It's Gameday!

So excited that the day is finally here!  Gameday is on ESPN... and I am picking out my RED outfit for today!

Saturday's each fall are filled with..

So many wonderful memories...

The excitement after victory... the deflation after a defeat...

Spending each Saturday with great friends... both then and now...

All I have to say is... It's great to be the GEORGIA...

GO DAWGS!

Tradition...

This weekend Nike announced the uniforms the Georgia Bulldogs will wear in our first game against Boise State.  Did you see them?  Here is a link to some pictures...  What do you think?

Call me a sucker for tradition, but I love our normal uniforms.  I love the red helmets and silver britches... plus the fact that I hate the tone on tone jersey and pants.

Regardless of the uniforms... I am ready for the season!  Go Dawgs!

This is it...

So this is it... the one week a year when we cheer against each other... the week where we probably shouldn't watch football games together.  It has been an interesting year for both our teams.  Auburn is having a great season... 10-0 in fact.  My Bulldogs are not fairing quite so well... it has been a rough season to say the least!  So this weekend will be interesting either way the game comes out.  We are trying to come up with a tradition for this week every year... if you have any ideas feel free to leave them in the comments.

I have kind of fallen behind doing my Disney posts... I am going to work on finishing those up... so hopefully I can post them in the next few days.  

Have a great week y'all!

Go Dawgs!

GO DAWGS... Beat the Gators...

This picture was taken after our 2004 win... hopefully tonight we will be smiling this big again!!!

Once a Dawg...

Always a Dawg... How Sweet it is!!!

Yesterday the Bulldogs shocked everyone when they knocked off #7 ranked Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  Winning is always sweet... but with this game there are bigger implications.

When you win the UGA vs GT game you get state bragging rights for the whole year.  It has been a tough year for the Dawgs... but this was the perfect ending... I'm so excited that we pulled it out.

It's certainly a GREAT day to be a Georgia Bulldog!!!

UGA vs GT

There are many different memories I could write about for the Georgia vs Georgia Tech game.... there's my freshman year when the weather was nice and we stomped the Jackets 51-7.  It was my first UGA vs GT game and the weather and outcome could not have been nicer.  Then my sophomore year when the game was in Atlanta and scheduled for around noon, so of course, we had to practice in the early early morning hours.  We were there long before it was light outside and the temperature was well below freezing... so needless to say our hands and feet were ice cubes!

However, I think the game that is seared in my mind most is the 2004 game...

This is what the band looked like for pretty much the entire game... raincoats on... I did not have a seat that game, but I think it was a blessing because that way I did not get so wet.

I think my favorite picture from the night... my sweet friends, Brittany and Dana... trash bags as raincoats... so fun!

Needless to say that game was pretty miserable... the good part... we came out on top!!  I think my completely numb feet and legs were grateful for that!  I would have been very upset if we hadn't pulled it out... let's Go Dawgs!

Road trip!!! UGA vs UK

In 2004 several friends and I set out on a road trip to see the Dawgs play in Lexington.  It was such an exciting weekend... for me, it was my first game as a regular "fan" not an official Redcoat band member.

Almost the whole crew... Lauren, Nicole, Cassie, Rebecca, and me... minus Ryan... he was taking the picture.  We were on Flagline together... and we all lived in the same apartment... at different times :-)

We even went to visit the Derbies... the part of the band that made the trip.  Here we are with John and John... (Moates and Schleier)

Yay for just being fans!!  That night after the game we took an excursion to Cincinnati to eat at Ryan's favorite... Skyline Chili... such a fun trip!!

Big Day!!

So this is it... the big day is finally here...  Patrick and I started dating 11 months ago (ok, 11 months and 1 day... but who's counting??) and we have talked about today many many many times during these months.  At the end of the day one us will have the winning team... the other will not.  I think we have both handled it gracefully this week... but we will see how we are feeling tonight...

Until then... I have leave you with a few simple words...

Once a dawg... always a dawg... how sweet it is...

UGA vs Auburn... A Family Affair

So this is it... that one week a year we are enemies... rivals... we want the other one to lose... it is the week of the Georgia vs Auburn game.

I like to think of it in terms of sibling rivalry.  The vast majority of the time we are friends.... we cheer for each other and want the other person to win.  After all, we are on different sides of the SEC... so our records don't usually have too much effect on the other team prior to our meeting in November.  We can be friendly because in many ways we are very much alike.  Then that one week a year... we want OUR team to win, we want them to beat the other team soundly, we want to win in grand fashion because then we get bragging rights for an entire year!

Fab Four Flagline Friends- we were all rookies together

I am probably a little more open to this type of rivalry than most, as I am the only Georgia fan in my entire extended family.  I am consistently surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom, my brother, and my boyfriend (and his entire family, minus his sister-in-law Libby) who are all Auburn fans.  No matter what though, we love each other and want the best for each other... except for that one day.

Patrick with his friends Matt and Steven... wow that's a bunch of orange!

So as we approach that fateful Saturday, I am often asked, "why don't you just switch teams... it would be much easier"...  for those of you who are wondering, I share the words of the famous Meatloaf... "I will do anything for love... but I won't do that!"

Go Dawgs!

UGA Homecoming

Each year for Homecoming the Redcoat Band Alumni return to perform the pregame show.  As band members, we always enjoyed seeing all the people come back, new alumni and older alumni included.  We always thought it was neat... but never intended to participate, until we were much much farther removed.  That way until last year...

Several people who had recently graduated all came back to participate.  It was interesting... and dare I say, fun to see our old friends.

Performing in front of 92,000 of your dearest friends never loses it's thrill.  A little weird being the "alumni" though... when we still knew several of the current members.

Most of my friends who participated have season tickets, so this was just another game for them.  But for me, it was the only game I got to attend last year... so it was WONDERFUL to be back in Athens.  There really is nothing like a game between the hedges on a fall Saturday afternoon.

GO DAWGS!!!!

UGA vs UF...

This is my favorite UGA vs UF memory... when we beat them 31-24... after a 7 year win drought.  It was so sweet!!

Fall break for UGA students always falls around this game, so each year the Redcoats take off on Thursday morning for a four day trip.  We drive all day Thursday, stopping for some practice in South Georgia, until we reach St. Augustine (where we stay for the trip).  Friday morning we practice at a high school... then we have the rest of the day off to explore the city...

Friday night we used to go to the Landing in Jacksonville... although, I don't think they do that anymore.  Then Saturday it is game on... we leave St Augustine and head to the game in Jacksonville.  It is always fun because we get a police escort so we get to avoid all the traffic... then when we get close to the stadium all the fans come out and wave to the busses... so much fun!

Sunday is the long drive home... and after a hard fought game that doesn't come out on our side, the drive is even LONGER... but after a victory it is a sweet ride home to Georgia.

It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog!!  Go Dawgs!  Beat the Gators!

Two words... Two simple words...

No fancy football post this week. It's time to get back to the basics. Back to the simple things... the things that make me proud to be a part of the Bulldog Nation.

One of my favorite Georgia traditions is when the Redcoats play Battle Hymn during pre-game and Larry Munson's commentary runs on the video board (listen here)... it gives me chills every time.

Here it is Bulldog fans... get excited for the game this Saturday... yes I know, we are on the road at Vandy... but I think we still need to get excited...

"Glory, Glory to ole Georgia! Heroes have graced the field before you. Men with hearts, bodies, and minds for which the entire Bulldawg Nation can be justifiably proud. The tradition of unbridled excellence demonstrated by these individuals and many others spans more than a full century.
And now a new breed of Bulldawg stands ready to take the field of Battle: To assume the reigns of the Georgia program and to continue that tradition, understanding that there is no tradition more worthy of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty as The University of Georgia. So, as we prepare for another meeting between the hedges, let all the Bulldawg faithful rally behind the men who now don the red and black with two words -- two simple words that express the sentiments of the entire Bulldawg Nation: GO DAWGS!"

