Adventures in Nerdfest

Here's a little story about me. I grew up in a family of Tech fans. None of them really "fanatics", but they mostly had an affinity for the North Avenue Nerds. Even more disgusting? I actually went to a Georgia Tech game before I stepped foot in Athens town. Somewhere along the way someone moulded me into a Georgia fan and the sad part is I don't know who it was...but it stuck.

Lately as my sister and I have grown up, Dad has slowly moved more to the center because I've made it a life goal to take him to at least one Georgia game for every Georgia game I made him take me to as a kid (back when you could get a ticket for <$25 each). My Mom only wants me to be happy so she'll cheer for Georgia in the off chance she's watching football (she was adorable with concern during the Auburn game this year). My sister has merged her love of Tech with a love of Bama because she went to school at Samford where she picked up a light appreciation for the Red Elephants. So pretty much against all odds I survived my family's influence and saw the light.


But as I said earlier my first NCAA football game was at Bobby Dodd Stadium when I was REAL little. Up until 2006, that had been the only time I saw Tech play in person. This story really begins there, my first trip to see Georgia play our in-state rivals, Georgia Tech.

The year is 2006. The season has been quite disappointing, and to date the worst under Coach Mark Richt. Earlier that year we had dropped 4 games respectively to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, and Kentucky. Not many gave us a chance to beat Tech for obvious reasons. We were too young; Tech had Calvin Johnson and people almost began having faith in Reggie Ball as he was leading the Nerds to the ACC Championship game following the UGA game win or lose.


So I scored some tickets to the game, and I'll admit, I was excited. Yeah, UGA was the underdog, and if Tech ever had a chance to beat Georgia it was that year. But we had a highly touted freshman QB in Matthew Stafford who had shown flashes of brilliance even in losing efforts. I figured since it was in Athens, Tech would occupy the small corner of the endzone with a few splashes of mustard across various sections. My guess was surely my fellow Georgia fans would be snatching up the seats for sections 601-611 where I was to be sitting. After all, the tickets would be relatively easy to get, why wouldn't they buy them?


I'll tell you why...


Because every single nerd from inside the perimeter and their nerdy old grandmothers bought the damn tickets.

I assumed since the fans didn't even go to their own home games, they wouldn't travel well.

Regular Season Thursday turnout at historic Mark Richt Field

So my wife and I get settled in and slowly the nerdy masses ooze into their seats. Before I knew it we were surrounded with fair-skinned, pock-marked, Tech fans with their multiple shades of yellow fan-gear. I was a little disappointed, but I was bound and determined to have a good time, win or lose...but mostly win.

It was not a great first half for Georgia, or anyone wearing red from where I was seated. The older nerd in front of us decided not to discipline his little 6 year old nerdlet when he began to throw peanut shells at me, and I kept my mouth shut. I kept quiet when we were shut out a half-time and the trash talking began. I kept my mouth shut when Georgia intercepted at the Tech 20 in the third, and I kept my mouth shut when we missed the field goal to follow...and the heckling got louder.

Then something happened, Ball had the Ball (...heh) and fumbled it into a mass of red and yellow jerseys, but the play was not whistled dead because no one had possession. Corey Taylor (CORRECTION Tony Taylor, thanks Dean) dug the ball out and ran it toward the endzone before diving and landing with a belly-flop. Suddenly everyone got quiet, and if they weren't quiet they were bitching about the play not being whistled dead...they couldn't believe it. So I stood up and hollard out "TAKE IT UP THE REFS, YA'LL BROUGHT EM WITH YOU!" because after all it was an ACC officiating crew. You would have thought I brought a pre-op tranny to a church Christmas party judging by the looks I received after that.

Later on, Tech got another field goal and a TD (failing on the 2pt conv.) making it 12-7, Nerds.

It looked like we had plenty of time to score, but there was 7-8 minutes so if we did Tech would still have a good bit of clock to work with. Stafford and company slowly ate up all but a couple of minutes slowly driving downfield, and then this happened...


If you were there, you know the feeling. We had potentially won a game we weren't supposed to win. Now all that stood between us and victory was counting on Reggie Ball to screw up, and as Larry Munson said we had to hang on for 105 seconds.

