A reader came up with a topic suggestion good enough I wish I’d have thought of it first (thanks, Donald!):
Who here has personally met a former UGA coach or player randomly in public, and how did that interaction go?
Have at it in the comments. This should be interesting.
Filed under GTP Stuff
“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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I met Vince Dooley on the Park n Fly shuttle at Hartsfield about 15 years ago. I had my fly rods in their travel case and we talked fishing until we got to the drop-off. He was one of the nicest and most gracious people I have ever met.
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I worked the sidelines for ESPN during the Chick-fil-A Bowl game against Virginia Tech in 2006. At some point on the field pre-game, I saw Michael Adams standing near me, so I stuck out my hand and said, “Hey, Mr. President, How Bout them Dawgs?!” He grudgingly shook my hand and gave me a look like if I died right then and there he would’ve been ok with it.
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Lol ran into Adam’s at the Jacksonville Landing, on the night before the Fla game several years ago. He had a look of stunned disbelief on his face.
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He actually used to go in the Circle K on Prince and I’d see him. He didn’t remember me from when he hooded me!
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Yeah, I saw Mike Adams at the Masters one year—drunk. Didn’t talk to him but I thought he came across as a douchebag.
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Funny – I saw him at Publix on Atlanta Hwy in Athens last week without a mask on. I highly doubt he’s unaware of both the Athens and Publix mask mandates. He’s always been one of those people.
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Encountered Adams right after he retired at the alumni tailgate in Coulmbia West at the Old Man Football game. I congratulated him on his retirement and told him I hoped it was a short one. He replied “Oh, I’ll be busy teaching again.” I said “That ain’t what I meant.”
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BOOM MUTHAFUKA!!
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I was in grad school riding a campus bus sitting across from a guy who was clearly an athlete based on his size and the fact that I knew I recognized his face, but for some reason I couldn’t place him. This was around 09 and it must have been a Friday afternoon because it was just us two and the bus driver whom he was having a friendly conversation with.
I can’t remember if I asked him or if it came to me on my own, but anyway it was Fred Gibson back in school either finishing a bachelors or working on a masters. I don’t remember the content of our brief interaction, but I do recall him being a super nice guy.
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I ran into Fred at the IKEA in Atlanta a few years ago. Agree that he was a good guy.
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I met Fred Gibson at Toppers in 2005 or so, then ran into him at a long-gone bar on Clayton Street and chatted awhile. For some reason we ended up getting his cell number – which was real. After he went off the following week and scored a TD, we called and left him a VM
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The morning of the Kent State game in 1998, my dad and I optimistically walked into the Holiday Inn downtown hoping for a room for that night. Guy at the desk said they were full. A man slaps my dad on the back and says, “Give ’em my room. I didn’t even use it last night.” It was Jim Donnan.
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Met Allan Leavitt at a Florida tailgate and really enjoyed hanging out with him.
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In grad school I taught a psych undergrad course that included Herschel. He was a serious student, attended regularly and worked hard. I was impressed that he took “student athlete” seriously, and he was very friendly and personable to his classmates.
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Ran into Coach Dooley at the QuikTrip on 316, the one that’s about halfway between Atlanta and Athens, on a random Tuesday night, at about 10pm. He looked tired, guessing he’d been at some dinner engagement. I nodded and said ‘Good evening, Coach’. He said ‘Good evening’ back to me. That’s when I heard ‘THE VOICE’ from across the store. ‘Vin-CENT! VIN-CENT! COME OVER HERE AND LOOK AT THESE ______’. It was Barbara Dooley. Coach took a deep breath, and, I believe in that moment, prayed for death, be it his or hers.
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This wouldn’t have counted as former players at the time, but I was pretty well acquainted o lineman Tanner Strickland during his playing days and he recommended a blowoff elective that he had signed up for. Long story short I ended up in a small group of 5-6 students that included Tanner, Stafford and his roommates Chapas and Munzemeier (spelling?). I was mostly stand-offish because I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, but they all turned out to be genuinely funny and cool guys. Stafford once wore a Canadian tuxedo to class which I learned is all denim everything.
I also used to sleep in the back of a 400 person history class. I often ended up in a desk next to Mike Mercer who also nodded off from time to time. We developed somewhat of a nap time fellowship that semester. After he was dismissed from the basketball team I offered a chance to tryout for a spot on my C League intramural squad. He laughed. He was a pretty soft spoken guy in contrast to a fairly hard looking, tattoo covered exterior.
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I met Tanner at a church event in 2007 and he was a very nice guy.
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Plays a mean guitar too. Still does actually.
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Quincy Carter was my project partner in a Social Work class my freshman year. I believe he said 3 words to me all semester. None of those words were “Thank you for the A.”
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Andre Hastings at the KMart on Atlanta Highway. He was a very nice guy but was not happy about being a Steeler.
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Between private jets and helicopters, I imagine it’s almost impossible to stumble across coaches these days.
It wasn’t a Georgia coach, but I was training someone at KSDK St Louis a couple of decades ago, late at night, and went to the bathroom. And walked right past John Wooden, getting ready to wrap an interview in a studio. 10:30 at night, 90 year old Wooden, St Louis. He asked me to get him some coffee, assuming I was a station employee. So I did, got a handshake out of it.
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I can’t remember the year but Willie Martinez had been let go and had gotten a job as an assistant coach at OU. I stopped at the gas station at hwy 53 and 78 in Oconee county and he was in there. I paid for my fuel and as I was leaving I said good luck at Oklahoma. A guy who looked to be about 80 was in there and flipped Willie off and said “ take this to Norman with you.” Willie smiled and walked out.
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I’m sorry, but that made me laugh. 🙂
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Me too.
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👏🏼👏🏼😂
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I hope I never get to a point in my life where I do my job so poorly that a person would feel compelled to flip me the bird LOL
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You don’t have to do your job poorly to be flipped off if you’re a high school teacher. Lol
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Props, Teacher. Just remember not all of us little assholes turn out that bad.
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Yea I guess pressing other people to do a good job will get you flipped off too.
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Even 80-year olds can be classless.
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I met Kirby at a high school game a couple of years ago at the visitor side concession stand. Gracious and as nice as he could be to my UGA freshman daughter and me. I ran into him at an alumni event in Atlanta (no, I’m not a Magill guy) a year later with my daughter who had just graduated. She brought her diploma with her just in case she got a chance to meet him. She asked him to sign her diploma. He said, “Are you sure?” and then said, “I’ve never been asked to sign one of these before.”
I went to UGA for the summer right after high school graduation instead of mow lawns, crop tobacco or pitch watermelons in the South Georgia heat and humidity. The old McWhorter was closed for the summer for renovation, and I lived on the same hall in Reed (before air conditioning) with Tim Worley, Keith Henderson, Lars Tate, and Willie Anderson. In particular, Worley and Anderson were great guys (Worley in particular would stop and chat with me if I saw him on campus the rest of his time at Georgia). I played softball in the Reed quad with those guys. I was amazed that none of them broke a window in Memorial Hall as a result although Worley was left handed and could hit it over the back side of the big oak. It would hit the back side of the oak and would be a ground rule single based on the rules.
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EE I too played softball in that quad…guys made me hit left handed but I still managed to crush a few!
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Memorial Hall home run steps, double tree in left, single tree in right. Our Milledge Hall boys from South Georgia could crush it. Flag football in the quad too. Annual bbq dinner co-hosted by Milledge and Payne girls each football season was always fun.
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I was in a flag (or touch) football scene for the TV show of “Breaking Away” filmed in the quad. Shaun Cassidy starred, and he still has an interesting insider show on SiriusXM.
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Dawg100, do you remember the very large black guy that also played in that football scene? He was neighbors to my girlfriend (now wife) at Westchester apartments. Very nice guy. Very gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I showed up there one night and he and my lady and all the roommates were on the porch in a tizzy over a raccoon eating the dog food on the porch and generally terrorizing the entire landing.
Big boy says, “Russ! Help us! Do something about this horrible ruh-coon!”
Yeah, I’ll help you. Walked up, coon stood on his back legs and growled, I place-kicked his ass over the balcony into the woods.
“Oh my God! How could you do that? Why are you so mean?”
Geezuz cripes. One you ladies get me a beer.
SMH.
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Did the raccoon give you a little of that boxing shake &bake move first?
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LOL!
Naw, FPD, I was ready for that spinning back-kick too. That suburban trash panda obviously made a living scaring the city folk and their yard carps off the food bowls. That don’t work on my country ass.
In a related tale, during the Camp Darby phase of Ranger School we were living out of dual shelter halves, pup tents if you will. A young coon was in my tent ripping through my ruck getting at my pogey bait. I chased him out and penned him to a turkey oak with my AF survival knife. Maaaan, the whinging and wailing was worse than the girls. I was incredulous. Then again, this was the first field phase where one particular branched officer actually quit because he wasn’t prepared to shit in a cat hole in the woods. He couldn’t believe we didn’t at least have portajohns.
SMH.
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Dammit boy. The real deal.
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Bad Kitty!
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The ultimate was we were tailgating in the parking lot in Jacksonville before one of our 90s beat downs. A white Cadillac pulls up a couple of cars down, and Erk gets out of the car. My wife says “Isn’t that Erk Russell?” We all say “Go Dawgs” and he gives us a wave as he and his wife walk to the stadium. #DGD #GATA
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I ran into Erk several times at Amelia, Ga Fla weekend.
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One of my favorite UGA memories was playing intradorm football and softball in the Myers quad. We put together an “all-star” team and played Reed’s “all-star” team for dorm supremacy. Full contact flag football, not the namby-pamby version that UGA intramurals played. Blocking allowed and our line went 270-255-265. We RAN the ball down Reed’s throat and crushed them 34-0.
