This is kind of a fun exercise to engage in, seeing as we’ve just passed the halfway point on the offseason.
Can’t say I disagree too much with the overall assessment, although to nitpick, he could have mentioned a few other things like Highway 129, college girls’ fashion statement of sundresses and boots, the less than bang up job A-CC police do in directing traffic after a game and funnel cakes. But all in all, not bad. Your thoughts?
Get The Picture 
Good read.
I’ll second highway 129 as an access point to Athens. It has come through for me many times (mostly not gamedays just regular trips between home and school). If your coming from downtown atlanta, northwest of atlanta like Rome, or most of the northern suburbs, I highly recommend staying on I-85 till Jefferson and taking 129 into town if its at a busy time of day. No long as hell waits at red lights like on 316.
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Shhh! I only tell good friends about how much better the ride is down 129.
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Seriously, hush. That’s my side of town.
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Dang. “Comin’.” Stoopid Mozilla 4.
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Exactly! Do not tell another person outside of your immediate family about 129.
Tell em 78 is scenic and convenient.
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Just have a good radar detector ready when you pass through Arcade. Sure, since they widened the road, they don’ t have that old moneymaking stretch where it went to 35 mph, but issuing speeding tickets is probably still their main form of income, and they love waiting at the bottoms of the hills through there.
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Got me for 50 in the 35 back in ’96. Do they still have a screen door on the courthouse?
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*Baba O’Riley
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I enjoy the challange of positioning and repositioning a doubled up zip lock bag of Jack in my britches on the stroll down Sanford Dr and into the stadium. Always a challange, but worth the reward, especially on those cold games in November! I might not be a student anymore, but I still partake occasionally for old times sake!
Also nothing in the world like when those first few bugle chords strike up in the southwest corner, especially at the first game. Never fails to give me chill bumps.
What I don’t enjoy is the constant bitching of (ignorant) people around me, like “COME ON BOBO, GET THE BALL TO AJ!!!” Dude, AJ is supended for the first four games. He isn’t even dressed out.
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Speaking of ignorant, *trumpet.
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“What I don’t enjoy is the constant bitching of (ignorant) people around me, like “COME ON BOBO, GET THE BALL TO AJ!!!” Dude, AJ is supended for the first four games. He isn’t even dressed out.”
+1000
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Unless the patdowns have gotten a lot more invasive, I always went with a flask doubling as a cup, held in place at top by my belt. May not hold as much as a big ziploc, but a lot less likely to break.
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I sincerely hope you are listing that as a negative. With the rich musical history that Athens has to offer, we have to go with a song by a Brit-invasion band from 3 generations ago with absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Athens or SEC football? #dontgetit
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My intent was to correct the author of the above reference article, who incorrectly identified the song. That said, I’m with him: that song gets my juices flowing on game day. I love many other songs of many genres, but there’s something about that song that does it for me. While it isn’t my favorite song, per se, I can be riding down the road on a Tuesday in February and if that song comes on the radio, it takes me back to Sanford Stadium, in 85 degree weather, decked out in my red and black, half buzzed (depending on gametime, maybe fully buzzed), talking to my neighbor about whether we’re going to lean on Aaron or AJ today, watching Run Lindsay Run on the big screen, and juiced up in anticipation of the impending opening kickoff and wondering just how bad we’re about to blast this pretender who has the audacity to even show up in our stadium, on OUR field!!! And it’s the middle of freaking February. That’s what that song does for me.
Who’s ready for kickoff? I know I am!
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Understood. I’ll never begrudge a fellow music enthusiast his different tastes in music. I just don’t dig The Who or that song very much. I’m more of a Stones fan, and as I’m sure we both know- that’s like being a fan of both the Dawgs and the Gators. I just wish we’d feature Athens artists first and foremost. God knows there are plenty of ready-made anthems that would, I’m sure, get the crowd at least as fired up as Baba O’Reilly.
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I love hearing “Baba O’Reilly.” What should they play “Love Shack”, “Space Wrangler”, or “Stand?”
That Who song is known by all age groups and is up beat. It has more class to it than “Welcome to the Jungle” or “Enter Sandman.” Who cares if it has anything to do with SEC football to Athens. It is about the vibeit creates.
