Well, that didn’t take long. Less than half a day passed before a volunteer stepped forward who passed muster. (Behold the power of the Intertubes!)
I don’t want to lay out too much detail, because I want to give him the chance to introduce himself to you in his own words, but suffice to say he fits the bill nicely. He’s a long-time resident of Montana who bleeds red and black (he shlepped to the unfortunate Colorado game and sent me the photo of him and Hairy Dawg there to prove it) and reads GTP. I had to pinch myself when I read his e-mail; he’s almost overqualified. So anyway, be on the lookout for an introduction.
One other thing to mention is that Travis is going to front for the cost of one of the necessary props for this exercise, a real, live Georgia football helmet. He’s found a good one on Amazon for about $200. I can’t set up a widget for PayPal on WordPress, so Travis will do that at his blog. I will supply a link to that from here, and I hope that you will give a few bucks to the cause. When the dust settles, I plan to set up a permanent Montana Project page here at GTP and list all of those who participated financially, so there’s that small shot at quasi-immortality you can grab for yourself.
Bottom line – we’re on our way. Stay tuned for more news on this.
Get The Picture 
Quasi-immortality AND putting Mandel in his place?
Best. Day. Evah.
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I’m wondering how many meth heads in Tennessee could identify the “G”
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I wonder how many of them could identify a “g,” period.
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What’s Travis’s site?
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lucid idiocy.
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Great site…Travis just needs to post more often… 😉
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He doesn’t post often but when he does post it makes me wonder if discocaravan* ever owned an Impala
*discocaravans’s 1990 Chevrolet Caprice Classic
http://lucididiocyblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/double-caprices-point-to-pimptitude.html
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I know Mandel’s criteria for determining whether a program was a national power was bogus: whether a certain population of football fans could identify the helmet, but the fact remains we are not a national power in football, yet. We haven’t even played for a national championship under Richt. I’m not saying we can’t get there, but if we want some respect from the college football world as great not a merely good program, we’re going to have to earn it by winning a National Championship.
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Awesome! What’s everyone’s prediction? I say 85/100
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If we’re talking “average” football fans, I’m going 98/100.
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With the qualifier of “average” college football fan (which I assume means watching portions of one or more games each weekend and knowing top 25 results), I think Heath’s 98 estimate is closer. I’ll echo that.
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This is important work. I’m writing the Bill Gates Foundation for more funding.
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CharlotteDawg–we do not have to win a national championship to be relevent–we have won them in the past–We have the most beautiful stadium-The best Mascot-the prettist girls-and we have always been considered dangerous to our opponents-I am not putting you down,I usually enjoy your posts–a MNC is fleeting glory–we have been a tradition that is loved by many for a long long time-GATA
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I agree, UGA is a national program that is well-known and respected nationally, and one that caan compete with the best in America. Hell, it does every year in the best conference in the land. Not only can they compete, they have the 2nd best record in the conference this century while winning two SEC titles, and winning, or tying, for the SEC East FIVE times in the last ten years. Keep in mind, this was accomplished in, what is perceived to be, the Golden Era of the conference. Mandel sounds CFB- retarded to think otherwise. If UGA appears on anyone’s schedule, and I mean team in the USA, that will be a game to be marked on everyone’s calendar. Doesn’t matter if it USC, OU, TX, tosu, Miami, etc., the fans will seek tickets to that game, worry about it, and use it as a game to prove how tough their schedule is. That is national respect, and it isn’t subject to the voters in polls. Using CD’s criteria, how did ND and PSU remain on the list of national powers? Whether we were “voted” into the faux title game or not, we have at least been considered a candidate…and one many of those other teams are glad they didn’t have to face. Mandel needs to think bigger, he doesn’t seem to get CFB well enough to write about it and have credibility.
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fwiw, I’ve lived in California for 7 years and my experience has been that when I’m out & about wearing something with the G the recognition factor is about 20% correct, 50% people think it is Green Bay Packers, and 30% have no clue what it is. I’ll be interested to see how your experiment plays out, although perhaps it’ll be a bit higher given the sportsbar location & actual helmet. My guess is somewhere around 30 of the 100 will get it; my experience outside of the South has been that Georgia is nowhere near as much of a national brand as we like to think it is.
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Also based on my experiences out West, if you go to a sportsbar on a fall Saturday there won’t even be college football on every screen. In CA there would be baseball on at least 50% of the TVs, CFB on 25-50% depending on what other sports are going on that weekend. And then of the CFB games, PAC 12 game would be first then national game on ABC/CBS/ESPN. In Montana my guess would be Boise game + PAC12 game, then the rest. So the exposure to/interest in SEC football is so much less than we would ever think. Again, I’ll be interested to see what happens in Montana, and also to hear from others in the Dawg diaspora outside the South as to what their experience has been…
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Kanu, based on my experience it will be much higher than you predict but you make a great point about Green Bay. I had that experience on the Gulf Coast during the winter when the Midwest Snow Bird groups were very dominant. I feel the helmet will minimize that problem since many teams sell different color baseball hats and shirts with their logo on them.
