio State/Michigan, Harvard/Yale, or whomever. The way I see it, just let 'em play the game and enjoy the fact that one of them is gonna get an asswhuppin'. And understand that the only thing better would be if both teams could receive one. But we all know they can't, so, I content myself with the fact that one will get one. Southerners in general are always glad about that, and will typically pull for the highest ranked team in the game to tote the collar on any given Saturday. This help insures that a good
Southern team will rise a few more notches in the national rankings).
But none of these games are as huge as Georgia Tech and Georgia. These two schools started hooking up on the gridiron in 1893. Since then, they
have waged an annual war each year around Thanksgiving. Families divide their loyalties on this day. Its not uncommon on game day to see a family attending the game with members wearing the colors of both schools. It's a day that divides this state in half for four hours, and introduces fans of both universities to either profound happiness or depression for the next 364 days afterwards.
There are a lot of myths associated with this game. Lots of lies are told, too, that people want to disguise as myths. If you really think about it, I guess
most of us Georgians don't want the level of true hatred surrounding this rivalry to be exposed. It isn't very becoming to admit hate, I guess. But, if you think about it, pure hatred has its place and is very necessary at times. And where Tech and Georgia are concerned, its damn necessary. Therefore, with all this reasoning behind me, I feel its now time to give you the facts regarding the Tech/Georgia rivalry. I will accomplish this by exposing three of the most
common myths surrounding the Tech/Georgia game:
Myth One:
"I pull for both teams each year until they play each other. Then, I pull for (fill in the blank)."
This is a damn lie. Let's just get it straight, and duly noted on paper - no true Tech fan pulls for Georgia. In any shape, size, or form. If Georgia played the
Iraqi Army I'd be wearing a Saddam Hussein t-shirt. Good Georgia fans will tell you the same thing - they hate Tech. And that's as it should be. That means
things are in harmony, just as nature intended. Anyone that says differently is probably one of those tree huggers that think a frog is more important than a person. 'Sides, a good case of hate is good for ones metabolism - that's why watching the Tech/Georgia game is part of a good preventative health program. Keeps the system cleansed of impurities.....
Myth Two:
"This is not our biggest rivalry each year. Now, because of our conference schedule, when we play (fill in the blank), that's the big game!"
Georgia fans always tell this lie whenever they’ve fluked out and actually beaten Tech a time or two. Whenever that happens they all want to make out like there's no rivalry between the two schools at all. They'll start talking instead about games like the Georgia-Florida game (which is surprising, as Florida has been filleting their asses for the past several years like free steaks in a soup kitchen), or the Georgia-South Carolina one (which S.C. would win if Captain Kangaroo was their quarterback), or others. Its just their means of building up some kind of inner feeling of superiority over Tech. I guess they need this, as after graduation most Georgia alumni will then spend a lifetime working for Tech grads. However you cut it, this delusion works out just fine for them until they lose the big game....
When they lose it, you know it, and quickly. The most obvious signs:
1. Whining about the officiating. This year it was the whine that their quarterback, in the second quarter, made a two point conversion that was not counted by the officials. If they had made it, this year's match-up would have ended in a tie. Bottom line, we Tech fans know that we are doing good when Georgia supporters are bawling for the tie...
2. Coach Donnan's (who’s since lost his job over losing thrice to Tech) television show replaying the Tech/Georgia contest becomes so loaded with commercials that game clips and commentary regarding the outcome are minimal.
3. Lots of talk about how they had to let us win one, and constant references to the number of games they had won in a row before this year. I always wonder what their point is here - no one gives a damn about what Chester A. Arthur did as President, and no one cares about old Georgia win hash-ups, either.
4. Increased Budweiser sales in the Athens area from the date of the game until after the ending of whatever bowl game Tech is in that year.
5. Complaints from Vince Dooley about damage to the hedges.
6. Increased donations from Tech fans to UGA in the name of Professor Jan Kemp.
I could even live with some of these lies if they were more creative, but, considering their sources, they can't be. Let's just conclude it to say that if you
think Georgia fans really believe that any other game is their main rivalry, wait and talk to 'em about ten minutes after Tech has raked their cardsacks. You'll
find out at that point, as the six excuses listed above are solemnly rattled off, that it still is, and will always be, The Game......