A sack and an interception later we had sealed the deal, and I unleashed the fury on everyone sitting around me. I let them have it, strength in numbers my a-hole! I was shouting at old women, making little children cry, and doing everything short of what the good Lord wouldn't forgive me for the following morning. The minute Tech's fans are on the losing end of a football game they immediately tuck their tail and tell me how I'll be working for them someday. Just so they know I work for a Kappa Sig from UGA, not a Lambda Lambda Lambda from GT.

That has been my only experience to see the Dawgs whip the Nerds in person. This year, I'm perfectly happy watching the game from my living room where my wife won't tell me I'm making a scene. I'm okay with a 12:00pm kickoff, mainly because I love pancakes and whiskey. But we'll also have Trev Alberts doing to color for CBS and like Paul Westerdawg notes the Mark May jokes and Chick-Fil-A references shall be aplenty!

...one more thing about Kentucky

I'll admit I wasn't happy about the Kentucky game even though we won, but let me drop this bug in your ear.



I very well may be the only one making this correlation, and let me say for the record I DO NOT think the two are comparable on the level of importance to Bulldog history, but...

When I saw the first play of the TD drive where Stafford connected with MoMass for 77yds, a little piece of me was screaming "RUN LINDSAY!". Of course Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott will forever be one of the best moments in UGA football, but other than MoMass not making the most of his blocker, this would have been a similar situation. We would be on the verge of losing a game we should have won and in the final minutes we get a huge play for huge yardage.

I know they are completely different situations (so don't give me that crap about the Dawgs playing for an undefeated season during the Run Lindsay! call), but if I was over the fact we haven't lived up to our potential and was able to appreciate the Kentucky win for what it truly was (a pretty damn entertaining game), then I might be willing to underscore the silliness of the whole thing. I just know this would have been one of the moments a healthy Larry Munson would have been worth his weight in Munson's Greatest Calls DVDs had he been in Lexington last weekend.

FOLLOW UP: Does anyone have the Scott Howard audio to this drive?

Also, I love the Kentucky fan in the bottom right hand corner at minute 2:15-2:16 who appears to try and reach into the sky to grab the sun and then slam it to the ground once it becomes clear AJ Bryant...I mean AJ Green caught the pass. LOVE IT!

My Munson Tribute

My plan was to save this post until closer to Halloween given the context of the picture. Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and post it because I really didn't do much to honor Larry's retirement announced earlier this week. It's not much but they say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

All that aside, here you go.

Halloween 2007,

my costume,

one Mr. Lawrence Harry Munson.



Rumor has it Larry might be a "team captain" for the game Saturday. I doubt this will be the case because Larry is notoriusly modest. As far as honoring the legend of Larry Munson, if he is in fact standing at midfield for the coin toss, expect Sanford Stadium to fall down, the booths to come apart, now they will have to renovate that place...hmm...that sounds familiar. In other words, if you're lucky enough to be one of the 92K+ Saturday with a ticket, be ready to salute our 12th man in case honors are given.

...not to be confused with Arizona State's 12th man.

GO DAWGS!

This is corny...

...get it!?!....because it's made of corn!#1!! lolrotflolin2moompblol!!!1

Anyway, I thought this was an awesome workin' man's tribute to Larry. It's a 7 acre corn maze down in McDonough on Southern Belle Farm. The information is as follows per the AJC.

Where: Southern Belle Farm, 1658 Turner Church Road, McDonough, GA Price: $12; $10 ages 5-9; ages 4-under are free Contact: 770-898-0999

On the Retirement of Larry Munson

I have nothing new to add to this story. There is no inside information or insight I bring to the table regarding Larry's plans. My only wish is that he's doing it because he wants to, not because he's unable to. Saturday I hope Larry gets to sit in a fishing boat and do what he always wanted (except I doubt he'll be listening to Scott Howard since it's a night game). Larry's done his service to the University of Georgia and he's done his service well. I don't think he'll get the nationwide coverage deserved of someone whom I see as the Harry Caray of Georgia, but then it's only retirement, nothing more.

What a solid team looks like

Here's the deal, I was ultra-impressed with the Dawgs today. My only disapointment MIGHT be our lack of pressure on their QB, but then again Coach Martinez isn't called "The Blitzless Wonder" for nothin'.