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In 2012, I was exhibiting at a trade show in Las Vegas. It was setup day so I was sitting in the lobby of the Aria hotel around 6 am waiting for the valet. As I am waiting, a car pulls up and 2 guys are helping another get out of the car from a night out in Vegas. They finally get Matt Stafford to his feet and start walking/carrying him right past me to his room.
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Sides, on occasion I’ve had drinks on Lake Murray with former SC player Kevin Hendrix aka Chief. I have on occasion run with some with some real killers in my time. Veterans from all the wars since WW2 and some actions not public knowledge. They were all good fellows and I was fairly comfortable around them.
But Chief? That fucker scares me. I’m talking grizzly bear scary. I’m sure that was his intention. He succeeds every time.
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My OL went to Sakerlina and was friends with that dude. Says he had a heart of gold but was definitely dumb enough not to give a shit about going to jail over some indescretion.
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Don’t get me wrong. I like the guy. But what you said.
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Stafford unabashedly likes to have fun out. Post season, and pre-draft, I ran into Stafford and Coutu out in Buckhead. No one realized it was him and we chatted/bought drinks with them for about an hour. Stafford was as nice and engaging as could be
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Last two…
When he was at FSU Kirby used to come coach/recruit the Mike Hodges qb/wr camp in Cochran GA that I attended every summer as a high schooler. He used to talk shit to us during drills and try to rip the ball out after receptions. Pretty funny overall.
I have also met Mark Richt on a few occasions. Every time I do he tells me he has a brother with the same name as me.
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I’ve met many through the years. The most gracious (read: class acts) I ever met were Erk Russell and Billy Henderson. They both acted like they could not believe they got to meet me (I am NOT famous, just an average guy). They were just that way.
I can see how Erk could be a great recruiter.
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I went to HS with Jay Russell and Jeff Pyburn and Homer Jordan. I’d see Erk at church and I tended bar at The Frogpond Lounge and Coach Henderson would come in every evening around 5 and order one beer and sit in the corner diagraming plays and then leave.
Of course, working at the Frogpond I knew Leroy and David Dukes.
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You misspelled “Hog Pond”.
😉
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I used to talk to Billy at the Y all the time.
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I used to speak with Coach Henderson often on Friday afternoons at T Bones in the early 90’s. He was always good for a joke. Once he told me,
“Ranger Russ, I know you know the difference in a yankee and a damn yankee. But do you know the difference between a damn yankee and a good yankee? A good yankee is a damn yankee that marries a gotdam hippie and moves back up north.”
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Too many stories to tell from my Y days. And I still need to protect the innocent as they are all mostly still alive and people we would all recognize. But those stories and friendships still last today. From basketball players to football players to baseball players and coaches. Many many many good times around Athens and out of town trips with those guys. And met and coached great kids too. Highlight of Athens was the Y back in the day.
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Also, I lost a son in accident a few years ago. I dug up a picture of he and Kirby back when Picture Day was fun. I contacted the coach and he was nice enough to sign a copy for both myself and my son’s mother.
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Good story. SO sorry for the loss. Horrible to have that happen.
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I’m so sorry for your loss, Scotty. That is a parent’s worse nightmare. I’m glad CKS signed the pic! Memories are a good comfort.
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Billy is one of the best people I have ever met. He was my high school football coach and twenty years later when he was in the wheelchair I would see him at the “Y.” I once recounted some stories he told us back then about getting “muscle-bound” and the look he gave me was a top ten moment in my life and he said, “Son you listened.” I should have listened to more of the advice that awesome people have given me but at least I was able to make Coach proud some 25 years later. Hottymighteeknows!
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Siskey, Coach Henderson didn’t know me from Adam’s housecat. As the gregarious fellow he was he struck up the first of our many conversations about our shared haircut. Same style, same color even though he was 32 years older than I. Turns out we had a mentor in common who was quite rough on us. We both appreciated later what seemed like hell Beefy put us through at the time.
Billy was the most upbeat and positive man I ever knew. I was fortunate to have known him.
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Andy Johnson 1965 – I was the batboy for his pony league baseball team (my father was coach), and he was 13 or 14. Real nice, to even a snot-nosed brat like me.
Peter Rajecki 1967 – Gave me his chinstrap walking off the field at Sanford. I have never seen a face as red as his was after an early afternoon September game.
QB who will go unnamed in 1977 – I was getting rushed at a frat house and was in an upstairs room passing some fine herb around. I was actually astonished that a football player would be partaking DURING the season.
Rusty Russell, Erk’s son, UGA player and assistant coach at Odyssey Bar downtown. Very intense and a man of few words. I picked up on the vibe and left him alone.
LaVon Mercer – 1980 – Real nice guy who was in my history class during winter quarter. He made it to maybe 1/3 of the classes. I felt sorry for him trying to fit the legs of his 7 foot frame under a classroom desk.
Alec Kessler – 1989 at a Knoxville hotel bar after an early exit from the SEC BB tournament. He, Dave Housel (future Auburn AD) and two buddies of mine shut the place down. FWIW, Housel is one of the funniest men alive.
Vince Dooley, several occasions – always polite, but distant. I am sure he has heard it all from Bulldawg Nation, so I can understand his aloofness.
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Peter Rajecki lived in my neighborhood just up the street. When I was really little, he would occasionally throw the football around with some of us kids (a few years after his playing days). His mom used to mow their lawn in a bikini. That was always a bit of a trip among the neighborhood women back in the 70s.
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The Bootin’ Teuton!
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My buddy and I met Peter Rajecki along the side of 316 driving up for a Homecoming game about 15 years ago. He got a flat tire in his Caddy and was driving it in the grass on the side of 316. With his longer hair and short height, we thought it was a little old lady. Helped him change the tire and followed him to Winder, so he could get it repaired. He insisted that we take some golf gloves that he had in a box in his trunk as a thank you. We didn’t believe he was a former player until we saw him on the field at halftime that afternoon being acknowledged with his graduating class team.
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I forgot about meeting Peter Rajecki. His son play basketball on my sons rec league team. How could I forget about that?
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Some friends and I were walking back to our car after the Tennessee game in Knoxville in 2003. We had just beat their ass 41-14. We passed a group of guys and one of them was Garrison Hearst. One of my buddies said, “G-money, how about them dogs!” Garrison flashed the peace sign and said “how about them dawgs!” We just kept on walking. Incidentally, I played on an intramural softball team with Garrison in college. His calf muscles were as big as my quads.
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Sat next to Hearst at a high school game this fall. He was there with his family, so I left him alone. Good dude from what I can tell.
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I played against Garrison Hearst (and likely you as well) in intramural softball. I was playing 1st base and there was a foul pop about 25 outside 3rd even with the bag. Garrison acts like he’s tagging up and I said, “Where the hell you goin’?” Ball is caught and he takes off for 2nd. He beat the throw STANDING UP. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen in person.
I tutored him and Lemonte Tellis in astronomy, which was interesting.
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I used to play hoop at the old Stegman and besides Jack Bauerle and the swim staff Teresa Edwards played there. She would take your head off with a pass if you weren’t paying attention.
When I was in grad school I was filling in for a prof and Ray Goff brought Tim Worley into the class and gave me this big song and dance about how Tim had seen the err in his ways and was ready to toe the line. Tim was asleep about 30 seconds after Ray left!
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I played there often when Landers and the girls showed up. Theresa and Katrina were wonderful representatives of the University and State.
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Oh yea, we walked back to our car at the Rose Bowl with the Michele family, great folks! https://live.staticflickr.com/4652/38615465960_d1e40773dc_b.jpg
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The best 30 minute walk off my life!
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30 minutes to the car! We didn’t get back to Hawthorne until the 3d quarter of the Sugar Bowl!!!
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We were able to find a nice resistant in Pasadena to watch the Sugar Bowl and have dinner with all the Dawg fans. Most tasty meal ever (sadly I can’t remember where I ate in New Orleans in 1981)
What was most interesting to me was how many of the Dawgs at the game were not living in Georgia. They came from everywhere!
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Ray Goff is as nice a guy as you’ll ever meet. I’ve met others, but he stands out. I suppose it’s the Moultrie coming out in him.
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Ray is a DGD, despite his problems as coach. And even though he struggled as coach, I’ll remember his coaching career fondly for running up the score on the nerds.
He was a helluva QB.
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Went to a movie in Marietta the night before Thanksgiving in 93, and the whole UGA team was attending the same movie (Perfect World, Kevin Costner movie). The team was playing at Tech the next day, may have been the game with the fight at the end. After the movie, Ray Goff was standing right next to me in the bathroom, but I was obligated to not speak to him by the unwritten code of bathroom conduct.
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You can speak if you stare at the wall. Just never turn and offer to “shake”.
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Never take the empty urinal between two ‘Nam vet Grunt officers or you risk being caught in the “CROSSFIRE!”
Nasty bastards.
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LMAO!
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I used to ride the bus with Herschel after he signed with the Generals and was back finishing his degree. He said he wanted to be an FBI agent and I asked him if he wanted to do undercover work. He laughed. We saw each other pretty frequently for a quarter or two.
I grew up in Athens, (my dad was AVP in the old alumni house), and we used to sit outside by the practice field with a bunch of posters, hats and stuff with multiple Sharpies and the players would stop and sign everything as they headed to the Coliseum for showers.
I know Coach Dooley and Barbara fairly well. I married an Auburn girl and my wife and Coach always exchange “War Eagles” when we see them. Barbara was my guest speaker for a Hall of Fame luncheon when I was VP of a college in TN. This was right after Derek was hired and he told her she was not allowed to speak in the state of TN. When I called and asked her and she said, “I don’t care what Derek says, I’m gonna do it anyway Mark.” She used to call me on my birthday. Great lady.
