GA/FL

The history, the tradition, the pageantry(?)...the brutality and sincerity of this particular rivalry has led to the necessity of a "neutral" site.  EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, will be half Blue and Orange and half Red and Black tomorrow.  The spectacle is indeed interesting to behold.  When I was growing up, I had never fully experienced the UGA vs UF game.  I don't even remember watching it on TV when I was little.  I'm sure I did in high school.  When I became a freshman, volunteer equipment manager at UGA in June of 2004 I was excited to be a part of the team I had watched since my childhood.  Putting on the red and black (mainly gray in practice) gave me a swell of pride.  That oval "G" always caught my eye in a special way.  I knew that Florida was our most hated rival.  Those jean short-wearing, Gator-chomping, mullet-wearing individuals of the swamp were subhuman to us.  The only problem is...we had won maybe 1 game in 20 years.  I honestly haven't taken the time to calculate how many times we've beaten Florida in my lifetime.  I'm sure it's less than 10, and maybe even less than 5?  I'll look it up later.  All I knew is, Georgia good, Florida bad.  My freshman year, I did not travel, so I remember watching Georgia beat Florida on TV in my living room at home w/ a nice spread of barbecue.  It was a win, and I was not present, but since I was still counted a member of the team, I count that in my record against Florida :)

In 2005, it all changed for me.  I was a full manager, and I could travel with the team.  My role on game days was not as vital as it was in practices, but the games were the perks for me.  The games were vacations.  They were business trips, but still vacations.  All I had to do was show up.  I was one of the 4 managers who stayed back to travel with the team while the other 8 left Thursday night to ride the bus to the game site.  The "Thursday Crew" considered themselves the elite, but I let them have it.  Truly, nothing beat the "Friday Crew".  Here's my average Florida trip:  On Friday I would be excused from class so that I could go to the equipment room and hand out the players' travel suits.  The Thursday Crew would be simultaneously setting up at the away stadium, and if they had forgotten anything they would call us to bring with us on the plane.  We would close the equipment room at noon, and any suits that had not been picked up would be taken to the buses.  I would park my truck at the IM Fields, and leave it there until I returned.  We had 4 buses total.  The Offense would lead the way on the first bus, followed by the Defense on the second bus.  The 3rd bus would be the Specialists, extra players who were able to dress for that particular game, and us managers and support staff.  The 4th bus would be the AA staff and friends.  We would have a police escort from Athens to Atlanta.  Now, there would be food (usually sub sandwiches) waiting for us at the buses, so that we could eat on the way to Atlanta.  The buses would drive straight onto the tarmac, and we would have to go through our own private security station (like we would blow up our own plane!).  Yeah, we had our own Delta jet, no big deal.  Now, once we got on the plane, in each seat would be a bag of food.  Usually a nice sandwich, an apple or banana, some really good cheese, crackers, etc.  Remember, we had just eaten sub sandwiches on the bus, but here is another feast.  We would fly from Atlanta to wherever we were going (for this story, St. Augustine).  We would land at St. Augustine's small airport, and bus from the airport to the World Golf Resort and Village.  The main campus is pretty isolated, and surrounded by golf courses.  The hotel was massive, and very tall.  They had a series of shops circling a small lake, and a few restaurants.  The biggest restaurant was Caddyshack, where I ate every year for dinner Friday night.  Since we were really isolated, cab rides were expensive.  Only once did I leave the resort, and that was 2007 where I went with a female trainer friend of mine into Jacksonville. We had dinner at Caddyshack before leaving, then we went to a theatre in JAX to see 30 Days of Night.  It was an interesting movie.  In 2005, 2006 and 2008 I just stayed on the resort grounds.  Next to the hotel was the Golf Hall of Fame, which was also a massive building.  The Hall of Fame also had an IMAX theatre, but I never saw any movies there.  I would always walk a lap or two around the lake because the weather was always nice.  In 2005 (I think) I was able to take UGA VI for a walk around the parking lot.  I loved that dog.  He's my favorite UGA.  So, after playing in the resort it would be time to sleep.  I had a different roommate on the road every year, and the rooms were very nice.  On Saturday morning we'd wake up early.  All of us managers, trainers, video crew, support staff, etc. would board one bus to make the drive to JAX.  We'd get to the stadium about 5hrs before the game to set up.  The Thursday Crew had already set up the basic layout of the locker room, so we just went around and taped the jerseys to the linemen's shoulder pads (it helped prevent Holding), shined the shoes and helmets (yes, we shined them), and made sure all of the helmet decals were looking proper.  The hardest part of the helmet was the bones on the back since they were so small and hard to align.  My job on game day was to man the equipment trunks and hand out wristbands, gloves, eye black, etc.  Anything that the players forgot, or needed more of, we had.  Most of our away game truck was filled with extra, backup equipment.  Where we placed limitations on issued equipment during the week, on game day it was a free-for-all.  The team would arrive about 2hrs before kickoff, so for those 2hrs I was very busy.  During the game itself, I would stand by our on-field equipment trunk in case of any equipment emergency.  I admit, during the game I was pretty useless LoL.  Since I was standing behind a wall of players and coaches, I could not see the field.  I had to watch every game on the stadium's JumboTron LoL.  In 2005 we went into the game undefeated, but DJ Shockley had been injured the game before against Arkansas, so we were hurting.  We lost a heartbreaker, but went on to win the SEC Championship.  In 2006, well I don't really remember 2006.  In 2007, we danced :)  I can detail that story in person if you want to know.  That was a great day.  In 2008, we were confident going in, but Florida was riled up from the year before, and we lost pretty badly.  Say what you will, but now that he's graduated I am a Tim Tebow fan.  I really appreciate his ministry, and I pray he stays true to the Word.  After the game, we would pack up the locker room and equipment truck as quickly as we could.  Usually, we Friday Crew would have to shower, change, and board the buses with the team quickly, so our post-game work would be minimal.  We would bus to the JAX airport, go through another security checkpoint, and board our plane.  On the plane we were met by another food bag, and Chick-fil-A sandwiches and nuggets!  (Y'all seriously wonder why I'm a big guy!).  Win or lose, it was always delicious.  We would land in Atlanta, and still have a long bus ride back to Athens.  We would get into Athens late at night, and I would get in my truck, go back to ECV where I lived, and go to sleep.  I would keep my phone on though because the equipment truck would get back about 3am, and they would call the Friday Crew in to help unload.  So, I would be able to really sleep by 4am that Sunday morning.  I didn't go to church all through college, and that was one of the reasons why.  I remember in 2005, my friend and I opted to sleep in the locker room, and around midnight some UGA police officers woke us up.  I guess they thought we were vagrants, but I explained our situation, and they let us go back to sleep.