Aside from that, our offense was bangin' Team Ramrod style, and our secondary made Lefevour look like LeFarva.

Also, this...

...will be the re-design for all future Heisman Trophies.

Knowshon's helmet should be 1/2 covered with bones for next week with the game he had today. The place was "worse than bonkers" when he jumped over that guy. I would love to know how Munson called that. I imagine a Herschel Walker-esq "HE'S RUNNING (jumping) OVER PEOPLE!!1" type call, but I'll have to catch the replay later to hear it for myself.

I'll get into some more stuff after I sit down and watch the game on DVR later, but I thought we looked solid today.

Saturday Morning: A Day of Ritual - Round 1

As I promised Monday, I present you with the secrets to winning on your part. Today I'll cover just the basics of what to and what not to do when it comes to Gameday. These are the things you should know by heart already and should be a staple to any one's Saturday morning who takes their ritual seriously. So lets begin.

#1.

Never, ever, ever, EVER under any circumstance shave on Gameday. Guys, don't shave your face, your unibrow, don't trim your body hair, etc... Ladies, don't shave your legs or pluck anything if you want to take this seriously. Don't even trim your fingernails. Bottom line don't do anything that makes you less of a person (mass wise) when it comes to cheering your team to victory.

Here's another way to look at it.

Things that happen when you shave:
-weddings
-funerals
-court appearances
-jobs

Things that happen when you don't shave:
-hard liquor
-BBQ
-Guitar Hero
-hockey fights

...choose wisely, I know you will.

#2.

Know your Gameday attire, and have it ready the night before.
Pictured above:
1. Bulldog pattern underwear
2. UGA dri-fit polo
3. Red Eddie Bauer shorts
4. Red & Black New Balances
5. Gameday hat

No variations allowed unless you want to test your luck. The only acceptable changes are due to weather related events (rain ponch is a plus, long sleeves and full pants acceptable in late Fall) but even then you might want to make sure you're wearing the originals underneath...just to be safe.

#3.

Know what you're drinkin' and what you're drinkin' it out of.

Pictured above:
1. Jack Daniels (or chosen brand of whiskey)
2. Coke...NOT PEPSI...very important
3. Gameday cup

Last year I went through a handle of Jim Beam during the football season. A buddy of mine gave me a bottle of Jack for my birthday so I figured I'd give it a try this year. If things start getting too close I'll be heading down to Mink's Package to pick up some more Jim Beam...you can never be too safe (plus, said friend is a Tech fan, sabotage is always a possibility).

There is no acceptable alternative for Coke Classic. Bottom line.

Finally make sure you have your Gameday cup washed and ready to go come Saturday morning. This season I'm donning my plastic Sugar Bowl cup I got in New Orleans last January. Drinking is to commence at the beginning of ESPN's College Gameday Live (in moderation) only to slow until gametime. 15 minutes before your game of choice starts you better start hittin' the sauce again.

At the beginning of each quarter I down a shot of whiskey with a squirt of lemon juice concentrate on top. This shooter is in honor of Larry Munson who is all man (the whiskey) but still doom & gloom when it comes to sizing up the competition (the sour).
"Boy, Georgia Southern has a good lookin' team this season. Even with 8 starters out for the opener we better bring our A-Game because they'll come out swinging and we better be prepared."
Come 12:30 Saturday, this man will have you fearing Georgia Southern.

I'll cover a few more rituals later which are more specific to me personally. As I said earlier, the above should be standard traditions for anyone who is a football fan. I'll get into the crazy stuff tomorrow when I can take more pictures without getting rained on.

Fun with Stats!

Since Mark Richt took over as head coach of the Dawgs in 2001 we have only won 2 of the 7 Cocktail Parties.

Of the 5 we've lost, the average defeat was by exactly 7 points.
Of the 2 we've won, the average victory was by 9.5 points.

This is interesting to me if only because we will be know for our offensive firepower this year. Averaging a 1 TD and PAT yearly loss to the Gaytors doesn't seem like that big of a deal with the guys we've got controlling the ball this season.