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I remember seeing him on campus in his Generals jacket. We actually took thee train from Champaign to Chicago to see him play the year before I moved down here.
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The Generals had an owner back then that became a high rankling government official. I think he was a builder or something else before that? Not sure of his name though anymore. 🙂
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I thought this was good news, I get email blasts from these guys…
There’s more good news on the Covid-19 front as new cases in the U.S. are down 73% since the peak on January 11 and cases in Canada are down 67% since the peak on January 9. Click here to see numbers for the U.S. and click here to see numbers for Canada.
The new, one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was approved by the FDA this past weekend and will be put to use immediately alongside the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Merck will help produce the J&J vaccine and the expectation now is that every American adult who wants a vaccine will be able to get it by the end of May. Prime Minister Trudeau has said that every Canadian who wants the vaccine will be able to get it by the end of September.
Half of Americans age 65 and older have already received at least one dose of a vaccine and that segment of the population is helping to fuel a surge in cruise and resort and river cruise bookings at Vacations To Go.
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The wife and I were supposed to be in the Caribbean first week of April. I pushed it out till last week of September with hope that vaccinations loosen up travel restrictions.
Someone called it the “Vaccine Visa”? Yes please.
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Got my first shot last week, second one is coming up. And the J&J one-shot will help a lot. Hopefully we get this mess behind us and get back to normal.
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I just got my first one today!
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Would you report effects tomorrow, please sir?
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I was interviewed by Barbara Dooley for her radio show several years back. She’s a hoot, but I can see how she could wear on you after a while. I grew up in a family with a lot of southern women, and she’s exactly that.
Herschel was always the nicest guy when I saw him on campus.
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My wife was a breastfeeding educator and was on a radio show with Barbara and she was awful about BF. “People just don’t want to see that kind of thing”!
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I can see that. She’s pretty old fashioned and strong willed. Just like all the other southern women around her age that I know/knew.
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I have others, but my favorite involves Dominique. I was sitting at a nice restaurant in Duluth eating lunch with a client, back in like 2005-2006. ‘Nique walked in with a group and me and my client’s chin were on the table, like two star-struck kids. He noticed, and, very graciously, he approached US. He came over to our table and stuck out his hand, “Hi, I’m Dominique Wilkins.” I was like “I know.” He laughed, and chatted with us for a few minutes, until his waitress came. Don’t remember anything I said, but I floated out of there. Great ambassador for UGA.
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And, like Herschel, he looked like he could still play.
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I remember watching him play against the nerds in the Omni one year. He moved along the baseline and in less than a blink of an eye, and seemingly without even winding up, just slammed down a dunk. I’m sure he had many more spectacular dunks, but it was the quickness and savagery of the dunk that just stunned the crowd. “Human Highlight Film” indeed.
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If I ever met Nique, I would immediately tell him the story of how outraged I was as a kid when he got robbed of the slam dunk contest by Jordan. That windmill dunk was awesome. The contest was the first time in my life where I realized that judging was subjective.
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Ran into Freddie Gilbert in 98 just after Jimmy Payne died. Freddie’s heart was broken. We talked for awhile and I mentioned my Jack Davis poster with #1 Dawg holding the 1980 and 81 SEC trophies (oddly no NC trophy). The poster has about thirty player signatures but not Freddie’s. He was eager to sign it next to Jimmy’s name. I went to shake his hand and he gave me a big ol bear hug.
I need to get up with Freddie for that signature. Such a nice fellow.
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Spring semester of my freshman year I worked night shift for the University to make some extra money. We were at Butts-Mehre with nobody around so I decided to do a little weightlifting. Coach Goff happened to walk in and lit my ass up about it. Dude was seriously pissed.
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They weren’t former at the time, but Richt and BVG came into the sporting goods store where I worked in college.
BVG grabbed the $300 entry-level home gym, shook it, and looked disgusting at its flimsiness.
Well, guy, it had no weight on it, and that’s not how you use it. Try that with the $2500 gym over there, instead. It’s rock-solid.
In other words, I was not impressed with his interpersonal skills.
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I physically ran into Jim Donnan at breakfast the morning of his first game as head coach, against Southern Miss, in ’96. I was 13 at the time. I apologized, he smiled, nodded and kept walking. I think it was only my second UGA game at that point, having driven in from NC with my dad the day before. We met up with some of his college buddies, saw the town, visited their old haunts. Had a great time, other than, you know, losing the game.
Only other time was as a raft guide on the Chattooga River after college in 2005 or 2006. Coach Dooley and some of his family came on a trip with us. Unfortunately, they were not in my boat so I only had the opportunity to exchange pleasantries with him after the trip. He was nice enough, though mostly he just looked cold, wet, and in need of a hot shower.
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Not a UGA player, but involved one…
Summer of 1997 (maybe 96) I think, O’Charleys Restaurant, Johnson City, TN. I was a lonely Dawgs fan in the depths of UT’s NC/SEC Championship run. Having a few at the bar with Vol fans and in walks Jermaine Copeland – WR @ UT. They all start getting Vol wood. I think he had a cousin that lived in Johnson City. Few beers later, I start randomly yelling “Champ Bailey.” Eventually Copeland says back “Champ Bailey is a b*tch.” I joking say, something about UGA beating Fla and UT not being able to do so and he then wags his SEC championship ring in my face and we laugh it off and have quick hand shake. My friends were shocked I didnt get my ass kicked. Probably deserved to, but Copeland was cool about it.
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My friend was working in Chicago one winter when Kevin Butler was the kicker up in that frozen shithole. He and his brother went into Butler’s bar and started talking derogatory shit about Kevin and the Bears. They were about to get their asses kicked until they took off their coats and were wearing Bulldog regalia. Tom had to buy a round for the bar and they still got tossed without their coats.
Seems them yankee boys just ain’t got no sense of humor.
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Two years ago at the Cocktail Party I met both Champ Bailey (at the harbor drop off spot) and Carson Beck (walking into the stadium entrance). Champ literally looks 30 years old and he was with Ronald and other family members. They were both great and friendly and posed for pictures with some fans. Carson was very mature and friendly, and seemed genuinely excited to be at the game. He was with a nice looking lady friend as well. Meeting them both was a nice appetizer before beating the Gators asses.
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I also met Kirby in college since Dax Langley (former kicker and Kirby’s buddy) was dating a friend of mine from HS. We played volleyball at Town Club apartments off Milledge a couple of times, including one time when he brought Muschamp to play when he was visiting. Kirby was engaging, good spirited and not full of himself like Dax and Will were at that time. He was also a better athlete then the other two, of course. But our team was full of 6’+ dudes so we took those three down. Good times.
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I used to jump off my deck onto the volleyball courts there. Good times.
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9 years ago I joined Brunswick Country Club and one of the first persons that I met was UGA great Jimmy Orr. Played golf with him many times till he passed away.(rest his soul) He was friendly and down to earth. A really fun person to be around. He let me hold and look at his Super Bowl ring from 1970. Told great stories about playing for Wally Butts.
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I met CVD at a bar association dinner years ago and got to speak with him one on one for about ten minutes. He was very charming but just a touch of asshole showed through too.
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The SEC coaches have a meeting every Memorial Day weekend in Sandestin. I was there on vacation one year and eating dinner at a restaurant. Just so happened many of the coaches were coming there for dinner. I decided to hang out in the valet parking area to see if I could catch some of the coaches. Coach Richt was extremely kind as expected, I was able to talk with him and get a picture. Coach Felton was also nice. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss coach at the time, was very chatty and put a recruiting pitch to my friend’s son who was with us. Also very accommodating was Pat Summitt, Tuberville and a few others. As soon as Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer saw us they immediately at the same time had a call on their cell phone. My friend’s son is a Tennessee fan so he was excited to meet Coach Fulmer, please pray for the kid. The kid told Phil that he was a big Tennessee fan and Fulmer said, “I bet you tell that to every coach.” The kid had an orange Tennessee cell phone cover, I thought he was a jerk.
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I think you were right!
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When I was a student at UGA , must have been early in the year of 1996 Jan or Feb…I ran into coach Ray Goff walking into a bank on Prince Ave. I held the door open for him and said good morning or something and then with a giant grin on his face he looked me dead in the eye and said, “son, you are in desperate need of a hair cut.” And started booming with laughter, slapped me on the back and thanked me for holding the door. Considering he was axed a few months before, he was in a great mood…and that was before Sexton and lottery style buyouts. Years later my wife and me ran into coach Richt in a shirt store in downtown Athens in 2003, and he was the most gracious dude I had ever met…and I was more than a little star struck…he spoke with me and my wife for what seemed like 10 minutes…I still hold that dude in high regard.
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Not a coach or player, but I randomly met Larry Munson at one of the eastside move theaters in Athens in 2009. Apparently he was a huge movie buff and would go see matinees frequently. I was getting a refund for a movie we decided not to see, and he was there outside the ticket office. I worked up the courage to say hi and so glad I did. He was very gracious. I’ll never forget it.
I also met Todd Gurley and a few other players at the St. John’s Town Center in Jax when they were here for a bowl game. We asked for a pic and Todd was clearly annoyed by it, which I understood, but it also made me kinda sad. I was hoping he’d be nicer.
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I’m pretty sure Munson had some type of movie club and the primary members were UGA coeds. I saw the entire group at the Ritz in Lake Oconee. It was him and at least 30 younger girls. Looked like they were on some type of retreat or something but, it didn’t really make since.