It was a side of UGA Football that most people never see or care about.  Needless to say, I am one spoiled individual LoL.  After being paid to go on trips for 4 years, I really have no desire to travel anymore.  I went to a few road games in 2009, and after that I really decided not to travel LoL.  People ask me now, "Hey!  Are you going to Florida?".  When I say "No." I get a variety of odd looks and responses.  The Georgia/Florida game truly is a religious event.  When I tell people that Florida is no longer my #1 rival, I am mocked.  I'm amazed at how personally a lot of Georgia fans take this game.  After a final record of 2-3 against Florida, I have a true respect for them.  I see a true difference in my fandom, and that of a regular fan.  I have shed blood, sweat and tears for the Georgia Bulldogs.  I will always bleed Red and Black.  I have rings and Varsity Letters to serve as a reminder of my service.  I have connections, friendships, scrapbooks, etc. that will last me a lifetime.  It was not just a spectacle for me.  The games were a small percentage of my involvement, actually.  I knew the people.  I formed relationships.  Fans will talk about recruiting, or individual players, or numbers, stats, etc.  They struggle and cling to their identity.  The average fan is the reason why UGA Football exists.  The average fan is the reason I had a job for 5 years.  Fans make college football what it is.  But, at the end of the day, fan opinion rises with a win and falls with a loss.  An individual will be praised one day, and persecuted the next.  A coach is a hero with a win, and a demon with a loss.  It is a very cutthroat profession, and I have sympathy for them.  Nobody cares about a manager.  A manager's name is never in the paper for a loss, or a win.  Nobody credits a flawlessly-timed Tuesday practice with a victory over Florida.  Where it was my identity for 5 years, UGA Football is now just something I watch on Saturday, if I watch it at all.  This Saturday I'm faced with the prospect that I will not watch or listen to the Georgia/Florida game.  When I mention that, people say I'm crazy, but I'm actually okay with it.  I'll be spending that time with good friends at a place I love rather than sitting alone in my apartment in front of my TV.  I do not share in the religious fervor of the thousands of people who will descend, and already have descended, on JAX and its South Georgia neighbors this weekend.  It truly is a holiday that is planned for and pursued as much as Christmas or Thanksgiving.  When it boils down to it, I have no soapbox to stand on.  Truthfully, I just don't want to bother driving down there, finding a hotel, sitting in the stands, winning/losing, driving home, etc. when for 4 years I had the behind-the-scenes, all-expense-paid experience.  Yes, I am spoiled and lazy.  That being said, Go Dawgs!  Beat Florida!  I'll catch the highlights Saturday night.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart