Published by the Times-Georgian–September 2, 2012
By Joe Garrett
It’s football time again.
As college football kicks off another season, I can’t wait for another fall filled with tailgating, marching bands, cheerleaders and good old-fashioned rivalries. I’m a graduate of the University of Georgia and a Bulldog to the bone. I’m even wearing red and black underdrawers as I write this column.
There’s no secret among Southerners that Georgia fans still refer to Georgia Tech as “the enemy.” Besides, if you look up the definition of “nerd” in the dictionary, it says “a Georgia Tech fan.”
My best friend Joe Murrah is a Georgia Tech fan and graduate. We grew up in the Chapel Heights neighborhood and often played football in Carol and Mac Martin’s front yard where he pretended he was Georgia Tech running back Eddie Lee Ivery and I was Georgia Heisman Trophy Winner Herschel Walker. Even then, the Bulldogs ruled.
During my senior year, I took a quarter off from UGA to work as an intern at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta. It was an exciting job to work among the writers and producers of Ted Turner’s enterprise. The downside to the three-month internship was that I lived with three Georgia Tech students from Carrollton — Joe Murrah, Tommy Muse and Mike Cocklereece.
I was outnumbered.
During this short stay, Georgia Tech had one of its greatest basketball teams in school history and even went to the Final Four. Of course, that same year my Bulldogs failed to make it to the second round. I kept my mouth shut.
There’s no doubt many outstanding Georgia Tech graduates with Carroll County ties have positively influenced this community and the world. Roy Richards, who founded Southwire, was a Tech graduate. Roger Kaiser, who coached West Georgia’s only national champion basketball team, was a hall of fame Tech athlete and Carrollton native Jim Borders changed the skyline of Atlanta.
Despite all of the great Tech alumni who work and live in this area to make this community such a great place, I still can’t cheer for the Yellow Jackets — even if they’re playing Auburn.
A new college football season means different things to people. Some fans are preparing for tailgate parties, others are making reservations for road trips and many men are thinking of excuses to give their wives so they can sneak away to watch ESPN during a fall wedding reception.
For me, the beginning of football season means more phone calls from Dawsonville.
My friend David Hughes and I worked together as students in the UGA Athletic Department and he starts calling every fall. David represents a new breed of SEC football fans because he refers to himself as a “yupneck” — a redneck yuppie.
A “yupneck” is someone who drives a BMW littered with boiled peanut hulls and wears Polo shirts stained with barbecue sauce. David further exemplifies this trait because he married his wife for her pimento cheese recipe.
“I’m at the doctor getting a tetanus shot,” Hughes said in a pre-season phone call this week.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Are you OK?”
“No,” he replied. “I need it because we play at Auburn this year.”
So, may the jokes, jabs and jests begin. May your team win all of its games unless, of course, you’re playing against Georgia.
Oh, and by the way — Go Dawgs! Woof! Woof!
Joe Garrett's Blog 