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For Food & Beverage: The ridiculous vendor policy of not giving the cap with bottled water or soda.
For Atmospere: The unobstructed view of the campus looking over the bridge.
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“college girls’ fashion statement of sundresses and boots”
Love the sundresses, don’t really dig the boots.
It seems to me that every year, UGA coeds get better looking.
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and younger.
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“That’s what I love about these (college) girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
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Never said better
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The favorite saying of my ole running buddy in college: “Each year we get older but the girls we date stay the same age.” Didn’t know someone stole it for a movie–’til now.
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As an old school dawg, the game day experience is bigger and more varied than when I first began, but sometimes less is more. Food back then: Poss BBQ, hot dog, Coke, peanuts popcorn and that was it. IMO, that was better, even if less. Honestly, I never have gone to a game for the food, anyway. 92,000+ is better, but we did have the tracks and a slightly more aggressive fan attitude. Then or now, it is still a pretty good place to spend a day.
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Puff, you said it. I find the bugle to be one of the best things we do. The waves of nostalgia as the scoreboard shows scenes from the past always makes me feel a reverence for the place that borders on worship. I marvel at how quiet it gets when the bugle plays, it’s as if everyone stops and remembers where and how they got to know Georgia and Georgia Football, and I am reminded of some of the scenes from Field of Dreams (the movie), as I remember where I was when a certain play is shown on the board, remembering who I was with and how I felt at that particular moment… watching Lindsay Scott go 93 yards, and remembering I was 11 years old, watching the game with my cousins and uncles, and seeing Verron Hayes catch the ball with less than 20 seconds left at Tennessee, feeling scorched that we had let Tennessee score on a screen pass with only 1:45 left in the game…
It just makes me think… Damn, it great, to be, a Georgia Bulldog!!!
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I would have thought he would specifically mention the smell of the fountain drink cups/doo doo ice. It’s both unique and disgusting.
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“It’s both unique and disgusting.”
Similar to asking patrons to refrain from flushing the toilet to conserve water.
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Thought I was the only one who found the smell of the cups nauseating. Awful. It is the cup as I like to eat the ice and notice an absence of doo-doo-ness.
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Same here. I was like, where’s the environmental guys from the health dept.
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Ribbon ads, find UGA under the Big Mac, “Party in the USA”, Nickelback, etc.
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Assuming those are all complaints, I’ll add one to your list…
Annoying “don’t drink and drive” video at critical moments in the 4th qtr. I mean, REALLY? Way to kill the energy!
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The find UGA under the Big Mac should be retitled, “The UGA Athletic Assoc. – We’ll do anything for a buck!”
I’m just glad they brought back Baba O’Riley after taking it off the play list for a while because of the “We’re all wasted!” reference.
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“This results in some decently long walks from parking locations, but one should only complain after the jaunt, as by the end it’s likely that the scenery and/or weather will have won you over.” — Agreed
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Puffy,
Better to kill the energy than to kill yourself or someone else.
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It’s not the message I have a problem with. It’s the timing. And the sincerity behind the delivery…
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Damon Evans. The Washaun Ealey of Athletic Directors.
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To be fair, Washaun only endangered parked cars.
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That’s only because,”I just wasn’t feeling the vibe, I guess.” — Washaun Ealey, Dawgs247.com, 5/10/11. Not that there’s anything wrong with WE not having that vibe. Take it from me as an endangered species, moving targets are that much harder to hit.
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Though I would never endorse drunk driving, I’ve often wondered how much harm someone is going to do driving while drunk right after a football game in Athens? There may be a fender bender, but no high speed crashes occur when lines are backed up for miles at red lights; plus cop stops would more often than not immediately spot them and haul them off to jail.
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I think the greater concern comes from those that return to their tailgate spot to “let the traffic clear out” or go downtown, then hit the road once it opens up. If the school allows alcohol to be consumed on campus in the quantities it gets consumed, it almost ethically required to air a “Don’t Drink & Drive” message.
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It’s the same logic as placing the “do not place you fingers under the deck of this lawn mower or they will get cut off” sticker on the deck of the lawn mower.
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Interesting, well done site. I’m trying to visit as many minor league ballparks as I can.