I have found the Georgia was well recognized, even when I was in the Northeast and in Europe. California, frommy experience is a lot like Tennessee where the “fans” pretty much care only about their one team and whatever game impacts them. That is a generalization, but those two states stand out in my personal experience. The actual results will vary on the definition of “averge fan” both by the fan and the pollster. I would guess 75-90% if they are truly an average fan, with my prediction around the 85% mark.
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Right, it very much depends how the general concept of asking “average football fans” translates to the particular bar that our fine volunteer walks into. Based on my experience half of the people in the place might not be in there to watch cfb. It’s not like in the south where cfb is religion and everyone in a bar on a fall Saturday is there for 1 thing & 1 thing only. Then again Montana may be completely different than where I live where pro football & pro baseball are the 2 biggest things by a mile, as Montana has no local pro sports. The whole thing will be very interesting for sure…
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I also have lived in southern California for 10 years and the people here outside of the lakers are just bad sports fans in general. It’s hard to put stock in what they know and don’t know because they don’t care. I have the bank of America UGa visa check card and the card is all red with a black and white G. The cashiers on a regular basis ask me if I’m a green bay fan. People out here also don’t care for the SEC and think we are highly overrated even though the results say otherwise. Most people I know out here care more about getting their season pass for mammoth mountain to snowboard than they care about football Saturdays in the fall.
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True, when I am in Cali during football season I find sports bars on the internet and call ahead to see how many TVs they have and satellite options available. Specifically ask, especially the early starts which are more regional if they can get our game, and will they guarantee me a TV with that game. Has always worked out, but I am never sure unless I speak to the AV guy. The waitresses are clueless and think just because they have 5-20 TVs they can get anything. Kanu is right though, baseball, soccer, and surfing will take up a few of the screens. Patrons are more concerned about whether or not the veggie burger is gluten free than seeing two Top 10 teams get it on a Saturday afternoon, or evening.
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I can vouch for Ben after living in SoCal. Also depends on what part you’re in as well. Orange County, many more college fans esp USC. They know the difference. Have got a few green bay reactions based on which color the G is displayed. LA is just a mixed assortment. One thing for sure NFL is way more popular no matter where you go.
Antedotal evidence but my flight from John Wayne to Pheonix on the Thursday before UGA-ASU majority of sold out flight had dawg fans on it. Barking on the flight it was awesome. So…IMO dawgs fans are just about everywhere for sure.
Ask any football fan in Hawaii (usually transplants) they sure as hell know that Georgia G
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Macallanlover… I had the exact same experience on the Gulf Coast with some very drunken Green Bay fans that were just coming in from a day of “fishing”. They saw my obviously red and black G on my shirt but immediately started yelling ,”Go Packers” (did I mention they were very,very drunk?) Anyway it was harder to dispel them of the notion that other teams use that “G” than just Green Bay than it should have been but then they were very,very,very drunk….and I couldn’t help but like them.
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Drunk don’t count, usually. But you would think GB fans would get the difference, it is the non-GB fans that follow the NFL who I usually had the experience with. Midwestern people are pretty cool with me and they seem to too sharp to prefer the NFL over CFB. I understand the Northeast’s lack of CFB passion because they have no schools close enough around them to relate to, or attend big games (plus they cannot leave their cars for 4 hours after tailgating to attend games), but the Midwest has some pretty traditional programs with Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, tosu, Wisky, etc. Maybe the lack of televised games years ago left a gap in their upbringing, or too much schnapps when their mothers were pregnant during the winter..
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“Drunk Don’t count’..Dear God, I wish that were true.
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This ALMOST makes the offseason worthwhile.
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A guy moved down from Boston to my office in Atlanta. He saw the G on my screen and asked me if I was a Greenbay fan. We did steal the G from Greenbay, but I laid into him anyway.
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Hopefully that wasn’t a promotion and more is expected from him. Can you imagine getting relocated and not finding out what the lifestyle is in the new area. It would be like getting transferred to Europe and getting surprised they love soccer, or that Fried Okra isn’t on the menu.
