The Guys in Silver Britches

State of the BullDawg Nation

Between Thanksgiving, my birthday and the annual renewal of Clean Old-Fashioned Hate...this time of year is the ultimate trifecta for me. And for as long as I can recall, all I've ever really wished for on my birthday is to beat Georgia Tech. More years than not, that wish comes true. Last year, sadly it did not.

I'm not going to go into some YouTube temper tantrum here. But the annual clash between the Dawgs and the nerds does carry a lot of emotion for me. Jacksonville is our biggest game of the year, no question. Florida's the ugly bully on the playground you love the opportunity to smack around. But the Trade School is our brother. We work with him, share roadways with him, sometimes even the family dinner table. Beats the hell out of me why a Dawg would marry an insect, but it happens.

We've had a year to remember what it's like in this state when we lose this game. To add insult to humility, this season has been found on the map just north of shambles. We don't know which coaches will be on the road recruiting Monday no more than we know how close to the credit limit the cards in our wallet are gonna go at the shopping malls this afternoon. We've got players like Boling, questioning whether or not they can resist the urge to give up on the season.

Ahh, yes. Now I remember the feeling we all had back in late November 2000. This is ground zero. How are ya? It's been awhile. We're not too far removed from a time when the disgruntled dimwits were the upstream swimmers that stuck out like a sore thumb. Now it's the fans who scream about everything being okay, just take a deep breath who sound so out of tune.

But the truth is, I don't care. That's Monday. This is Georgia Tech. This is now. That is then.

So today I'm blowing out candles with full authority. There's no hesitation, no pause for contemplation. Beat Tech!! I'll scream in my head. Beat the ever lovin' (doggy doo) out of them.After that I'm leaving the new Dawg garb I purchased this summer in the closet and gonna go with what feels most comfortable: black wind pants and red Georgia t-shirt.

If that's what it takes to get Fabris to allow the deep kick then I may just never take them off.

It's Georgia-Georgia Tech folks. If you've spent this season belly-aching about how horrible the team is, get over yourself. If you can't wait for the season to end, stop and smell the gridiron. Your team needs you. If you're just completely exasperated, spent, through, done, exhausted...lose the skirt Alice and man up.

There's no BCS bowl, no top 25 ranking and no New Year's Day tailgate to look forward to. It's just 60 minutes of football. Some clean old fashioned hate. A little gravy for the turkey.

Too often as fans we get caught up in worrying about the perceivable outcome of games. We're so invested in ourselves not getting surprised we'd rather just write the game off and go about our pity party. All I'm trying to say is that just won't do Reader.

Historic Mark Richt Field will be surrounded by nerds tomorrow night. Why? Because they're winning games. Otherwise, not so much.

We're Dawgs. We wear our colors and fly our flags in rain and sun, for better or for worse. Coach Richt has led his team to a 6-5 season thus far and I still gave thanks yesterday that he was our guy. We pull the upset tomorrow, we're cheering. We lose by 28, we're cheering.

We're Dawgs. And the guys in the silver britches deserve that much.