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Correct! He would read his movie reviews on the radio on Sunday afternoons! Nothing untoward going on. He spoke of his movie crowd like a proud grandfather would. I imagine if there is a lounge in heaven, and I’m betting there is, Larry Munson, Lewis Grizzard, and Erk Russell are drinking buddies. Jake Scott has been approved on a probationary basis and gets hazed as the new guy.
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Hehehehe. Maybe Jake would take some hazing from those fine fellows. He damn sure didn’t take any shit from the Dolphins veterans when he was a rookie.
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He didn’t take it from anyone! He got into a row with Don Shula and Jake moved to Hawaii and they didn’t speak for twenty years! Dude could hold a grudge. I appreciate a man like that, lol.
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Jake was one tough sumbitch they say. He earned the cash and the right to live life on his terms. I do admire that.
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I think Jake might be in that other place.
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My girlfriend was in Larry’s “movie club”. The talent in that group was off the charts.
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The last time I saw Munson just out and about in Athens was at Kroger when it was on West Broad. It was a Friday evening and I had run in to get tailgate supplies for the home opener then next day. We made eye contact and I asked him how he was doing and if he was ready to get the season started tomorrow. He said, “Yeah, I think our offense will be OK, but I’m kinda worried about our defense!” that was August 30th, 2002. Things turned out alright that year.
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Ran into Munson before the 1984 Cotton Bowl. We asked what he thought about the game and he ran through his litany of worries. We asked about Terry Hoage and he said “Hoage, with those MISERABLE knees, is going to try to go, but I just don’t know if he can!” From then on, whenever one of us mentioned Hoage, the others would chime in “with those MISERABLE knees”.
It sounds better if you read it in your Munson voice.
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I was in a Publix off of Sandy Plains Road in Marietta about 15 years ago. It was the afternoon and there weren’t many people in the store. I got in line at the register and looked over to the next lane and there was Vince. I immediately switched lanes and got in line behind him. He was decked out in UGA stuff including rings. I always assumed he had to have been in the area in some official capacity but, never new why. He looked back at me and I simply said “Hey, coach. How are you today?” He responded and asked me how I was. We had a little small talk then he then paid and left the store. He came across as polite and welcoming.
I asked the cashier if she knew who he was and she had no idea. But, she was astounded when I told her.
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I also met Gurley in St Louis (I moved here a few years ago) the summer before his rookie season. It was a brief interaction at a function he was attending for all the STL rookies. I simply gave him a “Go Dawgs” and he lit up with a big smile. He responded in kind then went on about the business of the function.
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During Matt Stafford`s rookie season I was sitting in the floor of a very crowed Nassau airport waiting for my flight back to the ATL. I heard a voice ask do you mind if I sit beside you? I looked up and responded there always room for another Dawg. He smiled said thanks sat down. Really nice modest young man.
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Staff-Daddy is a cool cat. My sister had a class with him. People forget, these guys are just kids, they are away from home most of the time, and they have enormous pressure on them. He just came across to her as very polite and kind of shy. Seeing the way he handled the circumstances of his wife dealing with cancer and the classy way he handled his time in Detroit, as well as his exit, I’d say he was well-served by his time with CMR (and a mom and dad that did a pretty good job with him, too). One thing that does not seem to have changed from CMR to CKS is that their players all come across as humble and sincere. As a Georgia guy, I realize that opens me up to the “rose-colored glasses” jab, but I genuinely believe that we consistently recruit character guys. It’s a better long-term model (I think Bama does the same).
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Odell Thurman would like a word with you.
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“Staff-Daddy” – nice!
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Never met a Dawg, living up in Knoxville probably explains it.
I have met a few Vols.
Albert Haynesworth skipped out on his bar tab and I had to chase him down in the parking lot to get paid.
Met Carl Pickens at a Hooter’s in Johnson City. I didn’t know who he was, but the guys that I worked with insisted it was him. I told them I didn’t think so. One guy went up and asked and Pickens showed him his driver’s license.
The guy said he had to agree we would pay Pickens’ tab for him to show him his license. I told him to f-off, I wasn’t working for $12 an hour doing construction to pay the tab for a multi-millionaire UT Vowel.
My buddy told the waitress “Hey, that’s Carl Pickens!” to which she replied “He’s just another no-tipping asshole to me”, which made me spit-take my beer.
I left her an extra $10 on her tip for that.
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LOL, Isaiah Wilson at the cookie place Downtown. He had some classes with my friend’s daughter and would walk her dog sometimes. It was crazy how muscular he was, not a lot of flab and wasn’t eating any sweets. We offered him a ride but he said it was taken care of through the team. Nothing like the dude that has been raising Hell in Nashville.
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I have a couple. I was in a commercial with Matthew Stafford, seriously cool guy. Low-key. You wouldn’t even think he was a celebrity.
Aaron Murray Goes to the country club where I do a bit of work. Walks around like he’s Tom Brady. This is a place with Kyle Korver, Chipper Jones, and other names. I’ve heard AM is an ass on the golf course, but that’s second hand.
David Pollock Was in my sociology course. It was the year he became a big-name, with that South Carolina play. Super cool guy, sat beside me. I thought he was dumb as a stack of bricks, but watching on him on TV I think he just wasn’t a flying himself. He say hi to me around campus not parties, and my friends are always starstruck.
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Is that the club in Tampa? If so, I was in the shower after a round and headed to the airport when Vinny Testreverde strolled in next to me. He’s a big guy…in every sense of the expression.
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Way too much information there… 😉
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No, in Atlanta.
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MY EYES ARE UP HERE FPD
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Aight Unca Got, I wake up so I get up.
After our conversation about grips I did a little side-by-side comparison. Swapped the wraparound finger groove on the NM for Hogue flat left and palm swell right to maintain consistency amongst my 1911s. I wouldn’t carry that or the Jim Stroh custom as they’re too valuable to lose in an altercation. I would carry the Kimber Pro CDP II. It sports Mepro night sights and was worked over by Mr Jim. He replaced the plastic MSH with a stainless one with flared magwell, neutralized the stupid swartz safety and tuned the trigger. It’s a reliable shooter now.
Which is more than you can say about most second generation Kimbers that were manufactured while Ron Cohen was CEO. He took a company that was known for reliable, high quality pistols with excellent customer service and turned it into, well, not that. RC’s attitude is most folks don’t spend enough time shooting their guns to notice the shoddy construction. Kimber will repair the ones that are sent back. But if only one of five has to be tuned to spec then that’s four they saved money on. This has ruined Kimber’s reputation among the serious shooter community. RC is gone now and Kimber is busy trying to repair the damage to their arms and reputation.
But he’s baaaaack! That’s right. Ron Cohen is president of SIG Sauer USA. He saved the company from bankruptcy and even procured the contract for the military’s P320. He also instituted the same sleazy cost cutting measures that nearly ruined Kimber. I hope being newly flush with taxpayer dough SIG USA will return to its standard of high quality. If not? It’s a good thing that pistols are mostly a security blanket for support personnel and fine tuned to perfection by SMUs gunsmiths for the Operators.
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I had no idea Kimber had gone off the rails. TBH, I’ve never fired a tuned 1911, I’m kind of scared to. Might get attached…
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I’m not the type who’d go shitting on a company unless they shit on me first. Kimber did. I got a great deal on my NIB pistol. Bought it from a young Trooper getting divorced and paid his asking price. But I do expect a pistol with “Custom Shop” splashed on the side to perform flawlessly after a break-in. My slide release was causing random slide lock backs as it was a bit out of spec. Kimber sent a proper slide release and I brushed the old one with a diamond file a few licks and it now works fine. That’s sorry as cat shit, though. Nice having spare parts for my trouble.
I don’t own boats, motor sickles or airplanes. I have nice rods n reels and fine guns.
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I don’t recommend a 1911 as a carry gun, especially a tight target type. Too easy to jam from dirt and such. Even the old rattletraps are finnicky. If you’re not properly trained and prone to panic you’ll die with a stoppage or the safety on. An Ed Brown, Les Baer, Wilson Combat etc are sweet shooters though. You do your part and they’ll put one ragged hole in a target. As you said, like pointing your finger. 1911 is ergonomically natural.
I do recommend an XDM .45 or something in that line as a carry gun. Same ergonomics as 1911, grip safety, separate loaded and cocked indicators and 13+1 > 7 or 8+1. XD will only fire when you grip, point and pull the trigger, unlike a Glock.
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I think it’s great your wife has chosen to arm herself even if it’s “just” a tanto. Shows she doesn’t have that victim attitude. An edged weapon properly employed is a great discouragement to assault.
I enjoy watching my wife and Horndog Hans shoot on Sunday afternoons. They like videoing and critiquing stance and hold. Both have become more than competent and I’m proud of their progress. Hans is like a woman with his shopping obsession so they have that in common. His latest purchase is a Springfield Black Operator suppressed. That’s fun to shoot. Wife got a Heritage Rough Rider 16 inch barrel 22lr/22mag revolver and a Desert Eagle ,44 mag in, get this, cheetah print. She needs to be reigned in.
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I have a 9mm Luger WW2 bring-back, but I would love to try that XDM .45.
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CCC, you are one of the fortunate ones to own a Luger. That’s a tight shooting but funky action, eh? Serial number records show mine was built on the last day in 1917 but stamped 1918. All matching parts. Last time I shot it was 11 Nov 2018. I believe it’s retired now.
Yeah, I’m one of the fortunate ones also.
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I hate I missed this one last night! I was with the lovely Mrs. Cowdog, so all hardtails had to drag. 🙂
The farm is my expensive hobby. I’ve spent more money than I’ll ever get back (Legalize it, dammit!!) on tractors and such.
Our conversations over the last couple of weeks have gotten me thinking that I may need to look into a tuned up .45, or taking mine in and having it done. Thing is, I’m so comfortable with mine I’m afraid to mess with it.
