Football and family: My weekend at the Texas-Georgia game

Blaring music, blinking lights and the deafening sound of more than 90,000 fans cheering on the Bulldogs.

The University of Georgia (UGA) has been a top program in college football, making an inarguable name for itself with back-to-back national championships and two conference titles in the past five years. The energy in the stadium proves the Bulldogs are a force to be reckoned with, and they are here to stay.

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to watch UGA face off against Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent University of Texas for the third time since the latter joined the conference last season. The Bulldogs beat the LongHorns 35-10 in a thriller at home.

UGA is located in Athens, Georgia, about an hour northeast of Atlanta. Athens was originally a small town but has grown to almost 130,000, and it became the sixth most populous city in the state. The school itself boasts both impressive academic and athletic programs, with 40,000 students and more than 500 participating in its 21 varsity sports.

The whole state of Georgia is full of die-hard fans who either attended the university or became fans through family tradition. My brother currently attends UGA, and my dad is a very proud alumnus, as are many of my other family members.

Cheering on the Bulldogs is a family affair – something I never really had a choice in, but I’m happy to have been indoctrinated in the best fanbase in college football. Although UGA ultimately wasn’t the right fit for me as a school, I’m more than happy to cheer on the Dawgs from Oxford.

Nine members of my extended family gathered in Athens this past weekend. Only my brother attends the university, but six of us cheered on the Bulldogs while our three cousins flew in from Austin to cheer on Texas.

The game extends much further than the few hours of literal playtime that occurred Saturday night. I met up with my family at noon, where we began the seven-hour long tailgate. We began at a family friends’ house with all nine of us together for the first time in years.

I tagged along with my brother and cousin to my brother’s fraternity house for tailgate number two. We watched some other games that were on midday and chatted with my brother’s friends before heading to the main event.

My dad and a number of other UGA fans from our neighborhood have a tailgate tent about a five minute walk away from the stadium gates. This is where the crazy SEC fan stereotype really starts to set in.

One of the most recognizable Georgia traditions is “calling the Dawgs,” a call and response chant that every real UGA fan knows. My dad, Bert, is the king of this tradition, so much so that his tailgate has a sign that says, “Bert Alert, time to call the Dawgs.”

He screams this chant on our walk to the stadium and again as we leave if we won the game. I’ve never witnessed him have a voice a day after a big game. This is the type of household I grew up in.

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The physical game is one of the most electric environments I’ve ever witnessed, and it seems to get better every game I attend. The fans are enthusiastic on every play, and the lighting and music amplifies the high spirit everyone possesses.

Every fan is friends with each other for those 60 minutes of game time, highfiving people they’ve never met and becoming best friends with those around them in support of the same team. It’s irreplicable and the most connected you will see groups of strangers be in your life.

The fireworks are a newer addition, but the most exciting thing for me was the light-up bands passed out to every attendee that light up in coordination with the stadium lights and create a sea of red lighting across a packed stadium.

The game itself was one of the best I’ve ever been to: UGA pummeled the opposing LongHorns in a thorough beatdown. After such a win, obviously students are bound to be excited.

Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine a full-grown man getting down on his hands and knees to bark at a stranger, but it’s not the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in Sanford Stadium. The excitement of a UGA fan after a win knows no bounds, and there’s a reason we’re named to be some of the craziest fans in college football.

Football is a way people connect – even when they disagree – and it’s a beautiful thing to witness strangers become friends in a few hours to support a mutual cause. Through all the craziness, my love for my family shines above my love for football, and the opportunity to experience such memorable scenes means more than the win or the bright lights at the end of the night.

rosente2@miamioh.edu