Myth 3:
"Tougher academic standards at Georgia make it more difficult to field competitive teams."
Georgia fans are still solemnly stating this adage, which began back in the seventies when Professor Jan Kemp sued the university. I can't remember
the exact details of the lawsuit, but, essentially she sued the school stating that she and other professors had to give preferential academic treatment to "student athletes" that, altogether, had the collective IQs of a truck full of BB guns. She
won her suit, collected over a million bucks, and thereafter incurred the everlasting wrath of true Georgia football devotees.
Georgia fans have clutched at this lawsuit as a way of explaining every loss they've suffered since. They'll intone this adage almost reverently, but, if
you examine it, it begs the following questions:
*What's wrong with tougher academic standards? Does the school want to turn out a bunch of degree toting, second shift Dairy Queen management trainees?
*How can academic standards even be mentioned after a Tech/Georgia game? Even the most diehard Georgia fan doesn't want to go there....
Let's face it, any school that would rely on this kind of logic is not one we'd want to train future brain surgeons or airline pilots at. I could say more, but
let's sum it up by saying that Georgia fans that recite and believe this statement are being just as humorous as it is when we hear our current President tell us that he is being truthful....
There are a lot more myths about this rivalry, to be sure, but some of them are so ridiculous that I can't even make fun of them - they do that on the strength of their own absurdity. Just bet the bank on one thing - the Tech/Georgia rivalry is the strongest in all of college football. The schools hate each other. And I love hating Georgia, just like Georgia fans love hating Tech. And beyond that, all you
folks that don't live in Georgia leave us the hell alone. We have a right to this hatred, and we will steady kick some out-of-state ass if we are denied this
sacred sacrament of Georgia living.
Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 19.
Believe me when I tell you that I'll
never write any words sweeter than the ones you just read - Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 19.
We just got through (11/28/98) playing a little football game here. One that we engage in each year around this time. The Game. Or, let's just call it like
it is - the Game of ALL Games.
No game in football matters more, you know. Not the Super Bowl, not the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, or whatever else is out there. This is the game that
counts - the Tech/Georgia game.
You'd have to live here to understand. Now, don't get me wrong, I know there are lots of good college football rivalries out there. Games like
Auburn/Alabama, Clemson/South Carolina, Florida/Florida State, ect. All these games are huge in their respective regions. (I won't even mention rivalries involving northern schools here. To be frank, its hard for us Southerners to get upset about the big northern college rivalries. Let's face it, we don't give a tinker's damn about who wins between Ohio State/Michigan, Harvard/Yale, or whomever. The way I see it, just let 'em play the game and enjoy the fact that one of them is gonna get an asswhuppin'. And understand that the only thing better would be if both teams could receive one. But we all know they can't, so, I content myself with the fact that one will get one. Southerners in general are always glad about that, and will typically pull for the highest ranked team in the game to tote the collar on any given Saturday. This help insures that a good
Southern team will rise a few more notches in the national rankings).
But none of these games are as huge as Georgia Tech and Georgia. These two schools started hooking up on the gridiron in 1893. Since then, they
have waged an annual war each year around Thanksgiving. Families divide their loyalties on this day. Its not uncommon on game day to see a family attending the game with members wearing the colors of both schools. It's a day that divides this state in half for four hours, and introduces fans of both universities to either profound happiness or depression for the next 364 days afterwards.
There are a lot of myths associated with this game. Lots of lies are told, too, that people want to disguise as myths. If you really think about it, I guess
most of us Georgians don't want the level of true hatred surrounding this rivalry to be exposed. It isn't very becoming to admit hate, I guess. But, if you think about it, pure hatred has its place and is very necessary at times. And where Tech and Georgia are concerned, its damn necessary. Therefore, with all this reasoning behind me, I feel its now time to give you the facts regarding the Tech/Georgia rivalry. I will accomplish this by exposing three of the most
common myths surrounding the Tech/Georgia game:
Myth One:
"I pull for both teams each year until they play each other. Then, I pull for (fill in the blank)."