I’ve shot the Sig.45, I don’t remember what model but it wasn’t comfortable. I feel the same about a double stacked 9mm of any sort.
TBH, the little SP101 has really grown on me. Even with the 158 gr magnum loads it’s easy to handle now that I have the correct grips on it. Here lately it’s been my “Grab-and-go” selection.
My wife got into the Martial Arts when my kids wanted to try Karate. She really took to it and ended up as an advanced rank instructor specializing with edged weapons. Good looking, fit, and dangerous… just like I like ’em.
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This Mrs. Cowdog sounds like a hell of a lady. I too have a wife who will be many, many places ahead of me in line at the pearly gates. Our plan is she’ll bribe Peter to get me in, or she’ll come on down with me and all the other lawyers and contractors and boy band managers.
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Hans has an SP101. Damn fine pistol. A wheelgun is as reliable as the sun rising in the east. The trigger on that single action 1911 is what sets the hook in you though. No creep, breaks like glass and no takeup. Reset so short you find yourself shooting involuntary double taps and then actually practicing double taps.
You don’t need to spend 3 large on a 1911 either. Any decent gunsmith can install a match trigger on your existing pistol set at 4 lbs or less for a small fee.
Good luck stopping there. However, if you get a 9mm 1911? That’s as good as coming out of the closet, pal.
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9mm 1911? I thought Mr. Browning covered the 9 with the Hi-Power.
I’ve got a Smith that works on my shotguns. He’s done a bunch of CA shooting which I think is really cool. Maybe I’ll take Old Paint by for a checkup.
I couldn’t put it into words, but you did… Not a lot of squeeze and wait with the 1911, and it do beg a double tap.
Cheetah print? No shit…
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Yes sir, cheetah print. A gotdam abomination. She says its for when she becomes a pimp, because as you’ve heard, pimpn’ ain’t easy. She wanted the DEagle when it debuted but resisted. They knocked about $400 off and she jumped on it. The pistol is 100%reliable with full power ammo. James McMurtry mentions the Desert Eagle and who makes it in his Choctaw Bingo tune. A .45 feels like a popgun after shooting that monstrosity. It would probably be a good bear gun as the bear would laugh itself to death when you pulled it.
SMH.
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I was at a trendy Ft. Lauderdale bar/restaurant half a dozen years or so ago when I caught someone who looked like Knowshon Moreno out of the corner of my eye; he was walking out with an entourage of dudes and female talent. I shouted “Go Dawgs!” and he turned around, came back over and shook my hand. I was so stunned all I could do was gush about how much I enjoyed watching him at UGA. Super-nice guy. He lingered there with me for a moment, then glanced back at his crew (one of the girls was staring intently at us while the other dudes/girls hugged-up in pairs). He said he had to go, I said, “oh yes, you do” and that was it. He had the softest, well-cared-for hand I’ve ever shook, newborn-baby-skin soft.
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The pic of him hurdling that Central Michigan dude was my screen saver for a long time!
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Also, attended a swim camp with Coach Jack Bauerle and Coach Harvey Humphries. I was 14. I had, what one would say, was an interesting start off of the blocks. We also played softball on the Myers Quad. I hit one into the tree in front of Mary Lyndon, one to left that rolled almost to Sanford Drive, and one to right that landed in the basketball courts next to Mary Lyndon. Harvey Humphries and Jack Bauerle nicknamed me ‘Ogre’. Best. Nickame. Ever.
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I was very impressed with Bauerle when I dropped my 11year old daughter off at UGA swim camp, saw Bauerle in the hallway and he asked specific questions to her from the previous years swim camp.
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Coach Bauerle is WOEFULLY underrated as far as UGA coaches go. Nicest guy in the world, and coaches world-class athletes. Great guy to sit and have a beer with, too.
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He’s a legend, for sure. DGD.
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I loved playing hoops with those two. Jack had that Philly game with a fade away J that was deadly. Harvey just worked his ass off.
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I’ve said it here before, Jack Bauerle is a class act.
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I met coach Dooley in the airport and he was a gracious southern gentleman. Met Mike Bobo when he was recruiting at my school where I taught. Very nice. Coach Donnan at a Bulldog function/ rude. Mark Richt at a Bulldog function/ gracious.
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I got too many living in Athens forever.
Worked at Barnett’s Newsstand during my college years. I am still not allowed to tell those stories.
Did trivia shows in Athens for many years, lot of players, usually there, but not necessarily playing. One memorable one…had a great conversation with Randy McMichael at Chili’s. He was already in the League at that point. Not surprised he ended up talking for a living.
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Lived down the street from Brandon Coutu for years. Would chat when we caught each other doing yardwork. Nice guy.
Chatted up a skinny guy at Ramsey Center one day while I was doing a very unimpressive workout. He went over to flirt with a girl on a treadmill and did dips on the handlebars of the machine next to her while charming her. I stopped counting after about 60 straight dips. Was Champ Bailey.
I was on the sidelines with Goldberg when he came to fire up the crowd at the height of his wrestling days. He was pretty quiet and nice, but intense, and I have never been as impressed/intimidated by someone’s sheer size.
I shared a bus ride back to the hotel with Jumaine Jones and a couple other BB players at the NIT Final Four. We started laughing about something I can’t remember and couldn’t stop, to the point we were both crying. A week or two later I was walking on Baldwin Street in front of Park Hall and from a car riding by I hear someone butcher my name but get close enough that I look up and see Jumaine hanging out the window waiving and laughing.
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Freshman year, walking in rainy morning up the hill from the bookstore to north campus for class. Hat on, head down and BAM! Walked straight into Herschel decked in full black Nike sweatsuit gear. I stumbled back, he of course does not move but reaches out to steady me. I stare, mumble sorry, and watch him smiling as he continues on…in the pouring rain.
Our best friend’s daughter lives two houses down from Gurley’s home in LA…actually he owned two in the neighborhood, sold first one and moved into another he liked better. She knows he’s an NFL star, but they are in the movie production biz and their backyard neighbor is Cedric the Entertainer so celebrities are no big deal to her. I learn of this and tell her to give Todd a “Go Dawgs” for me and, you know, hint, hint…maybe something signed. Two years go by…nothing but stories of seeing Todd walking the neighborhood and hosting parties. Now he’s moved to Atlanta. I don’t like me friend’s daughter that much anymore.
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I forgot one – met David Greene at a Chamber of Commerce event. You’d think he got tired of talking to fans about games long ago, but not at all. He loves to war story. I asked him who was the guy that hit the hardest on defense while he was at Georgia. He said, without hesitating, “Greg Blue. He couldn’t spell his name, which is not a hard name to spell, but he hit like a ton of bricks.”
(then he laughed and said “Greg can spell his name, I was kidding about that part. Don’t get me into trouble.”)
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Those were some of my favorite days as a Georgia fan. Greg Blue, Jermaine Phillips, Thomas Davis, Sean Jones, etc. Good Lord those guys could (and would) hit you like they wanted to separate your soul from your body.
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Most of those guys couldn’t play in today’s game of where tackling too hard gets you ejected.
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Some of the hits might have resulted in execution rather than ejection back in those days.
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My dad got to be friends with Jimmy Payne in the early 90’s. Always had a big smile on his face. Gave us his tickets to games, but the one that stands out was the ten year anniversary of the national champ team when I was about 13 or 14. Turned out they were Jimmy’s ticket WITH THE TEAM. I sat next to Erk Russell, who was as gracious as you would expect talking to me and my mom.
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I used to coach Coach Richt’s youngest kids in after school at the Athens YMCA when I was at UGA, one in soccer, the other two in regular after school stuff. His kids were some of the most down to earth and well behaved in the program. He and his wife were always very nice and gracious. Left me with a very high opinion of them as parents and people.
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They were so nice, every now and then they’d come to Big City Bread in the morning and they always liked my dogs. Come to think of it I ran in to CMR in the pet store and all we did was talk about dogs, not Dawgs!
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Had a few classes with UGA players, but specifically remember my Jeffersonian History class with David Pollack. He and I were in the same breakout group. That class was MWF 8 a.m., and Thursday nights were for barhopping on Clayton Street, so I’d always show up to Friday’s class hungover. Pollack, meanwhile, had a huge jug of water and WAS READY TO LEARN, LET’S DO IT!!!. Dude always had a motor.
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One of the many jobs that I worked in college was at the Gut-box. One of the girls up front was dating G-money. He and Hastings used to come around quitting time to hang until she was done with work.
I can still see #5 cutting on the sidelines against ole miss and bolting for a long TD run.
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In Jacksonville at the Landing in 1998 on the Friday before the game, I was having drinks with friends when we ran into former wide receiver and designated fair catcher Chris McRaney. I think he had just started law school at the time, and I made a joke about him waving his hand in the air to call for a fair catch in class. He laughed and said, “you don’t understand. Donnan would have ripped my nuts off if I tried to run with it!” or something similar.
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pathetic
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Huh?
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I met Mark Richt and family at Taco Bell right after he took the UGA job. It was one of the kids’ birthday, and Mark and Katharine let him pick the restaurant. My now-wife recommended Prince Avenue to them, and they joined the church and sent their kids to the school.
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UF sent me a survey on freshwater fishing because I have a fishing license, I got it electronically so they got my email. I filled it out as best as I could, but, for “final comment” It was GO DAWGS, GATORS EAT BOOGERS!
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I worked at a sporting goods store during college that was owned by Coach Mike Castronis and a lot of UGA athletes would come in and hang out. Herschel loved to sit in the back and just talk for an hour or so. I think that he just liked being somewhere that people weren’t bugging him for an interview or an autograph. If you didn’t know who he was, you would never guess that he was the most famous college athlete in the world at that time. Years later, we ran into each other somewhere and he hadn’t changed a bit; still the same nice guy that he always was.