On the other hand, when we've won it's been by 9.5 which would mean Team Tebow would need either their defense to step up and keep the game within a TDs value, or their offense is gonna have to produce and produce quick.

Of course these are only numbers and don't really have any relevance to what will happen on November 1st in Jacksonville...but it's fun to look at.

...this is fun to look at too!

Also as an unrelated side note on the subject of bowl games, from 1997-2007 our bowl record is 9-2.

Our average bowl win was by 12.888 points in those 9 victories.
Of our 2 losses (the '01 Music City Bowl against Boston College and the '05 Splenda Bowl against West Virginia) our average loss was by 3.5 points. Regardless of what the score was after the 1st half of the Mountaineers game, the final loss was by 3 and if Dick Rod hadn't gone for it on 4th down we would have tied it...but I'm not bitter...I promise.

December 31, 2005 "Steve who?!?"
January 2, 2006 "...don't talk to me."

When it's all said and done, we've had a pretty fine run these last 10 years. This season promises to be as entertaining as any, especially considering how the media has been pulling our meat. Keep the faith Dawg fans, we've got a potential Heisman winner, a quarterback with ALOT to prove, the unveiling of a new mascot, the finest coach to never win a National Championship, and most importantly Larry Munson calling the play-by-play.

GO DAWGS!

No Larry Munson in 2008?

I saw on AJC.com that Damon Evans is anticipating Larry Munson to return in 2008 to call UGA home games...but Munson hasn't officially signed on yet.

I can't help but assume this might be Munson's final season calling games for the Dawgs. If I had it my way Larry Munson would call games until football was outlawed and rogue warriors defended the planet. Unfortunately all great things must come to an end, it's just a shame that the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs is having constant health problems and may call it quits soon.

Having multiple clots removed from his brain earlier this year probably isn't making life easier for the ageing broadcaster. After deciding to quit calling road games last year the Bulldog Nation slowly came to terms with the fact their radio hero might be on his way out.

My dream scenario, UGA goes undefeated this year. Munson calls the National Championship game, Dawgs win and another historical call is added to the archives. The next day Larry goes to the Athletic Department to record the audio for every pregame intro to be shown on the scoreboard in future games, then turns his resignation in to Damon Evans on his way out to see Deuce Bigelow 3 with the movie group. From there on out Larry spends the rest of his days fishing, drinking, chasing women, and watching movies as any good Dawg should.

I looked far and wide to try and find my favorite call by Larry Munson but I couldn't find it on YouTube. My absolute favorite doesn't involve Lindsay Scott, or Herschel Walker, it involves Kevin Butler the kicker for the Bulldogs in the early 80's. It was 1984 and the Dawgs were tied with Clemson as the clock was running out and Kevin Butler kicked a field goal "100,000 miles" to win it as time ran out.

You can find the link here and scroll down to Georgia vs. Clemson 1984 to hear the audio clip. It has the agony of Larry's pessimism, the glimmer of optimism to keep you interested, the outrageous comments to break the tension of it all, and as the ball sails between the uprights you hear Munson go absolutely nuts with excitement. The culmination of all of these is what I believe puts this on the same level as the Lindsay Scott call and begging the Dawgs to "hunker it down ONE MORE TIME!" at Auburn. I could watch these clips 1000 times and my eyes will water 1001 times, they are just that good.

So instead of putting my favorite up, I'll put up my favorite current Larry Munson call. This is from the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game in 2006 at Sanford Stadium. I think I love this clip so much because my wife and I were sitting in the middle of the Georgia Tech seats surrounded by mustard colored shirts. I didn't get to hear this until the ride home that Saturday night. UGA wasn't supposed to win, Tech had Calvin Johnson and a senior quarterback in Reggie Ball. All the Dawgs had was a freshmen quarterback by the name of Matthew Stafford who had played fairly inconsistently that season. Georgia's last possession of the game was their opportunity to take the lead. The following ensued...


It was at this time I took it upon myself to start sending back all the trash the Tech fans had been talking to me all night (especially to the guy who'd been letting his kid throw peanut shells at me all game). My wife told me I needed to sit down and shut up before I got myself killed...which was probably a smart thing to do in hindsight.


Special thanks to Ugamummra for the great videos he's posted.