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A common misconception, Zero. You did yourself and your team a bit of a disservice thre, but that’s alright. Here you go…
When Dooley changed the logo in ’64, he had an artist create a logo of “an oval G.” Because it did look similar to Green Bay’s at the time, Dooley and UGA did talk to and get permission from GB for the logo; however, at that time, Green Bay did not have true Georgia-style G. Georgia’s logo was more pronounced with black, on white, on red (the most harmonious colors on Earth as Vince would put it). Green Bay did not have that color, on color, on color scheme, and, as I mentioned, the logo shape was different. Later on, Green Bay would ACTUALLY CHANGE THEIR LOGO to mimic UGA’s.
Those are the facts, and I don’t understand why more people don’t know it.
GO DAWGS!
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On the same note, those same may think the Alabama “A” is the Atlanta Braves conversely. So there ya go
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I happily stand corrected.
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That is the exact version I have heard as well Marshall. I believe the GB permission involved no licensing payments, but cannot remember if there is a time period. Since the style G has evolved and they are now using our version, I don’t either would have a case. I think Grambling’s G is the same style isn’t it?
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Yes, Macallanlover, I believe Grambling uses the exact logo of Georgia’s.
This is from the “Packerpedia” page (http://packers.wikia.com/wiki)
“The Packers have granted limited permission to other organizations to utilize a similar logo, notably the University of Georgia and Grambling State University, the Packers hold the trademark for it. Adopted in 1964, the Georgia “G”, though different in design and color, was similar to the Packers’ “G”. Then-Georgia head coach Vince Dooley thought it best to clear the use of Georgia’s new emblem with the Packers.”
And the kicker:
“However, since its inception in 1961, the Packers’ “G” has been redesigned several times and now actually looks like Georgia’s original 1964 “G.”
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Sorry. That link should be: http://packers.wikia.com/wiki/Logos_and_uniforms_of_the_Green_Bay_Packers
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Thanks for the link/info.
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“Speaking of which, if perception is what we’re really going to base our ratings on, here are my two hard and fast rules about how to determine whether a school isn’t a national power:
1. National powers don’t play football on Thursday nights. If you need the exposure or the extra bucks that a Thursday night game on ESPN brings, you ain’t there yet, pal.
2. National powers don’t start off unranked in the preseason coaches poll. National powers may have an occasional off year that drops them out of the top 25, but if you can’t generate enough respect from your peers to be considered one of the 25 best programs in the country going into a season, you’re not one of the elite. Sorry.”
you make a good point with #1. uga is certainly more of a national team than any of these teams that have played on Thursday nights in the past few years, right? let’s check the record:
alabama – 2010
nebraska – 2009, 2010
auburn – 2010
okla state – 2010, 2011
lsu – 2011
oregon – 2009, 2010, 2011
usc – 2010, 2011
miami – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
vt – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
fsu – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
texas – 2009, 2010, 2011
texas a&m – 2009, 2010, 2011
west virginia – 2009, 2010, 2011
clemson – 2009, 2012
boise state – 2009, 2012
hmm. perhaps “you ain’t there yet, pal” is not the right approach to thursday night games after all.
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Yep, I don’t get the angst over Thursday night games either. I don’t want to ever see us play a home Thursday night game but I definitely feel the Boise game last year should have been played on Thursday night, and I don’t think away games following an open date are bad either. I love the spacing after an off week and the time allowed before the next, and Thursday night games are great to watch. One of the few times you get an un-contested time slot on national airwaves. Appearances in Thursday night contests aren’t a legit criteria to diss a program, if anything it serves to boost awareness.
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Hey and Go Dawgs,
The MT Project was made for me. My name is Hoppy and I am and tried and true Dawgs fan. Born in Macon my dad was a UGA grad and raised me to bleed the red and black. Since then, I have live in Great Falls, MT for the past 25 years and have rooted for the Dawgs every year. I have converted and ex girlfriend, my best friend and my wife to be part of the “Dawg Nation”.
My man cave is Dawg-centric and I buy the College-Game Plan package for the soul purpose of watching the University of Georgia Bulldog games!
I will gladly don a Dawg helmet and ask 100 people if they know what I am wearing.
I am a teacher and I share a room with a video production class; filming it won’t be a problem.
Will you really send me a helmet to wear? Lets figure out a game and I will head to the largest sports bar in town (its a legit sports bar, not some hole in the wall, po-dunk MT bar you are envisioning) and make the project happen.
I really think we will be in the high 80’s/low 90’s of people who know the “G”! Like one of the posts says, “Everyone knows that ‘G'”.
On a side note, my wife is from Glasgow MT and their high school has adopted the “G” as their own. It drives me bat-shit crazy. If I went to that town and did this they would all say “Glasgow Scotties”. Maybe 15 would say Georgia.
Go Dawgs!
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Very cool but those closing lines were frightening: we could have been the damned Scotties. That conjures up a poodle image, which conjures up a French image, which……gag, barf….Sorry, I am sure they are vicious.
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