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Coach Mike was a very personable guy. Saw him often enough on morning runs that we got on speaking terms and then became friends. He introduced me to the steam room and subsequently Coach Mrvos. Hell, I even liked Sam. There was a rough old cob for you. Even monitoring his weight lifting class you better not miss a day. Makeup was hell.
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Mrvos looked like he was carved out of a block of solid granite.
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Correction; Mrvos looked like somebody started carving him out of a block of granite, got halfway done and said ” Ah, the hell with it.”
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Like a huge tater on two chicken legs. Big ol’ drumsticks. He had the nastiest weight belt I’ve ever seen.
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Met many a Dawg over the years and always had great interactions with them. One story that I remember was meeting a non-dawg. Met Emmitt Smith in a Gainesville bar one evening. I don’t remember if he was still at FU or with the Cowboys. The word got around the bar that Emmitt Smith was there. I’m looking around and seeing the crowd gathering around someone or something, but still don’t see anything. Finally he works his way through the crowd and I see him. I was shocked. 1) He couldn’t have been 5’8″ tall. I’m 6′ and looking down to him. But those thighs…I could see then why he was so hard to tackle. 2) Had his choice of female companionship.
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Player was Jasper Sanks. I was going to Ramsey Center to swim and as I was going in he was pleading his case that he actually was student (I guess he didn’t have his ID with him) and I was able to confirm he was a student. I have no idea why, but they let him in on my word.
Coach – I have gone to church with the Dooleys stretching back into 1970 (interrupted by the period I didn’t live in Athens) and it is just hard to find nicer, more gracious people. Too many minor interactions to list – hell I doubt I can recall them all – but except for Barbara wearing orange when Derek was at UT I can’t think of a bad thing to say about either one of them.
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Damon Evans. Long story short, yada yada yada, he stole my red panties and I never saw him again. Jackass.
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Brilliant commenter name! Well done.
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I ran into John Lastinger at a party at the KA house a couple of years after the Cotton Bowl. I said: “ Hey man, great game” and stuck out my hand. I was expecting a “thanks” and him moving on. He shook my hand, said “thanks man, I really appreciate it” and proceeded to hang out and talk about the game for 10 minutes. Really a genuine, humble, super nice guy.
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I had enough classes with John L. that we became friends and would have drinks at TK Harty’s. He’s a true gentleman that checked his ego at the gates of Sanford stadium. He, Kevin Butler and I were driving in my car between bars one night when Kev spilt his drink and was giggling about it. John barked at him pretty rough for being a disrespectful jerk.
We would have coffee and talk before first class on Mondays after games. Sometimes it’d be a tossup who was beat up worse. And I didn’t play football.
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I let him play through once on a gold course. His playing partner came up, asked if we could play through (no problem from us) and then said “Do you know who that is? He won the Cotton Bowl”. Lastinger was across the fairway in the cart and looked a little embarrassed and gave us a wave.
It’s still 10-9 in Dallas.
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Passed Mark Richt while he was coming out and I was going into the Publix in Watkinsville. I was wearing a UGA sweatshirt and he said “Nice shirt!” as we passed, “thanks, coach!” and we went about our business.
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Oh, and I’ve worked with about 3 football players during my time at UGA. They were all pretty cool.
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Dad was a member of the NY Downtown Athletic Club back in the day. He’d take a group of friends and clients to the Heisman banquet every year, which was always the week after it was announced. 12 year old me got to go the year #34 won it. Met Herschel, VD, Munson and lots of the previous winners including Jay Berwanger (1st winner), Staubach, and some guy named OJ. Best memory was Sonny handing me Uga’s leash asking me to walk him around the cocktail party while he talked to VD and Joe Paterno. Went 2 more times after that (Flutie & Tim Brown) and every year Herschel and Bo were the 2 nicest guys who signed every autograph and posed for every picture. Still have the signed programs, somewhere…
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Several friends and I were driving to Tuscaloosa for the 2002 game. Stopped at the welcome center on I-20 just over the Alabama line for a bathroom break, and the entire team was there for a break. Met some players and shook hands with Coach Richt. I told him, “My girlfriend is a student at Bama. Sure would appreciate a win so I don’t have to get any crap from her friends [she was and is a Dawg fan].” He laughed and said, “We are gonna see if we are man enough.” Dawgs won and all was well.
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I met Coach Dooley in the late 70s at a seafood market in Fernandina Beach, FL. Recognized him immediately. The lady behind the counter didn’t know him and had to ask his name to retrieve his shrimp order. In the mid-2000s, I met Fran Tarkenton on Sea Island while delivering food part time for Loco’s. He was in the driveway picking up his grand-kids toys. Both were nice.
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I’ve met many over the years thanks to my former career as a sports reporter. But in terms of an “in the wild” interaction, the main one that stands out is that back in my days as a student I used to end up on the same bus on the East-West route as former linebacker Tony Gilbert on a regular basis one semester. Ended up seeing him several times a month that semester, and he seemed like just a really good dude. Said hi to him a few times and he was just an outwardly happy, jovial person. I saw him stand to give up his seat at least once, too, when seats were filling up and a woman was going to have to stand. Just looked him up online before typing this and I didn’t realize he was a coach for the Jaguars last season. I’m so happy he’s having success!
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Coach Dooley almost ran over me spring of ’81 coming out of the street where his statue now sits. He just pulled that big ole blue Caddy out right in front of me as I was tooling up Lumpkin. He stopped short in the lane, I swerved but recovered. He kind of grinned sheepishly and gave a little wave. I couldn’t bring myself to flip him off.
Greg Talley and I once deposed Dr. Ben Hogan, USCleast DB from Valdosta. Kind of funny sitting between the two of them. Talley’s always been good to work against. He will fold when it’s smart to do so and is always gracious in victory.
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I met Herschel twice. The first time was at the Sugar Bowl against Pitt when I was 11 years old. We were staying at the same hotel as the team and most of the players would congregate in the lobby for photos and autographs with the fans. Herschel was too much of a star and would have been mobbed so, he was excluded from this exercise.
Well, Herschel was brought through the lobby with a security escort so he could get to his room from whatever activity the team had returned from that day. All the fans rushed over to try and get a glimpse of him as they ran him to the elevators. I managed to squeeze past one of the security detail into the elevator with Herschel and his handler just as the elevator doors closed. Unfortunately, I was star struck and just stood there staring at him in awe, silent as the elevator rose up to his floor. No one said a word and then we reached his floor, he and his security guard stepped off the elevator, the doors closed, and I rode back down to the lobby.
My father was waiting for me with a big smile as the doors opened back up to the hotel lobby. He asked if I got his autograph and I said I had not because I froze. He laughed and we returned to the area where the other players were and I was able to get many to sign my Sugar Bowl program and got photos with Clarence Kay, Jeff Sanchez, and several others. I need to find that program. It is around my house somewhere.
I told that story because it leads to my second encounter with Herschel about 35 years later. It was around 2005 or 2006 and I was having a birthday dinner with my Mom and wife in at Aria in Atlanta. As we were waiting to be seated in walks Herschel with a date. Once we were seated, we noticed Herschel and his date were sitting in a booth not too far from us.
My wife got up to use the restroom and, without me knowing, stopped by his table, introduced herself and told Herschel the story from when I was 11 at the Sugar Bowl and how my mother and I were HUGE Georgia fans. Herschel told her to bring my mom and me over to meet him. He was the nicest guy and I felt terrible that my wife interrupted his date.
It was almost perfect except when my mom was extending her hand to Herschel’s for a handshake she knocked over his water glass into his lap! I will have to say, he seemed as fast as ever because he leaped up from his seat and successfully dodged the water keeping his pants dry! I was rather embarrassed and quickly grabbed my crew and got them back to our table after apologizing profusely to the “Goal Line Stalker.”
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I used to work out at the same CrossFit gym as Reggie Brown and his wife who was a Georgia cheerleader back around 2012 to 2015 after his NFL days were over. He lives(d) in Milton. He was an absolute beast when he gave a shit. While he wasn’t overly talkative or outgoing, when approached he was very nice and would engage with you. About the only thing he wasn’t real wild about talking about was the hit he took from that POS Junior Rosegreen.
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That hit would have brought out every flag in every pocket in the targeting era. It was malicious.
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Yep. I thought he was dead.
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That shit wasn’t right. There was an unnecessary roughness penalty back then that should’ve been called. I believe that TO cost the Dawgs the game?
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I ran into Damon Evans in line at the Chick-fil-a in Phipps back in 2010. It was right before the spring game when Murray and Mettenberger were dueling it out. He was very nice and made a point to stop by my table and say goodbye when he was leaving.
I also saw Rodrigo Blankenship and his family at a Brazilian festival in Marietta. This was the summer when his dad was in the news talking about him leaving if he didn’t get a scholarship. The whole family had on UGA gear, so I wast too worried. I did tell him good luck and he was very respectful and called me sir.
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Played Eric ‘Z-Dawg’ Zeier in darts several times when his Dad had a bar in Marietta. FYI – he absolutely hated to lose. Eric would bring several team members there after games, even Red Coat band members. Of course, he signed loads of shirts, footballs, etc. for anyone who asked. He signed a jersey for my co-workers 10 year old son, who idolized the Dawg QB, which I was told was the highlight of their Christmas.
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Ran into coach Donnan (he was still dawgs HC) at a bar in Charlotte before the mens NCAA tourney basketball game. He gave us a ride to the arena for the game.