Two Words... Two simple words... GO DAWGS!

UGA vs Tennessee 2003

I will make this one pretty brief... The video speaks for itself... but first, let me set the stage...

We got up early practiced and traveled to Knoxville for an evening game. We came down out of the stands and readied for the half time show. Tennessee drove the ball all the way down the field... it looked like they were about to score when..

Sean Jones ran right in front of us!!! It was probably one of the coolest moments of my career as a Redcoat! I feel like we floated through that half time show... it was AWESOME!!! And, one more thing... we were set to debut our 2nd show of the year that week... it was a Queen show... complete with "We are the Champions." It turned out to be quite fitting!

UGA vs LSU 2004

This game sticks out in my mind because there was a big build-up to it. We lost to the Tigers in Baton Rouge the previous year, 10-17. Then we lost again when we played them in the 2003 SEC Championship, 13-34. We were ready to welcome them to our house... to show them just what the Bulldogs are made of.

The Friday morning before the game, ESPN's Cold Pizza decided to broadcast live from Sanford Stadium. They asked interested band members to volunteer to be there for the entire taping... this meant arriving at 6am!!! I decided it would be a great opportunity so Rebecca and I headed out bright and early Friday morning.

That Friday happened to be the day after my 21st birthday... I was so excited to see Coach Richt and Coach Dooley at the show. They even took pictures with most of the Redcoats there... so exciting!!!

The game ended up being a perfect belated 21st birthday present... we beat the Tigers 45-16. Welcome to Sanford Stadium!! It was a great way to redeem ourselves after two crushing defeats.

Go Dawgs... Beat the Tigers!

Hot Hot Hot... UGA vs Alabama 2002

The 2002 Alabama game was HOT... I think it was the hottest I have ever been...

Until that day, Georgia had never won in Tuscaloosa... and not many people outside the Bulldog faithful really thought we would change that in 2002. Even former UGA player and Auburn coach Pat Dye got in on the trash talk... saying that UGA wasn't "man enough" to beat Alabama. Wow, did that fire everyone up!

We arrived in Tuscaloosa and sat on the busses for a while until we were able to get on the practice field... I knew as soon as I stepped out of the bus heat was going to be a factor. We were all dripping when we finished... then when Alabama officials opened a building for us to use the facilities and change... there was a slight problem... it was DARK... no power at all... wow, thanks Alabama.

UGA kicker Billy Bennett... who would be our hero that day!

Back to the busses and in true Redcoat fashion a real hurry up and wait situation. We got into the stadium two hours before game time... wow more time to roast!!!

Flagline girls trying to keep cool before the game.

The game had been close all day, we were up but not by much... Alabama pulled ahead about midway through the 4th quarter. It wasn't looking good for the Bulldogs. That was until with just 38 seconds left Billy Bennett hit a 32 yard field goal to put UGA up by 2. That's how it went into the history books... UGA 27 Alabama 25.

That day we were MAN ENOUGH! Go Dawgs!

SEC Championship 2002

This is going to be a short post, I am still tired out from our super close game last week... whew, that was close, a little too close for me!

We had a pretty magical season in 2002... lots of super close games that we seemed to pull out in the last seconds. We were all buzzing about UGA's first trip to the SEC Championship in quite a long time. We quickly found that in many ways it wasn't too different from a regular game... for us that is. Arkansas on the other hand had to travel halfway across the country... we just traveled an hour down the road. In some ways we had it much better, however, I think it loses some of the excitement when you are just heading down the street. Anyway, I digress...

We arrived early to practice at the GA Dome, then hung out for the afternoon at FanFare. Unfortunately, I don't remember too many specific moments from the game... I do remember the final score though... UGA 30 Arkansas 3!!

Deena and I at the GA Dome!

I wish I had a scanner because I have tons of great pics of all of us posing with packets of sugar. Why you ask? Because, not only did we win the SEC Championship... we were Sugar Bowl bound... New Orleans here we come!

Go Dawgs... Beat the Hogs!