The Montana Project, third update

Just because Travis and I have been quiet about things on the Western Front doesn’t mean we’re not making progress.  Here’s where things are at today:

  • Hoppy has both a camera and a film editor (!) lined up.
  • A fellow Dawg in Montana (GTP commenter Big Shock) is loaning him an authentic, game-worn UGA helmet.  We’ve got them hooking up to figure out the logistics.
  • We’ve targeted Labor Day weekend as the time for the Project to go into action.  There are several sports bars in Hoppy’s town and there are college games spread all over that weekend.  He shouldn’t have a problem polling 100 local sports fans.

The good news is that expenses should be less than we originally expected, as now we’re looking at shipping costs instead of buying a helmet.  However, Travis is experiencing technical problems setting up a PayPal link at his site; any Web gurus out there who might be able to guide him through his issues, please e-mail me so I can put you in touch with him.

I’ll post something shortly about what we’ll have Hoppy doing.  Feedback on that will be welcome, of course.

47 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, GTP Stuff

47 responses to “The Montana Project, third update

  1. Chi-town Dawg

    Senator, when I was attending UGA in the mid-1980’s, we had a guy who lived in the dorm room next to me that was from Montana. He was actually a U of Montana Grizzly student that attended UGA for a year under the recipricol tuition exchange program we had with other schools. When we asked him “why did you decide to come to UGA for a year?”, he used to tell us that a number of students at Montana liked UGA and talked about coming here. Now that was coming on the heals of the Herschel Walker era, but I’m still willing to bet 85 to 90 sports fans in Montana recognize the “G”!

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  2. The other Doug

    We need to budget some funds for a thank you to the folks who are doing all the work. I suggest adult beverages.

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  3. Normaltown Mike

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  4. Chopdawg

    In which Montana city is this project happening? I know that a bunch of football fans from Carroll College in Helena have been to Rome, GA more than once for the NAIA Championship game. They all fly in & out of Atlanta…drive up to Rome for the weekend…they’re bound to have run across the “G” more than a few times.

    (This is what fans do, in a college football playoff system, they follow their team around.)

    Hope Helena’s our Montana town, we might be more recognizable there than in other Montana places.

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  5. DawgVegas

    Maybe we can use the Pop Tarts as an intro.

    Hoppy, showing a bar patron the helmet: “Recognize this team?”
    Patron: “Uhhh..ye-”
    Hoppy, interrupting: “How about if I hold it up next to this here Pop Tart?”

    I’m still not sure we’re enough of a National Brand (per Mandel) to merti our own delicious breakfast treat. Glad we’re testing this theory out.

    Thanks again to everyone involved!

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  6. Skeptic Dawg

    Having lived out west for 3 years, I was amazed by the number of people that did not recognize the “G” The most common response, “Why are you wearing a red Packers hat?” I hope things have changed, but my money is on less than 50%.

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    • Hence the username…….

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    • Macallanlover

      Let me find my nitroglycerin pills.

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      • RocketDawg

        Skeptic your replay surprises no one….

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        • RocketDawg

          *reply….geez I need more coffee

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          • The Lone Stranger

            But it actually is a replay; he has used that line before in here. Being in Pittsburgh, I have to say that I see this phenomena as a generational deal. I had an older (70ish) guy comment caustically after the Steelers lost the Super Bowl to the Pack on why I would be pimping for Green Bay. I was pleasant but informed him of his error. My feeling is the young’ns respond differently to the RED on the hat.

            The demographics of Montana will be intriguing.

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          • Charles

            Nah “replay” still fits. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

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          • AthensHomerDawg

            NO replay works.

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        • Dog in Fla

          And if one dose of nitro doesn’t get the job done, why not replay it with what Frank Booth used to do

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          • Macallanlover

            If I felt I had to be a “real Dawg fan” with his outlook/viewpoint, I would mix me a cocktail of Viagra and nitro, put it in some Macallan, toss it back and be off to join Larry in the “booth in the sky”.

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            • Dog in Fla

              In the great booth in the sky, Larry gets wind of how Mac by better living through chemistry would deal with being fan like Skeptic and grumbles:

              “Touchdown! My God, a touchdown! Mac threw down a cocktail of Viagra, nitro and Mac! He just stuffed it with five seconds left! My God Almighty, did you see what he did? Mac just straightened up – even without a dose of the Cialis – and he snuck the drink down!…Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott!”

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    • My freshman year the baseball team won the CWS. The whole season I wore the traditional cap for the team which had the more “blockish G” instead of the “helmet G”. Everytime I had it on walking to class, at least 2 and rarely more than 5 students would ask me what the G stood for. I simply pointed them towards Foley and informed them there was more to life in the post-Dooley era than nickel nights and Coach Goff.

      Ironically, I have greater hope in the people of Montana recognizing our helmet than my UGA classmates recognizing a 1990 baseball cap.

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    • Metal Steel Chair

      No worries, Skeptic Sal. If the G Project doesn’t work out in Montana, we can always try it in another country, like Wyoming.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS61hWuh43Y

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    • The other Doug

      My daughter heard plenty of “Go Dawgs” or “Nice shirt” out in Denver this weekend. The world isn’t as small as you think Skeptic.

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      • Cojones

        I’ve spent over 10 years in Ca (mostly Sou Ca) and can asure you it is well recognized out west. Same goes for Montana where I visit my son. All his friends and the bar locals recognize it. One of his friends who helped build his house wore his FU hat often. The G was especially recognizable when visiting Missoula.

        Great Falls will really be more of a challenge than Missoula. Good contest.

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        • The other Doug

          I agree. I was out there watching my sister inlaw get awarded her doctorate from Denver University. Of course her undergrad was at UGA.

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  7. What’s the plan to share the Project’s results with one SI sports writer who thinks Montana is the measuring stick for the status of one’s football program?

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  8. UGADAWGII

    Living in Montana, it has been my experience that “Sports fans” recognize the Georgia “G” , but the clerk at the convienence store may ask “is that a Red Green Bay Hat, etc”. remember that we are much closer to Wisconsin than Georgia.

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  9. hunkerdowndawg

    Will the Senator be creating an on-line pool for the over/under or is that all going to be strictly side action.

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  10. AusDawg85

    Bring the control subject along…both a Green Bay helmet and UGA’s. If anyone does not recognize the pro helmet, they should be automatically DQ’d as not being a sports fan.

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  11. MT Dawg

    Thanks for all the support guys!
    Like the Senator said, football games will be scattered around that day. The UM Griz game will be playing during the time I plan to do this…If that makes a difference to anyone.
    In full disclousure, there is an Air Force Base here, which brings in a wide variety of young people to the city.
    I have faith in the “G”. My bet is high 80’s to low 90’s.
    Hoppy

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  12. Dog in Fla

    “Hoppy has both a camera and a film editor (!) lined up”

    Will there be a Director’s cut ?

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  13. Cojones

    Hope they don’t throw in a dog pile.

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