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Also ran into Buck Belue at McDonalds in Woodstock a few years back. He was there with his son (son playing baseball game in the area).
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I met Dominique Wilkins several times while we were both students. Yes, I’m old. We had a mutual friend. He was always very pleasant. I worked for Kennesaw State during the time Vince Dooley was a consultant studying the feasibility of a KSU football program. We worked in the same building. So I saw him on the elevator, in the halls and such. Ever the gentleman. When we were kids, for a few years I lived in the same neighborhood with Moose Blakewood. He was a letterman on the 1980 National Championship team. We weren’t best buddies or anything but we knew each other. I remember him as a nice guy. So clearly, based on my small sample size, everyone associated with Georgia athletics is a nice person.
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I met Erk Russell twice. Once when I was driving the beer cart during a Georgia Southern golf invitational. I was with another grad student, a cute co-Ed who drove the non-alcoholic cart along side me. We pull up to the green while Erk was lining up a putt. As soon as he heard the carts, he literally just dropped the putter on the green and approached us. He made his charms with co-Ed, said it was so nice to meet her and was being quite the Romeo about it, and asked “do you by chance have a beer”. She said no and pointed to my cart, at which point he tipped his hat and said “looks like I’m done with you then”. He grabbed four from the cooler, put two in his pockets and two in his cart, then sank the putt.
Second time I met him was at a convenience store by my condo called “The Store” and he was buying Swishers and Red Dogs. Very nice guy and loved life.
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I had freshman English in the basement of Park Hall back in ’80. I sat next to Dominique Wilkins. This was sort of an “overflow” class and full of student-athletes. I was an athletic supporter.
Anyway, over the course of the the old quarter system back then, I actually got a bit chummy with ‘Nique. I may or may not have given him advice on the importance of not dangling a participle. As quarters tend to do, this one ended and we both moved onto other things (the NBA in his case, a shitty sales job in northern Alabama in mine).
I worked part-time in a local grocery store and sometime later, ‘Nique popped in one evening during his rookie year with the Hawks. I couldn’t believe it but he recognized me and said, “You were in my English class” or something to that effect. Before he departed, he produced 2 tickets to the next Hawks home game. I don’t know where the seats were in the old Omni, but they didn’t suck.
My son-of-a-bitch boss wouldn’t let me off work to attend, so I gave the tix away to a friend. Dom Wilkins is a genuinely nice guy.
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I once got in a pickup game at the old Stegman Hall with Nique. He not only didnt big time us mortals, he was a joy to play with. I threw him a lob pass that he dunked effortlessly over Bobby Miles (post player from Tallahassee). One time, in another fast game, the ball swung around to me in the deep (pre 3) corner. Lavon Mercer had both feet in the paint. Nothing between us, but I decided to let it fly, rather than challenge him. As I went up, he took one impossibly long stride toward me, launched himself in the air, gas hose arm extended. I lost sight of everything else in the world, but put extra arc on the shot. I think it may have gone over a rafter girder, probably came down with ice on it. Straight rip. LM looked at me, smiled, and said, “Nice shot, baby.” I also, one time, got Tony Flanagan off his feet with a head fake and managed to squeeze past him for a bucket. He was really cool. Played on his side a couple times, he loved to pass to an open mortal. Maybe the best all around athlete I’ve ever seen, it was a shock when he died.
also, this is probably the best Playpen ever. It almost gives me hope for humanity. It proves there are lots of things that can pull us together instead of the usual “$#*& you, idiot who disagrees with me” this thing usually descends into. I dont know about the rest of you, but I’d love seeing more shared good things, and less of the bullshit. We disagree? Fine. You love the Bulldogs, or Athens? Much better. Just sayin’.
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Sometime in the 90s I was walking down Baxter St, probably about in front of Creswell Hall, with earbuds in listening to Munson pre-game. It dawns on me that somebody is, and has been, calling my name. I look around, and it’s George Patton.
So although the meeting itself was random, I already knew George after having worked for him for a while in the middle 80s. Good guy.
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I was on a beer-bus trip to a Braves game with the Thomason’s crew. Somehow we ended up in a bar on 285 North and Jake Scott came in and pulled my buddies ponytail and almost ripped it off. The ponytail guy was a Nam vet and he took it pretty well after he said “jesus christ Jake”!!!
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I was swimming in the Y pool the first game that Larry didn’t travel to. He walked in the pool a good bit and I figured he didn’t need anyone bothering him.
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He’s not a football player, but I got to know Chas Kessler pretty well in medical school. He was 2 years behind me and he was lab partner with my future wife. Great guy. Needless to say, his class dominated intramural basketball for 4 years, even with Chad holding back. ( if he would have played wide open, he would have killed somebody)
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Whoa, if this was supposed to be about football players I’m in deep. . . again.
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Well, we did have a whole hate-thread up top for Michael Adams, so you’re probably okay.
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If hating Czar Mike is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
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Great job Senator…
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Funny reading these quad stories. I lived in Reed for 2.5 academic years and was an RA in Myers. I know those playhouses well.
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I got home on 4 Nov 79 and visited some HS friends in Reed the first Friday night I was back. I was set to begin Winter qtr 80 and looking at living arrangements. Back then freshmen were required to live on campus unless they were former military. I chose NO.
That place was like the barracks minus the adult leadership, mature companions and basic sanitation. Smelled like a zoo. How the hell could you get anything done in that Romper Room?
So I got an apartment at Tallassee Club Villas, ate at the dinner table, smoked dope while watching Showtime, talked on a private phone, hung out at the pool and studied in peace as a human being.
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That was perfect timing, getting back right before the 1980 season. Freshmen are still required to live on campus. It’s kinda strange that someone can tell you where you have to live, ( outside the military). I think my economics professor said it had to do with the school building those big dorms and had to pay them off so the state of Georgia passed a law requiring freshman to live in them. I think I’m remembering that correctly.
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Gurkha, I heard the same reasoning for that requirement. But all I got was a phone call one evening late in the quarter telling me I was out of compliance. Told the lady I had just ETSed. She was good with that. Didn’t ask for documentation. Probably had something to do with the fact they still had overflow housed in the lobbies of some dorms at the end of fall quarter.
That was good timing as far as football. My friends had to deal with that 79 Wake Forest beating. Not me. How embarrassing for them.
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I was required to live on campus as a freshman in 2009. I think they still require it because freshman who live on campus have statistically better outcomes adjusting to college than those who do not.
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Honestly, i am in a different category than most georgia grads. I got to attend int he dying days of 50 year old plus tech and living conditions. My very last semester, i got to register on a computer, and it took me 15 minutes. I spent years waiting in line for 3, maybe 4 hrs. Reeed and Myers got a massive overall right when I left, and Georgia finally got a real student gym. I never took more open public showers in my life, not even military, than i did in Reed hall. My first room, my mom, who went to nursing school in 1960, laughed at, under the stairs, around a corner, with a window right on the pull through for the parking lot. You made the right call. That reed you saw in 1979, was the exact same everything, in 1990. But a spilt coed floor was kinda cool. I remember being blown away by the marxists, wasnt prepared, at GEORGIA, for goodness sakes, to debate owning a gun.
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Spring 82 I watched the flag waving commies get run off from Memorial Plaza, their flags ripped up and UGA cops just standing by. AF & Army ROTC, frat boys, GI Bill vets, country boys, city boys all stood in unison that day. I’m a bit ashamed I stood back and watched.
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In the late 90s I was a grad student and Hines Ward was in a statistics class I was teaching. Very quiet in class. Showed up, did the work (occasionally read the newspaper -ha), got a good grade. It was an intro stats class and I did not have the impression it was taxing his brain. For years I claimed I taught him everything he knows.
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There’s a possibility I was a student of yours, and I can assure you it was taxing for my brain! Lol
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Statistics was the hardest class I ever took. I took it at North Georgia College in an evening class and really thought it was going to give me an aneurism.
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I took it at Georgia. Got an A. My proudest grade ever. Hated every minute of it. But I think everyone should take it. It helps you understand concepts like the difference between a statistically significant relationship and causation. Also why random samples can be trusted but only to the extent of the margin of error. The meaning of standard deviation as well. But most importantly, the way data can be manipulated to suggest an outcome, such as Florida football only existing from 1992 forward. Like Mark Twain said, there are three kinds of lies, “lies, DAMN lies, and statistics.” Our electorate would be much more informed if statistics were a required class, starting in high school.
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DammitRabe! I should’ve sat next to you. Like Got said, it was the hardest class I took. It was hard to pay attention in class and even harder studying it at home.
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A chopper pilot told me he had the same problem paying attention to math in class. Former enlisted working on his degree on active duty. His flight surgeon prescribed him low dose Ritalin. Much lower dosage than is prescribed to “hyperactive” kids. He was able to pay attention, concentrate and easily understand the material. His grade went from failing to an A. The doc him took off the shit after he graduated and before he was allowed back on flight status.
I could’ve used some of that Ritalin in Statistics. Really would’ve helped in grade school too and been much easier on my ass than that paddle.
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Never been lucky enough to meet any former Dawgs but, once, I got busy in a Burger King bathroom.
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Ran into Willie Anderson in baggage claim the Boston airport in the late 80’s. He and his Spurs teammates were hanging out waiting for luggage (the old days). I walked in between Sean Elliott and David Robinson to talk with him. They were looking at me like what the ….. Willie was really nice. He knew I was a true Dawgs fan when I asked about Stick Dawg (Troy Hitchcock)!
Also a special shout out to Craig Hertwig who passed away a few years ago. Sky Dawg, who owned Sky’s Place, a down to earth Athens bar, was a good dude
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I met Sky through a good friend of his. He was a good dude, like you said. Thank you for remembering him.
