Hail Mary passes don’t work very often, but when they do, it is jubilation for the throwers and catchers. However, success most often lies with the defenders, and that was the case last weekend at the Mercedes Dome in Atlanta.
Georgia’s defenders were ready when the Hail Mary of Georgia Tech’s Haynes King came down in the Bulldog end zone. They slapped his pass to the turf for UGA’s eighth straight victory over its cross-state rival. Or “The Enemy,” as Dan Magill, the ultimate Bulldog loyalist, often referred to Tech.
I don’t think fans of either school truly hate the opposing fans in this rivalry. Some bitterness sometimes surfaces, but Bill Cromartie, who authored the book on the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry, appropriately called it “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.”
There certainly has been nothing to compare with the enmity between Auburn and Alabama fans, for example. That rivalry, as we know, has gone to extremes such as Bama fan Harvey Updyke poisoning Toomer’s Oaks, a local landmark at Auburn.
I have heard former Navy quarterback Roger Staubach say many times, “There’s nothing like beating Army.” And he would have said that in the presence of five-star generals if they had been in the room.
When the Michigan–Ohio State game ends, many in the two student bodies begin counting down the days until the next kickoff between the two teams. I once had a conversation with Ohio State head coach Earl Bruce about this big game, and he said, “A fraternity invited me over for dinner one night in the spring, and they told me, ‘Coach, there are 198 days before the Michigan game. Tomorrow it will be 197; we can’t wait.”
There was great consternation with the Seiler family when Tech students abducted Uga, Georgia’s treasured mascot. Fortunately, Uga was eventually returned to the Seiler family — safe and sound.
Auburn graduate Vince Dooley once said the rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech was “kept on a higher plane” compared with Auburn–Alabama. A newcomer settling in Alabama must declare allegiance. If you say you are neutral or don’t care, you are put on notice: you must choose one school or the other.
While I don’t believe any rabid fan should ever “rub it in,” I think there can be some playful and innocent pranks that are not so offensive. Years ago, Georgia often painted its fields with artificial green paint. This was to give the field an attractive glow before the big game on Saturday, when everything was weathered and brown.
It also covered the end zone, where Tech students found their way onto the field and threw rye-grass seeds in a pattern that spelled “Tech.” To their dismay, Tech’s cleverness was subdued by the bright glow of green paint. Those kinds of things are innocent and innovative, but destruction of property and insulting behavior should not be tolerated.
Some of the cleverest practical jokes, though, happened between Clemson and South Carolina. One year, in the ‘60s, a team purporting to be Clemson took the field. Striding out for warmups was a burly figure who had the spitting profile of the Tiger head coach, Frank Howard. The warm-up routine raised suspicion when the players went through strange drills that ended with the Clemson band playing “The Twist.”
The players and the Frank Howard lookalike all paired off doing the twist. It was then that the Clemson fans realized the Carolina students had pulled up a big ruse. All hell broke loose.
On a serious note, I say to Georgia Tech advocates, your grandfathers and your great grandfathers reveled in keeping Georgia underfoot for eight years in the 1950s — but it is now Georgia’s turn to enjoy unforgettable times. So, I hope you won’t be offended by a little roll call of those who would appreciate the turn of events to a Red & Black moment of glory. They can now rest in peace.
I’m happy for Coach Wallace Butts, who endured his darkest days during “the streak,” and UGA President Dr. O. C. Aderhold. While they weren’t bosom buddies, breaking the drought brought them dignity following years of ignominy.
Most of all, Dan Magill, who always found something good and positive to say about the Georgia team when it was going through that awful scourge. He kept hopes alive for the Bulldog brethren.
And to one of my favorite fans of all time, John Henry Terrell, who loved the Bulldogs like no other. He was a classy advocate, dressed tastefully in red and black, but he never wanted to be appointed to serve on the athletic board. He did not want to have dinner at Vince’s house. He did not want his photo in the paper, and he never wanted to be the subject of headlines. He just wanted to hear the chapel bell ring.
This vignette is poignant.
During the 1970s, when Vince Dooley’s air-of-stiffness personality was often the subject of critique among many Bulldog fans, John said poignantly, “If he will make the chapel bell ring, I can find somebody to drink with.”