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The video board is an embarrassment, imo
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Then I am sure you are happy they are upgrading it.
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Good. I will reserve judgemnt till I see the new one.
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This is not intented to be a serious comment about a serious issue, but…
I did notice, looking at other stadium reviews, that places such as Tuscaloosa and Notre Dame also got the coveted “5 Star” in the “Neighborhood” category, while the likes of Baton Rouge, Auburn, College Station, Knoxville, and Nashville got 4 Stars. Going even further (checking NFL neighborhoods), 4 Stars were awarded to both Atlanta and New Orleans.
Based on such an inconsistent scale, I would have to lodge a complaint that Athens wasn’t given a 6th or 7th star in that category. And there’s simply not validity in a review process that equates downtown New Orleans with Baton Rouge, much less the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan area.
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C’mon, the Georgia Dome’s in a GREAT neighborhood…
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Hey now, the area of downtown just east of the stadium’s improved big-time. Of course I say that because it’s now chock-full of sports bars with taps at the table and a nice German biergarten…
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“not validity in a review process that equates downtown New Orleans with Baton Rouge,”
Well, that depends how much scoring is given to the “thrill that violent death lurks around every corner” atmosphere NOLA has. That’s hard to top, outside of Juarez or Kabul.
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Oh, look, the innocuous “New Orleans is a thrillingly dangerous place” comment. I haven’t heard that one before. You’d do well to remember that we have better water than Juarez, and more liberal alcohol policies than Kabul. Though some NOPD officers have been known to attend “effectiveness in policing” conferences in both of those cities.
NOLA’s got problems, just like any other American city. And the violent crime here follows similar patterns of other major cities. We’re working on it, and we appreciate your patience while we do. It will be a long, often heartbreaking process, and it is really lovely when folks oversimplify and make fun of that.
That don’t mean we aren’t going to have fun while we wait. We know how to chew gum and bail water at the same time, after all.
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If you are from NOLA, then you should have thicker skin.
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Oh, how easy it is to derail a tongue-in-cheek comment about the good times that surely roll in the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan area. Please tell me I didn’t outkick my coverage by making NOPD effectiveness and bail water quips on GTP.
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Plus NOLA has far better liquor laws than the entire state of Georgia.
Even when Atlanta finally gets around to letting folks vote on Sunday sales, I won’t be able to stroll into Kroger and buy a fifth of whiskey. In NOLA? I still remember the giant Crown Royal display at the grocery store right as I walked in.
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Day after the 2010 Tech vs Georgia game, my heart sank when the servers at Hilltop told me they wouldn’t be serving adult beverages until after 12:30pm.
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Wow, I never knew Harry Connick, Jr. was a commenter here.
Take it easy, Pat. I like New Orleans, but let’s not kid ourselves; it’s a town with a sky high murder rate, a historically embattled and/or corrupt police force, and a general air of menace that was there long before the hurricane hit it. Great shrimp po’boys aren’t going to change that.
Jeez, I thought people from Detroit were touchy.
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A general air of menace? You ain’t kiddin’. These people are obviously terrified of their surroundings.
The shrimp po’boys are pretty tasty, though.
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that’s what she said
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New Orleans may have had a murder rate “ten times the national average” but apparently it’s dropped significantly since Katrina. The problem with crime in New Orleans is that bad streets are a block over from good ones. The crime isn’t all pushed to designated areas and the most highlighted part of New Orleans happens to be right next to one of its worst areas. I think with some education on the neighborhoods most people generally feel more comfortable. Taking MARTA home from the airport at 9pm doesn’t exactly give me thoughts of lollipops and flowers, and if that area was juxtaposed to Buckhead we’d be saying the same thing about Atlanta. Cheers to both of you, and hopefully we’ll all be celebrating a Sugar Bowl or NC win with hurricanes on Bourbon come the turn of the year.
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Jeff sanchez and scottW is that really ya’ll-damn time flies-it is great to be a DOG and this is gonna be a fun year–cheers guys and say hello to Hugh for me—WOOF WOOF
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Last game I went to was USC ’09. They were selling low-country boil in Barcode (!!!!). No idea where they were making it- the alley out back? Don’t know if this has become their tradition, but if so, worth checking out…it was damn tasty.
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