South Carolina vs. Georgia

We arrived in Athens with time to spare and had a chance to drive/walk around the town and fraternity row was quite impressive with its collection of large old houses. There were tons of UGA fans walking about the street clad in black and red along with a sizable number Gamecock fans. Everyone was very friendly, which I think was a result of mass quantities of beer and bourbon being consumed.

We reached the stadium early so we could see the ‘Dawg Walk. The team got off several buses near the stadium and walked down between the fans led by cheerleaders and two people carrying a large American flag and a larger UGA flag. People were cheering the player and little kids were giving them high fives. It was a pretty cool pregame tradition.

As we were watching the players walk by I was told by some older fans that it used to be larger. While they were complaining about it the UGA athletic director, Damon Evans, came up behind them. When they turned around he gave them a smile. Other fans then went up to him and told him their views of the team and the stadium policies. He was very pleasent and professional. Come to think of it, I have never seen Dave Hart walking about the tailgating lots before a game. I wish our athletic director would mingle with the fans before games like he did but maybe I am not looking hard enough.

Following the ‘Dawg walk I got to see UGA IV up close and personal. He is the most well cared for dog I have ever seen. However, just as I was taking a picture of him his handler closed the door. The resulting picture was a large blur. Inside Sanford Stadium I saw where they memorialized the prior five UGAs with plagues. UGA fans sure do love their dogs.

While the concourses were like dungeons, dark and damp the stadium itself was beautiful. Sandford Stadium is shaped like a horseshoe with west endzone only having one tier of seats. It sits over 92,000 and by kickoff each one had a butt on it. Our seats were pretty good, 25 rows back from the field on the alumni side on the side of the end zone. The crowd was very loud and most stayed until the end. Go ‘Dawgs! Sic ‘em!

Aside from the final result of the game (the ‘Dawgs lost 16-12) my first UGA game was a blast, and I would love to go back and see another game there.