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Was friends with Josh Mallard in college and hung out with him quite a bit downtown. Good dude and he always shared interesting stories about what was going on within the team – good and bad.
Met Dominique at a gold’s gym in Orlando in the early 00’s. Super nice guy and lit up when I told him I was a a UGA alum. The staff at gold’s gym all said he was in there regularly as he was doing something with the Magic at the time, and they all said he was great.
Also ran into Donnan a few times as a student in/around campus. He was always great and I really enjoyed talking with him. It’s interesting with Jim – people either seem to have the nicest stories to share about him or not so good ones. Maybe he’s moody or something, and his call-in show back in the day was a riot. Either way I’ve always had a soft spot for JD and felt he was underrated as a coach. You have to remember, he took over a disaster of a program and was going against UF, UT and even GT at their absolute pinnacle.
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got randomly paired with Kevin and Drew Butlerat a charity golf event a few years ago, had the best time, lost by one shot to Wes ‘freakin Durham’s team. Great guys
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I randomly met Vince Dooley at the Airborne Museum in St Mere Eglise, Normandy in 2014 in early September. I take small groups to Europe, at least I did before covid. Having spent 21 years of my Army career in Germany, I love showing folks the sites. One of those favorite places is Normandy. I was at the museum with my group when I see this guy with a red baseball hat. As he got closer I saw the big G and I yelled Go Dawgs. He responded with Go Dawgs and then I realized who it was. As a Marine, he had always wanted to visit Normandy and was doing so. I told him I usually don’t come in the Fall because of Georgia games, but did this year because we had a week between Clemson and South Carolina. That was his reason as well. Two weeks later on my way to Athens and relayed the story to Scott Howard and Eric Zeier on the pre game show.
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When this Covid business is over, I’d be thrilled to go on a trip like that!
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Had a Marketing class, winter quarter ’74 or ’75, with Steve Waxman. Waxman was the backup center for the BB team, and missed a whole lot more classes than he attended. The prof in this class had assigned everyone to do individual reports, on different Marketing subjects, and all us were supposed to come up to the front of the classroom and give our reports in turn, about three reports every day for a month (this was in one of those big old classrooms in the PJ building on north campus.)
One morning Waxman actually shows up for class. The prof, at the beginning of the lecture, just happens to say “today we’ll hear from Smith, then Jones, but first we’ll hear from Waxman,” then he turns his back on the class and walks to his desk to sit down. Waxman looks at me and asks, what did he say, and I tell him, it’s your turn to go up in front of the class and give your report. Waxman says, oh shit, and hops up from his desk and slips out the side door of the classroom, probably the quickest move he made all year. Prof gets behind his desk, says OK Waxman, come on up, and looks to the spot where Wax had just been sitting. The he asks me, where’d he go, and I just have to shrug and try to keep from laughing.
Didn’t see Waxman again that quarter.
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THE CLAW! I knew a dude who was pals with Dave Lucey, Billy Magarity, and Mark Slonaker. All Yankees, but all pretty good dudes. Fun at parties. They called Waxman, who i never met, The Claw. He had about a 1 inch vertical.
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I’ve met Thomas Davis several times. Pleasant, humble guy. Doesn’t drink and loves to bowl.
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I can’t imagine the sound when his ball hits the pins. That guy lasted in the NFL for a long, long time. You don’t do that without clean living. Something most of us know little to nothing about.
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This has been fun, Senator! Thanks, to you too, Donald!
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I met Mohamed Massaquoi at the Bulldog 100 a few years ago. He’s a great guy.
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My favorite memory was driving from Atlanta to Augusta on a Sunday in 2010. Took the scenic route to stop into Athens and reminisce. Of course, I had to hit the Varsity for some cheeseburgers and onion rings. Place was empty. As I was walking in, I held the door for an older gentleman who was in a suit and had a rolling suitcase with him. It was Vince setting up for a book signing. He was very gracious and we talked while he set up. Didn’t want to wash my hand after shaking his.
Second would be playing pickup basketball with Robert Edwards at Ramsey while in school. We played just about every day and tried to be on each other’s team. Incredibly humble guy and freakish athlete. I could throw him alleyoops from half court and he would flush them in a full sprint. Made it look too easy.
Finally, was at 5 Points Waffle House within walking distance to my house on a late night while in school (like many nights). With some Theta Chi friends. Place was packed. Headed to bathroom from booth in the front and Hap Hines and Bobo tried to walk through me, not wanting to let me by. Both were drunk. Some words were exchanged, led to some pushing and shoving. Then I saw Brandon Tolbert standing behind them with a look on his face just daring me to swing on one of his buddies. I shut my mouth and stepped aside.
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Many, many encounters with players and coaches. My favorite memories are 1) working on the Larry Munson TV show, where me and my buddies were in the studio with him every week for a couple of years; 2) talking with Hugh Durham, who was hilarious, honest, and an exceptionally slow talker. If you asked him a question he liked, he’d put his arm around you and not let you go until he had given you every possible thought he had.
The crappy TV station in Athens in the late 80’s/early 90’s (WNGM TV-34) aired the Ray Goff show, and one bye week they had taped early. I happened to be standing at the front door on Friday night when Loran drove up with the tape for Sunday. I was so happy I thought quickly enough to ask “Loran, wadda ya got” as he approached me. He laughed though I’m sure he hears that a lot. At least he was actually giving me something.
I had classes with Hiawatha Berry, Rod Cole (helluva volleyball player), and Willie Anderson, who remains my all-time favorite Dawg.
There are lots of other meetings “in the wild,” and I appreciate the good stories shared and memories you all jogged for me. I have never had a bad encounter with a Dawg coach or athlete, luckily. Coach Dooley, Herschel, Tarkenton, DJ Shockley (HUGE hands), Alec Kessler, Marshall Wilson, Pollack, Dominique, Goff, Richt, R Hampton, Zeier, Conley, even Chuck Dowdle(and others)… all have been nice, engaged, genuine people.
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I got to know Herschel well enough that he at least remembers me all these years later. We’d sometimes walk with my girlfriend from South to north campus between classes. Simply a nice fellow. These are a few of my memorable random encounters with the Man.
Locked my keys in my car after Statistics final. Up walks Herschel. Offered his help. We walked across the lot to McWhorter and went to his room for a clothes hanger. His room was immaculate. It looked like an OCS candidate prepared for inspection. His clothes were hung evenly spaced about hand width apart. I shit you not. I was successful retrieving my keys. Last I saw of Herschel he was walking home while repairing the hanger.
A few years later I was home on leave and went to see an Arnold movie at the movie theater in downtown Athens. Bought my tickets and was headed to the back of the line when a big hand reached out to stop me. Herschel.
“Heeeey Russ. How you been, man?”
Then he politely asked the other patrons if his “old friend” could cut in line. We talked for a bit, went in to the theater and I haven’t seen him since.
But almost. Herschel and my contractor are friends and business partners. He had built my house earlier in 98 and he and Herschel were at a benefit not too far away. Mark said he remembered me so they came by to see me and his fine architectural work, but I was at a corporate Christmas party.
Yeah, right. I didn’t believe that for even a minute.
Couple weeks later I received a Christmas card. Enclosed was a picture of Herschel and Mark standing on my front doorstep. Damn Good Dogs both.
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RangerRuss, I’m pretty sure you can drop the mic. A lost of great stories here, but I’m declaring you the winner. If the Senator will indulge me.
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Yep, Ranger wins.
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Wife reminded me that yesterday was Herschel’s 59th birthday.
Man, time just gets away from us.
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Probably still two pounds above his Heisman weight. But more importantly, he’s a friend of Ranger. Lol. DGD.
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Recently sat next to Lindsey Scott at Mori’s in Valdosta. Didn’t get to talk much because my wife was so excited! I did get to talk with him about some of his dunks when I was a referee at Intramural basketball.
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What about you Senator? Any any memorable encounters with players or coaches?
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Nothing particularly memorable… then, again, neither am I. 🙂
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I used to play pickup basketball with Stafford and Kris Durham at Ramsey. Both were genuinely nice guys, and Durham could jump out of the gym.
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Tim Worley used to be married to a sister of a friend of mine – who happens to be a drummer. We used to have jam sessions and he showed up to one of them. Cigar in mouth, beer in hand, just having a large time. I mustered up the courage to go say hi to him and with a smile as big as the holes he used to run through, stuck out his hand and tole me he was glad to meet me.
Later, after things had died down and we were all sitting around finishing off the beer he told us a story about sneaking into Sanford Stadium and having intimate relations with said sister on the field. I hope I just didn’t betray any confidences….oh well.
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I tried to get away with the same thing. Was halfway up the fence into Sanford on the walk home from nickel night at Lowrey’s with a new friend when I got spotlighted by UGA police. I had a great story about how I just wanted to walk on the field and was an alumnus legacy going back to the original land grant – in 1785. I thought I had done pretty well. Then he asked for my ID and had dispatch call my home number. My Dad went to seminary and no one in any previous generation of my family had even been to college, let alone Georgia. So I knew the jig was up. At that point I started to laugh at my ridiculous lie. He thought it was kind of funny, too. He wanted to be a hard ass but he was laughing too. He sent me on my way, but by then my new “friend” had long since taken off. I stumbled home and thought life was good until I got home and there was a note on my door from my roommate (this was pre-cell phones) that said, “call your dad…he said he doesn’t care how late.” That was difficult to explain on several levels. But hey, at least I didn’t emerge from an alley.
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Had a Slavic Sociology professor threaten to call my parents because of excess absence on most of the Fridays. I gave him my dad’s business card. Had his home phone number on it too. Told him to call my Mom also and don’t forget to tell ’em what he taught as they could both use a good laugh.
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