This is a damn lie. Let's just get it straight, and duly noted on paper - no true Tech fan pulls for Georgia. In any shape, size, or form. If Georgia played the
Iraqi Army I'd be wearing a Saddam Hussein t-shirt. Good Georgia fans will tell you the same thing - they hate Tech. And that's as it should be. That means
things are in harmony, just as nature intended. Anyone that says differently is probably one of those tree huggers that think a frog is more important than a person. 'Sides, a good case of hate is good for ones metabolism - that's why watching the Tech/Georgia game is part of a good preventative health program. Keeps the system cleansed of impurities.....
Myth Two:
"This is not our biggest rivalry each year. Now, because of our conference schedule, when we play (fill in the blank), that's the big game!"
Georgia fans always tell this lie whenever they’ve fluked out and actually beaten Tech a time or two. Whenever that happens they all want to make out like there's no rivalry between the two schools at all. They'll start talking instead about games like the Georgia-Florida game (which is surprising, as Florida has been filleting their asses for the past several years like free steaks in a soup kitchen), or the Georgia-South Carolina one (which S.C. would win if Captain Kangaroo was their quarterback), or others. Its just their means of building up some kind of inner feeling of superiority over Tech. I guess they need this, as after graduation most Georgia alumni will then spend a lifetime working for Tech grads. However you cut it, this delusion works out just fine for them until they lose the big game....
When they lose it, you know it, and quickly. The most obvious signs:
1. Whining about the officiating. This year it was the whine that their quarterback, in the second quarter, made a two point conversion that was not counted by the officials. If they had made it, this year's match-up would have ended in a tie. Bottom line, we Tech fans know that we are doing good when Georgia supporters are bawling for the tie...
2. Coach Donnan's (who’s since lost his job over losing thrice to Tech) television show replaying the Tech/Georgia contest becomes so loaded with commercials that game clips and commentary regarding the outcome are minimal.
3. Lots of talk about how they had to let us win one, and constant references to the number of games they had won in a row before this year. I always wonder what their point is here - no one gives a damn about what Chester A. Arthur did as President, and no one cares about old Georgia win hash-ups, either.
4. Increased Budweiser sales in the Athens area from the date of the game until after the ending of whatever bowl game Tech is in that year.
5. Complaints from Vince Dooley about damage to the hedges.
6. Increased donations from Tech fans to UGA in the name of Professor Jan Kemp.
I could even live with some of these lies if they were more creative, but, considering their sources, they can't be. Let's just conclude it to say that if you
think Georgia fans really believe that any other game is their main rivalry, wait and talk to 'em about ten minutes after Tech has raked their cardsacks. You'll
find out at that point, as the six excuses listed above are solemnly rattled off, that it still is, and will always be, The Game......
Myth 3:
"Tougher academic standards at Georgia make it more difficult to field competitive teams."
Georgia fans are still solemnly stating this adage, which began back in the seventies when Professor Jan Kemp sued the university. I can't remember
the exact details of the lawsuit, but, essentially she sued the school stating that she and other professors had to give preferential academic treatment to "student athletes" that, altogether, had the collective IQs of a truck full of BB guns. She
won her suit, collected over a million bucks, and thereafter incurred the everlasting wrath of true Georgia football devotees.
Georgia fans have clutched at this lawsuit as a way of explaining every loss they've suffered since. They'll intone this adage almost reverently, but, if
you examine it, it begs the following questions:
*What's wrong with tougher academic standards? Does the school want to turn out a bunch of degree toting, second shift Dairy Queen management trainees?
*How can academic standards even be mentioned after a Tech/Georgia game? Even the most diehard Georgia fan doesn't want to go there....
Let's face it, any school that would rely on this kind of logic is not one we'd want to train future brain surgeons or airline pilots at. I could say more, but
let's sum it up by saying that Georgia fans that recite and believe this statement are being just as humorous as it is when we hear our current President tell us that he is being truthful....
There are a lot more myths about this rivalry, to be sure, but some of them are so ridiculous that I can't even make fun of them - they do that on the strength of their own absurdity. Just bet the bank on one thing - the Tech/Georgia rivalry is the strongest in all of college football. The schools hate each other. And I love hating Georgia, just like Georgia fans love hating Tech. And beyond that, all you
folks that don't live in Georgia leave us the hell alone. We have a right to this hatred, and we will steady kick some out-of-state ass if we are denied this
sacred sacrament of Georgia living.
